I understand wanting to figure out which one you’ll do better on, especially before the change, but why sit for both? That seems like a waste of money and stress.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a practice one of each at home or free from a test prep company, figure out which is the better one for you and focus your prep efforts on just one test?
Am I missing something?
sometimes you wont know which one you will do better on.
If you are a JR, then take both, review the results and take an additional crack on the one you did best on, IF you want to improve your scores.
@menloparkmom I disagree with you. I would never advise a junior to take both to see which they do better on. They should take the PSAT and pre-ACT to figure this out. Some colleges will require a student to send in ALL scores on BOTH the SAT and ACT if they took both. That could be horrible. I would figure out which one your son/daughter is best at, study for that, and focus and get the best scores. There is no need to have unnecessary tests taken that might impact one getting into colleges down the line. My daughter took the PLAN in 9th, missed the 10th grade pre-ACT and then took the 10th and 11th PSAT. In the meantime we had a tutor sit with her one time and he could tell she was much more of an ACT girl PLUS everyone told us to avoid the SAT like the plague. SHe studied only for the ACT and sat in December and scored a 36. She is done. I think her counselor suggested sitting for the SAT in case she makes NMSF. SHe will NOT sit for that until we find out whether or not she makes the cut off (very doubtful). Why ruin a perfect ACT with less than perfect SAT if she doesn’t have too. Anyhow, there are not only tests, but other measures that students can take to figure out which test is better suited for them.
It seemed to me that the OP probably HADNT take the PSAT, or the Pre ACT ,otherwise she would not have asked the question she did ask .
"Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a practice one of each at home,figure out which is the better one for you and focus your prep efforts on just one test? "
"Why ruin a perfect ACT with less than perfect SAT if she doesn’t have too. "
College admissions officers are NOT going to “ding” a student who has a perfect ACT score because her SAT score is NOT as good.
That is just paranoid thinking. And is also totally wrong.
So relax about your DD scores. I will add that If she does NOT want to sit for the SAT she loses out on the possibility of winning thousands of $$ of merit scholarships, including free rides at some great colleges and Universities. If $$ is not a factor for you and you can easily afford $ 300,000 in college costs then fine.
Lets get back to the OP’s question.
I agree with you @menloparkmom that it is hard to know what test is better without taking both. Practice tests can only provide limited info. My son took both tests as a Jr, retook the ACT and received substantial merit to his chosen school. In terms of NMF scholarships , many people are surprised that the scholarships range greatly in amounts and that many scholarships offered are just a few thousand dollars and not the full rides that they expected.
As I said above, she will not sit for the SAT unless she has to for NMSF. We will find out in September and she would sit in the Fall to confirm her score. I’m not paranoid. Advice has been given not too sit for both if she had such a high score from a few outside college counsellors…
Well with a perfect score on either I’d skip the other one unless it was required for some reason like NMSF. Not because I think it would hurt to take the other bit because it couldn’t help and is just a waste of time.
But for many other people taking both and then retaking one to ignore works out fine.
@hcmom65 It is certainly a personal choice whether your child takes both tests or not. No one is suggesting that she take both. My response was to the original question posed by the OP. There is benefit to taking both . I was just stating the benefit as one who has personal experience with taking both and the benefit my son received taking both tests . The purpose of threads like these are to express many viewpoints so that the OP can make choices based on differing viewpoints.
"Advice has been given not too sit for both if she had such a high score from a few outside college counsellors… "
And that is fine if you dont need merit $$ from colleges that do sponsor NM.
Do they know if you can afford to pay for your DD’s college education?
You can figure out now if if her PSAT score is probably high enough to qualify for NM in your state.
We knew in Jan of DS’s JR year.
No need to wait until SEPT of her SR year to find out, leaving her with far fewer dates to be able to take the test, on top of all the pressure she will have her SR year with classes and college applications.
The best dates to take the test are right at the end of her JR year, when what she has learned in class is still fresh in her mind. But if you want to add to the pressure of her trying to qualify for NM $$ by waiting until the last minute to find out, be my guest.
Its sure not what us old timers on CC recommend…
My sons did better on the actual tests than on their practice tests at home. Sometimes you just don’t know until you take the real thing.
One reason some may need to take the SAT is if they are likely to become National Merit Semifinalists and need it in order to advance to Finalist.
One reason some may need to take ACT is if they are planning to attend Univ. of Calif. and want to use a 30 or better on the English Language Arts to place out of the Entry Level Writing Requirement (assuming they don’t have AP or IB tests that qualify them.) http://www.ucop.edu/elwr/
My D is not going to be NMF (just missed the commended cut), so she is not bothering with the SAT at all. Between APs, Subject Tests, NYS Regents exams… enough already. She didn’t prep for the PSAT but having taken it, she knows the new SAT format. After taking an old ACT test, it was clear that ACT format was better for her, and she chose to only prepare for and take the ACT.
I feel like a lot of kids spend too much time, too much money, and too much stress on all these tests.
@menloparkmom I am not sure why you keep going back to my daughter and her NMSF status. Given her PSAT score and the range of predictions by Testmasters and Compass etc., it is highly unlikely she will even get to the NMSF. She is commended. So given that, no reason to sit for the SAT until if for some wild chance, she makes the cutoff. It isn’t that I am saying that she is not taking the SAT if she makes the cutoff. It is just unlikely. SO, if she does, she will take it. She has better things to do with her time now…like prepare for her 4 AP tests and subject tests. Also, with a 36 she may qualify for some merit at some of the schools she will apply too. So yes, given her situation, at this time, outside counsellors do not suggest her studying and sitting for an extra test.
My apologies. I missed the sentence where you mentioned that qualifying was “highly unlikely” .
Best of luck to your daughter.
Wow, perfect ACT = congrats, enjoy being done with the “big” tests!
It seemed to me that the OP probably HADNT take the PSAT, or the Pre ACT ,otherwise she would not have asked the question she did ask .
[/QUOTE]
The OP took the PSAT in 1978, is trying to figure out whether to be insulted or flattered that she apparently posts young and wishes she looks as young as she posts.
My son is in 9th grade so hasn’t taken anything yet. I am trying to make sure he doesn’t miss important opportunities, but also doesn’t get caught up in unnecessary OMG! MUST TAKE ALL THE TESTS MANY TIMES! mania.
My take away from the above discussion is that sometimes you get a more realistic picture from taking the real tests than the practice tests, which is good for thought. Thx.
It seems to me that if you’re assuming that any tests taken must involve extensive and/or professional prepping, you’re making it stressful. My kids took each test with only minimal prep (a bit of at-home practice) and then decided which to re-take after getting results. I think making them prep and take a practice test would have been more effort than just having them take the test and it might not have been all that reliable anyway.
Worked for my kids. Neither one has a whole lot of test anxiety in general–if they did I might have taken a different approach.
@menloparkmom Redesigned PSAT was given first time this year, and CB decided to inflate and create fake percentiles, so no one knows this year’s cutoffs, even after 4,000 posts in other threads, until September. Sure, 228 out of 228 PSAT will make it. So will 225s. The rest is unknown. The Commended cutoff came out to be 209. 7 points higher than past years although it is out of 228, not 240.
For my 9th grader, we will only consider taking ACT until dust settles with redesigned SAT.
If he becomes NMSF, unlikely being in highest cutoff population, he will have to take SAT in senior year.
For students at lower cutoff states, I would highly encourage kids to prep PSAT.
SAT for NMF and ACT because the school requires it.
Honestly, I don’t think it is a wise decision to take both SAT and ACT. If you want to figure out which one suits you better then take PSAT and Pre-ACT to help you decide. Once the decision is made, work hard towards scoring high in that test!