<p>I’m a long time reader on CC but a first time poster. I’ve gotten some great info here in the past, so I’m hoping for some help with a question of my own. I’m a high school varsity coach at a small rural high school in the south. I’m a non-faculty coach, meaning I have a full time job with a local non-profit, independent of the school. Because of this I don’t have much interaction with the schools GC or know her very well. One of my athletes, who will be a first generation college student, along with her parents, have asked me for some assistance with the college process, as they are clueless on how it works. The student, I’ll call her Suzie, wants to attend a mid level state U in her father’s home state up north, where a lot of her family still live. I think the school would be a great fit for her, both socially and academically. The school offers a very significant merit scholarship (the difference between in-state and OOS tuition, plus) which would make this school financially within reach for Suzie and family. Suzie took the PSAT this past fall as a junior and got her scores back last week. If those scores are a good indicator of her SAT score, she isn’t quite at the level needed for the merit scholarship in question, but the improvement needed is small enough that I believe it’s realistic. Suzie is willing to work hard to improve her score and I’ve been tutoring her on a volunteer basis for 2 hours per week for the past two weeks, and according to her mom, she’s been studying about 2-4 hours per week on her own. She’s very motivated to get out of her small hometown. She is however going on a two week family vacation to father’s home state for the holidays, during which time she & family say she will probably not have much time for studying, other than a paper she needs to write for APUSH</p>
<p>Now that you have the background, here is my question. The U she is looking at does rolling admissions beginning in September, with a suggested submission date of Nov. 1 for those seeking major merit awards. The schools GC (who does not seem like a wealth of knowledge from my limited interaction with her) told Suzie she should take the SAT in January. I had previously suggested that she sit for the test in either May or June, to allow enough time for her studying to pay off. Note that the GC made the comment to Suzie as a blanket statement i.e., “all current juniors who want to attend a 4 year college need to take the SAT in January.” Suzie is now concerned that if she waits until late spring and does not get the desired score, she will not have another chance to retake it (assuming that the October 2010 test date would not have scores back before the Nov scholarship deadline?) </p>
<p>When would you recommend taking the test in her case?</p>
<p>It looks like there are March, May and June testing dates for the SAT in 2010, so I don’t know why she must take the test in January.</p>
<p>It is good of you to help this young lady out.</p>
<p>Also, I could be wrong, but I think the Oct. date would also be OK for a Nov. 1 deadline for submission of the application. Not sure about that, though.</p>
<p>I agree–there is no reason why she has to take the SAT in January. A later test date would be perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Another alternative is the ACT–a lot of girls do better on it than the SAT. I’m a big believer in taking both tests and sending in only the score that is better.</p>
<p>I hate those blanket statements; every student is different and has her own timetable. Other considerations to keep in mind are SAT IIs and AP tests. If you think she has enough study time for the SAT I, I think the March timing works well. Then, in May, she’ll have her AP History test. She should also take the SAT IIs in US His in May. That leaves the June & oct test dates to use for any other SAT II or another crack at the SAT I.</p>
<p>In there, also plan to take the ACT. The schedule isn’t as familiar to me, but I know there’s one at the end of June.</p>
<p>Also know that the deadlines for schools that have Rolling Decisions are quite different. You’d be MUCH better off to submit that application as early as possible. September if you can. Absolutely don’t wait, especially since she knows she wants to go there!</p>
<p>Good for you to help this student. I also do a lot of volunteer work like that.</p>
<p>She can take it in January and then see what the weak points were and then plan to take it again in March or May or June or even early in the fall senior year (though I agree for rolling admission getting the application in earlier is nearly always better). If merit money is in question 3 or 4 times on the SAT is not too many. She should also try the ACT. Take a look at the practice books with real ACT tests and see if she likes that format better. Some students do much better at the ACT.</p>
<p>Just for clarification - does father still live in this “home state”? If so, Suzie may qualify for in-state rates anyway.</p>
<p>In my d’s high school, which sends many kids to top schools including all the Ivies, very few took the SATs in January of junior year. Most took their first in March. Didn’t hurt anyone.</p>
<p>She should take both tests - the ACT and the SAT. It’s amazing how some kids will score MUCH higher on one than the other. Colleges will accept either. If the scholarship website only lists one test, it will typically allow the other (they’ll use a conversion chart).</p>
<p>additional thought - search college confidential for “xiggi method” for studying for the SAT. It is very well thought out (and respected) and with her timeframe, she will have the opportunity to really take advantage of it. There are many threads on the subject. Xiggi is still hanging around here as well and probably would point you to the most direct thread describing his method.</p>
<p>You are a credit to volunteers all over. Good luck.</p>
<p>March or May/June. She needs to prep hard if she wants the $$, and her parents should be motivated to help her prep by timing tests/going over answers because they want her to get this scholarship, too.</p>
<p>Get the Real SAT book (around $20) put out by College Board–it has 10 sample tests. Do them all. Do one every Saturday morning (or whatever fits schedule) between now and March. IMO the only way to train for the test is to take practice tests. Lots of them. Get familiar with the types of questions/tricks/tempting but wrong answers, etc. Practice timed essays. Go over all missed questions and figure out why they were missed. . .</p>
<p>Just like athletic training, no pain, no gain. She has to put in the prep time if she wants the big payoff. Not sure how much she needs to gain–less than 100 points? quite possible. 100-200? more difficult but common enough, 200-300? very tough but not unheard of, more than 300?–unlikely. </p>