Hi all,
For anyone who went through or has knowledge of this process, when is the best time to take the ACT as a Junior who’s being recruited?
I originally signed up to take the test in late October to get scores early on in the process, but I was selected by my sport’s national team to attend a training camp at the Olympic Training Center the same weekend. Due to that, and a conflict in December, I will have to take the test in February. Is this too late for recruitment at these schools? I know the Ivies/Stanford believe in academics first and sports second, so I’m afraid they’ll see my rescheduling of the ACT as a sign that I value sports more than school. I 100% realize that school comes first, but this opportunity is too good to pass up.
I just don’t want to be seen as an athlete who doesn’t care about school. Any insight is appreciated.
Thanks!
Can you take the SAT earlier? The SAT is offered October 7th, November 4th, and December 2nd.
Today is the last day to register for the October SAT. They are very similar tests but most people do a little better on one or the other. My son scored a 34 on the ACT but 1470 on the SAT which is more like a 32. I would recommend taking both.
@Windows16 I’ve been preparing for the ACT the past few months and I feel much more comfortable with the ACT than the SAT. I’ve done very well on practice tests as well. I planned on taking it in October until I was notified yesterday of the conflict. I’m not sure if I’ll end up taking the SAT since I’ve prepared so much for the ACT.
@FutureCollegeAthlete If you are planning to apply to Div 1 Ivy’s and other academically elite schools, it would be best to have as much academic stats available when you contact the coaches, since that is the first thing they will want and need to know in order to determine if you are recruitable at their school. For most schools you will also need to have the SAT subject tests as well. Most Ivy recruits take their SAT and/ or ACT in Dec/ Jan of their junior year, and if they haven’t performed well, then couple more opportunities in the spring. However, as is in your case, tournament schedule may prevent you from being able to take many of the available weekends the tests are given. I wouldn’t worry about “looking bad” to the coaches or the school if you chosed to go to the training camp instead of taking the ACT. As long as you do well in your test, it doesn’t matter when you take them, and as I said many of the elite athletes I know have taken their exams in the spring. The colleges will know “if you care about school” by your gpa, course rigor, board scores, not when you took the exams, as long as you take them before the pre-read, which usually happens during the summer after you junior year.
I say take it early and often. Make sure you are practicing in timed settings.
Early and often is the advice we were given as well. I know at Princeton, and I think probably at all of these schools, they only look at your highest score if you are an athlete. So there isn’t an incentive to try to hit it your best score in a couple tries. They don’t care if you took it once or 10 times, they just cherry pick the best score and use it.
This is one of the areas that differs for athletes.
Will you be taking the PSAT? that can be a good indicator for the coaches. DS took the SAT in January which was totally fine, so I would imaging that February would be okay as well. We had the scores back in time for unofficial visits over HS Spring break. Plus, it give you time over Christmas break to review and practice.
This is a perfect conversation starter for an initial email to coaches. If the athletic part seems like a fit, most coaches will be happy to advise you on test schedules and results needed. Some of this may vary by sport and program. But I can’t imagine training with the national team is going to turn off many coaches.
Sure it would be nice to have scores early. But that isn’t realistic for many athletes with busy schedules. I do think you need to think hard about taking the SAT. The reason it’d be nice to have scores early is so coaches know they aren’t wasting their time. An SAT score within the range they need will serve that purpose.
I know more about recruiting in the Ivy than at Stanford, and will say that February of your junior year is in no way shape or form too late to take the ACT for the Ivy. Pre reads in the Ivy can’t even begin until July 1 of the summer before your senior year, and likely letters can’t begin going out until October 1 of your senior year. Heck, the Ivy supplemental applications won;t even be released until August-ish before your senior year. If you take the February ACT, that should give you what, three shots at it before you would have to submit an application? That should be plenty.
Of course, this all depends on two things. One, that your academic performance to date (other than the ACT) is in line with Ivy standards. Two, that you are a desirable recruit in your chosen sport. But assuming those conditions are satisfied, not having ACT scores yet won’t hurt you. This is one of those times when the constant drum beat about early recruiting on this board can be harmful. You are not behind the eight ball because your testing won’t be done this fall. Take a deep breath, do your prep work if it helps you and don’t worry about taking the ACT in February.
FWIW, I can’t conceive of how this situation will hurt you at Stanford either. But I only know one kid who was seriously recruited there, so others may have better information.
@Ohiodad51 Thank you! I’ve been emailing with coaches so I reached out to talk about standardized test and the coach my top Ivy choice also agreed that February is fine. I haven’t heard back from Stanford regarding this question but I’m assuming that if an Ivy is fine with it than surely (hopefully) Stanford, who has more recruiting power anyways, will be as well.