When to take SAT's?

vrooje
Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:51:55 +0000

I get this question all the time from parents.

Some schools expect their students to take the January SAT as juniors. As far as I can tell, they do it mostly because knowing the scores helps the schools’ college counselors direct their students toward appropriate schools.

However, if it were up to me, none of my junior students would take the SAT in January. To me, it makes the most sense to use the junior PSAT results (which arrive in December) to create a study plan for the spring SAT. Most juniors aren’t really prepared to take the SAT in January, and even advanced students usually don’t get their best scores then. Taking the SAT in the spring of the junior year gives you an additional semester to learn vocabulary and get better at reading and the specific math skills you need for the test, and it still leaves time to take it again in the fall, if necessary.

Tom, you’re right that hiring a tutor is expensive and usually helpful, but it’s not at all the only way to give yourself an advantage. There are a lot of free resources out there that will help you. I don’t know if it’s still up, but there used to be a great SAT podcast from ePrep, for example, that was/is completely free. And the prep books cost a tiny fraction of the cost of a tutor, but they generally contain the same information, so if you have the self-discipline to get through the prep yourself, you can even the playing field.

Best of luck!