Hey guys! I just finished my sophomore year and it’s about time I get serious with these tests. I’ve decided that I want to take both the ACT and SAT, but I’m considering studying hard for the old SAT in January. There’s not many preparatory resources out there for the new SAT (aside from Khan), so I and many other people are a bit iffy about it.
Or should I just use the available material to study for the new SAT? If I do that, I’ll have a lot more time to study for the test and there will be chances for retakes.
You should just take both.
What if, with considerably less studying material, it’s harder to get a high score on the new SAT?
Logically this is the last old SAT so you shouldn’t waste the opportunity the freshmen don’t get
Im also a sophomore-
Im being tutored by C2 Education, the makers of the new SAT for the new one coming out next year. I can tell you from my own experience and doing tons of new practice with the new SAT that you’d most likely do so much better on the old one than the new one. Yes there is no vocabulary and there are no penalties on the new SAT which everyone loves, however the level of math is extremelty difficult (more advanced math, no calculator section), and the readings simply bore you to death (ALL NONFICTION). My Reading/Math score from the old SAT to the new SAT is 300 points lower-
So study your butt off this summer and get ahead of your friends so you can rock out the old SAT. Since you are still a sophomore, you can do extremely well on the current SAT, and look even better by doing well on the new SAT(I mean you can study for the new sat next summer as more material is produced)
If you are really interested in finding out more, C2 gives out free diagnostic tests. Good luck mate
@jruesmith Thank you so much for your insight! I just wanted to address a point you made. You said that I can study for the new SAT next summer, but doesn’t that mean I’d have to take it in fall of my senior year? And isn’t that the time for college applications? That just sounds a bit late to me. I don’t know if I would get my scores in time to submit to colleges.
@neoking The experimentals on the current SAT are most likely going to appear on the new SAT. It seems like they’re considerably harder (at least in certain aspects).
Is there not a lack of practice tests for the new SAT? I always like utilizing material directly from the college board as I believe it is best to prep with tests that they have prepared. How many “new” SAT practice tests has the college board released?
@HarvestMoon1 None. That’s what worries me. Khan Academy has partnered up with College Board to give some prep material on their website and a few practice tests. I’m not sure how “College Board approved” they are though.
Now because I got a decent score of 181 on the PSAT back in October, some other students and I were invited to this month long summer course that will help us with the material on the new PSAT in fall. Now we took a practice test already and they said that the material on there is very similar to the style of the new SAT.
We haven’t gotten our scores yet, but it was hard. Critical reading and writing were pretty similar to the current SAT (except although the passages didn’t have obscure words, they did get a lot more complex). The math changed a lot however. It was noticeably harder than on any PSAT and practice SAT I’ve ever taken. One section didn’t allow you to use a calculator while the other did.
As long as you take it in october, your colleges will receive them even by the time early admission process starts. Most seniors will study hard over their junior year summer and then take it one last time. You seem very self-motivated, so im sure you will do very well no matter what you do
