PSAT and SAT in Oct

[entomom]

^^Good idea. No specifically your GC, but I think many GCs have a general rule of March for the SAT with a retake in May/June if necessary. They feel that this gives kids longer to mature and learn more, and thus get a higher score. And while this may often be the case, I think many kids are ready earlier and might as well take advantage of getting it over with and putting emphasis on the PSAT at the same time.

And believe me, with rising college costs, having NM in one's pocket is a nice thing these days!

[RobD]

^^^Amen D1 is a NMS and we're very thankful for the opportunities (and scholarship) that afforded her.

[Longhaul]

My son is going to use that strategy. His logic:
1. He took PSAT as a 10th grader so he has some idea of what to work on and what is expected.
2. He doesn't like studying for standardized tests and this means he could study for PSAT and SAT in one shot.
3. I want him to take the ACT and he wants to space out his testing.
4. Spring of junior year will be crazy with AP tests and SAT subject, so he would not take it in May/June anyway.
5. He doesn't want to take any tests in senior year since apps & visits seem to take up too much time.

I'm fine with it. If he really bombs it, he'll still have time to retake it.

[vbv8dad]

Hello everyone - Thank you so much for your very insightful and thoughtful suggestions and advice. This eased my concern as this strategy worked well with lot of your kids and as entomom said "get it over with and putting emphasis on the PSAT at the same time" sounds like a plan. When I showed this thread to my S, he immediately said "see how many parents vouched my planning so just don't worry".

I am glad he decided to go for it but at times I am skeptical whether these teenagers can take important decisions with a balanced approach with pros/cons in view. So just thought to run it by you.

It's really heartening to see lot of seasoned and rich experienced parents advising student and parent community on myriad of questions. It motivates me to give my 2c when I gather knowledge mass along the way.

[entomom]

I am skeptical whether these teenagers can take important decisions with a balanced approach with pros/cons in view.

I think it's wise to be skeptical, whether the information is coming from a kid, a GC, another parent at your school, whoever. It never hurts to get more thoughts, and no one ever accused CC parents of being hesitant to voice their opinions .

[ROCKFISHDG]

I'm bumping because this is of particular interest to our situation. My daughter, currently a sophomore, will be taking the PSAT for the third time (this time counts for NMS). She scored 180 as a Frosh (no prep) & 211 as a Soph (minimal prep). We are thinking of a Princeton Review SAT prep course that runs from late August - early October (30 hours) and taking the SAT on October 6th (and of course the PSAT on October 17th). Would anyone advise that route, or taking the SAT after the PSAT (November 3rd)?

[vbv8dad]

@rockfishdg - This approach certainly helped my DS. Since he prepared for SAT, the PSAT was a shoo-in and also scored good on SAT for his college list. I do not know much about PR sat prep course as my ds self-prepared by taking practice tests from blue book and other books in the market.

[bluenotebook2]

Junior here- I did this and it worked out fantastic! I studied pretty hard since I just wanted to take the SAT once and be done with it. Did it, and since the PSAT is just two weeks after, my prep totally paid off and I did well on the PSAT, which does count for national merit!

It's not that much money, but a big boost to your resume since only the top 2% in the nation get it

[ellemenope]

Both my Ds did the Rockfish technique. The school encouraged kids in the honors classes to take the PSAT as sophomores. One D was a NMS; one was not. I can tell you that both my kids retook the SAT at the May sitting in junior year and did better on that SAT than the one they took in October. The D who did not make NMS did substantially better.

My point is that I'd definitely take the SAT one more time at the end of junior year.

[entomom]

Either Oct or Nov seems fine for the SAT. You won't find out PSAT results in time for either, you'd have to wait for at least the Jan sitting to gain insight from the PSAT. But having taken the PSAT twice already, I don't think she'll be surprised by anything on the SAT (just longer, tougher math and the essay).

The only thing I'd change is saving money on the prep course and self-studying using the xiggi or silverturtle method (on the SAT prep forum). Of course I understand that some kids are OK with self-study and others do better with classes, but I've also known a lot of people that spend the money and find it wasn't really worth it.

[pittpride]

Interesting comments. My D took the PSAT this year as a sophomore and scored a 188. A good score, but we thought she could do better. She took the SAT in March and scored 2100. I'm hoping that means she might be able to reach NMF, but know she'd need a big improvement in PSAT scores. She hasn't done any prep. We can't afford a private tutor; any prep suggestions that aren't extremely expensive?

[bluenotebook2]

pittpride, you should look into the college board's blue book! it has about 10 practice tests. that's basically how I studied- uber helpful and about $20!

[entomom]

pittpride, see my post above.

You need the CB Official SAT Study Guide (blue book), solutions to the questions (available on the CB website:

Welcome to the Official SAT Study Guide Book Owner's Area

or Tutor Ted's book). The blue book are the only practice tests that should be used as they are actual past SAT tests. You need other books for strategies: Maximum SAT, Grubbers, etc.

[bluenotebook2]

...I got grubbers and it definitely didn't help me. I got a 2320 on my SAT (not perfect, but not that bad) and I'd say the thing that helped me the most was going over each and every problem that I missed after I did a practice section and identifying the patterns in the test questions. It has to be standardized, so college board has to make sure it's the same type of test/same caliber each time!

[entomom]

I'd say the thing that helped me the most was going over each and every problem that I missed after I did a practice section and identifying the patterns in the test questions.

Yes, that's why I emphasized need for the solutions; the BB only tells which answer is correct, which isn't enough if you've missed it.

Good to have your input on Grubbers, I'm not pushing them, just giving examples of the types of books used for test strategies.