Anyone's kid take the SAT junior year?

[GinaPagnato]

I would like for ds to just be done with the testing by the end of the coming school year, due to certain reasons.

 

Assuming you dc got a high enough score for admissions to his/her first choice schools, would you just have them test in the spring of junior year and just be done with it?

[Luckymama]

That's what worked for ds, one SAT in March! I had a number in mind, he had a number in mind, and his score was higher than both :)

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

if junior year is grade 11, then yes, my DS will do a SAT this year. Sigh.. Panic time.

[nancy in nj]

My daughter took the SAT in October of Junior year with the hope of prepping once for the PSAT/SAT. Even though her score was very high, she opted to retake the SAT that March to get her core (math + reading) just a bit higher. We are glad she took it early and had the chance to retest before senior year. She also had 2 SAT II's out of the way prior to senior year and ended up having to take a 3rd SAT II for one particular school that required it from homeschoolers and would not substitute a comparable AP score. Several of her friends ended up having to retake the SAT or multiple SAT II's senior year at the same time that they were up to their eyeballs in college app's--not fun at all!

[Jen in NY]

This is what I am hoping for dd#2 this year. It will be nice if we can be 'done' early.

[regentrude]

Yes, most definitely. IMO this is the ideal time to take the tests. Fall of senior year is cutting things too close to take a repeat test if the scores are not high enough, because the winter dates won't get the scores back in tome for applications.

DD took both ACT and SAT early in spring of Junior year, so that Christmas break could be used for prep.

She ahd already taken an ACT in 10thgrade and was able to improve her score. She also took two rounds of subject tests, in December (good timing at end of semester) and in June (after end of semester=3 weeks for prep). VERY glad to be done; there will be enough stress with applications this fall.

[BakersDozen]

Oldest dd took it this last June after her junior year. She couldn't take it before then as she had not finished Algebra 2. She will be taking it again in October, though, in hopes of raising her score.

[Laura in CA]

My daughter took the SAT in October of Junior year with the hope of prepping once for the PSAT/SAT. Even though her score was very high, she opted to retake the SAT that March to get her core (math + reading) just a bit higher. 

 

Pretty similar situation here -- my son will be a senior this coming year, and is DONE with testing (except for a few, optional SAT2s ... he was going to take several in June of 11th grade and got sick that weekend ... he may take them this fall). It is so nice to be DONE with testing, and I'm almost DONE with updating his transcript !! (except for those possible SAT2s, and finalizing his classes this coming year).

 

Anyway, he is a good test-taker (he enjoys it, haha) and had also taken the PSAT several times, plus the full SAT in junior high for a talent search ... so his October scores were quite good. His essay score, however, wasn't as high as either of us wanted -- in fact, it was the same score he got at age 11 ! -- so he prepped and re-took the SAT in March of his junior year, and got a much higher essay score. And is done ! Yes, it made 11th grade very busy, but it frees him up senior year for college apps, commuting to a 4-year university for physics, perhaps doing those SAT2s, etc.

 

Anyway, highly recommended !

 

 

ETA: Several people posted while I took a break before posting ... and that reminds me, my son will be applying early action to several schools, plus the UC apps are due by the end of November ... all the more reason to be done by the end of junior year. No worries about the schools receiving the scores by Nov. 1st! ...  not to mention not knowing what those scores will be !

 

[creekland]

Traditionally, junior year is when the tests are "supposed" to be done with fall of senior year a back up in case scores aren't as high as liked.

 

However, I actually like having the student do a fall of junior year test as a baseline, then Feb, March or April, (still junior year) "real" test with May/June tests as backups.  This still leaves fall of senior year open if necessary, but there's a bit going on with applications at that time, so it's nice if it's not needed.

[Barbara H]

You may be amazed by how early in the fall of senior year some of the deadlines come now. Not testing until fall of senior year puts students in a stressful situation. Even if your student isn't looking at highly selective schools, taking the tests a little earlier allows them time to test more than once which can be a big help. Sometimes just a few points can be the difference between one scholarship level and another so it is worth not feeling rushed.

[Pawz4me]

Oldest DS took the SAT in March and scored very well.  But he's signed up to take it again in early October.  He's a competitive kid, and since his total score was less than 2400, well . . . (did I mention he's competitive?).

[Sunshine State Sue]

Ds took the ACT at the end of 9th grade and at the end of 10th grade.  While I would have liked for him to take it again after 11th grade (due to an argument during the math section and a low score on the writing section), his 10th grade score was high enough to get him in anywhere he would want to go, so it wasn't a battle I was willing to engage in.  He did take the PSAT and several SAT 2s his junior year.

 

HTH!

[SkateLeft]

My daughter took the ACT in April of her junior year, and scored very well so there was no need for her to take it again. Once and done! :)

[Gwen in VA]

We avoid doing the SAT in late spring of junior year. We don't want the SAT's to crowd the AP tests in May, and June is SAT-2 time.

 

My kids do the SAT the first time in January of their junior year. The theory is that if they don't like the score, they can retake it in March. Thankfully, all of ours scores above the "retake" threshold the first time so they have all been "one-and-done" SAT takers.

[StephanieZ]

Of course! Being done then is ideal, IMHO.

 

Dd16 took it for the first time in June of this year, her Sophomore year. She did super well, and we plan to retest a year later (after the PSATs this fall) in the coming spring of her Junior year. Assuming she does well enough for her first choice scholarships and schools, she'll be done then. Otherwise, she can always retake in the fall of Senior year, but I'd love for her to be done by Junior year.

 

Don't forget to consider merit aid considerations, honors programs, etc, when deciding whether to retest, though. If the scores are far past the norm for the school, they may open other doors that could be valuable. So, we won't be totally done testing until we are sure she's maxed out her potential to a reasonable degree.

[creekland]

Don't forget to consider merit aid considerations, honors programs, etc, when deciding whether to retest, though. If the scores are far past the norm for the school, they may open other doors that could be valuable. So, we won't be totally done testing until we are sure she's maxed out her potential to a reasonable degree.

 

:iagree:  Middle son could easily have been done after his first test sophomore year as that score was high (higher than the vast majority ever reach as a final score).  He's the competitive sort, so took it twice more junior year.  He never did achieve perfection on everything (what he really wanted), but he sure got some nice financial offers from many places.

 

Don't always expect improvement though.  I had youngest retest in May after doing "ok" on the March test.  The score we wanted to bring up went down.  Another section remained the same.  The least important section went up.  Of course, youngest is NOT the competitive sort and spent no time studying...  He definitely won't get similar financial offers based upon scores (sigh).  Hopefully he'll get enough to make schools affordable.  If not, there's always a gap year.

 

Know your kids.

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

One other argument for earlier testing is to have scores in hand for summer program applications.  The service academies have some great summer seminar leadership programs.  The application mostly considers test scores, gpa and class rank.  A homeschooler with no class rank and possibly no gpa is going to have an easier time with the application if they do have a good test score to submit.

In addition, at least for USNA, the summer seminar app is the initial criteria for declaring an applicant as an official candidate.  This is an easier determination to make if there are some scores (PSAT or SAT) to base it on.  Not having a score when the seminar application goes in in Jan of junior year can delay the official USNA application timeline by a couple months.  I've started suggesting Dec of junior year for people interested in USNA.

[Brenda in MA]

Both of my sons have been "one and done".  My oldest took the ACT in April of junior year, and then took some SAT2s in June.  He was then done.

 

My youngest (rising senior) spent a good part of last summer prepping for the SAT & PSAT.  He took both in October of junior year, and is done with those.  Like some of the others said, I didn't want to wait until the spring because he would have had less time to prepare for the tests while trying to also do his school work.  I also wanted the spring clear so he would have adequate time to prep for the AP exams in May.

 

I agree with the others that junior year testing is smart for a variety of reasons.

 

Brenda

 

[AngieW in Texas]

I like the January testdate during the junior year to get a starting score and then retesting in June and then you still have October of the senior year available if you need it.

 

My oldest took the test in January of her junior year. We tried using the Xiggi method for studying, but her score didn't budge (individual components would shift up or down 10-20 points, but her overall score didn't change). I enrolled her in a B&M testprep class (she had already done an online test prep program in fall of her junior year) and the B&M class boosted her score by 180 points when she retook the test in June. She was done at that point.

 

My middle dd took the same B&M testprep class before she ever took the test. She took it in January of her junior year and did better than she had on any of the practice tests (and she did a lot of them), so we considered her done at that point.

 

I like the January testdate because it usually has the question and answer service available. When you pay for that service (I think it's an extra $20), you get a copy of the test booklet along with what you chose for each problem and what the actual answer was.  I find it very helpful to be able to go over the test afterwards.

[Kareni]

11th grade was the year of the test here.

 

PSAT in October (first time)

SAT in March (first time)

SAT Subject tests in May (she'd taken her first in 10th grade)

AP tests in June (she'd taken her first in 10th grade)

 

There was also the National Latin Exam somewhere in there.

 

My daughter was content with her SAT score and announced herself done with that particular test.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Musicmom]

Junior year was a heavy one for testing here, too, but I absolutely think it's worth it to be done with testing before senior year if at all possible. Fall of senior year is just way too busy with college apps to be worrying about test prep, scores and getting scores to colleges in time.

 

We started on testing in 10th and that worked out well. Here's how testing looked for us:

 

10th grade:

 

PSAT in October for practice.

ACT in April--ds scored very high so was done with ACT. Dd scored high but wanted higher.

SAT Subject Tests in June (2 for ds, 1 for dd)

 

11th grade:

 

PSAT in October for real.

SAT (first time) in December--took advantage of all the PSAT prep. Ds scored high enough to be done; Dd scored quite high, but wanted higher.

ACT (2nd time, dd only) in April--dd achieved the score she wanted and was done with ACT.

AP in May (dd only, 1 test)

SAT (2nd time, dd only) in June--dd achieved the higher score she wanted and was done with SAT.

SAT Subject Tests--Ds did 2 in June, Dd did 1 in May to coincide with AP in the same subject and to leave June for the SAT retake.

 

Both dc were pretty burned out on testing by the end of Junior year, but it was SO nice to have it all done!

[angela in ohio]

My dd took it fall of junior year, then studied and took it again spring of junior year (210 point improvement overall.) That was good enough for us, and she won't take it again. She also had a PSAT, her first set of Subject Tests, and ACTs in there, too. :)

 

She has to take her remaining SAT Subject Tests this fall, and she wants to apply someplace early, so she doesn't really have another shot anyway. I like the "testing as a junior, applying as a senior" thing.