<p>Keep in mind when considering The Dean’s son’s approach to testing, that “ACT only” doesn’t work for National Merit Semifinalists, who need a confirming SAT score to advance to finalist. So, if you have a child who seems like an ACT kind of kid, but whose PSAT score is high enough that they might be a semifinalist, it makes sense to have them try both tests junior year. That will likely cover the “confirming SAT score” and gives them the opportunity to surprise you and do better on the SAT (though both of mine in this situation so far have confirmed my suspicion that ACT was their test). Our strategy was to take both tests in Dec/Jan of Junior year, with the plan of potentially re-taking whichever was the better test for them later that year or early in senior year if they weren’t happy with their higher score. In our case, neither son re-tested as they each had a very strong ACT first time out.</p>