1st SAT at end of 10 or fall of 11?

[Hilltopmom]

Wondering if it's worthwhile to take a first SAT test at the end of sophomore year, or at the beginning of Jr year, as practice & to get an idea of what areas need to be prepped more. (Student did not take PSAT in 10th).

Or is it just too early, curriculum wise (he will have finished Geometry but only be a few months into Alg 2 this spring)

 

He's taking a prep class this spring (knew the teacher & had a friend taking it, so we signed up), so it might not be a bad idea to take it this year, coming right after the prep class. He has never taken a test like this in an outside test setting, just at home CATs.

 

Was going to wait for PSATs in fall (but it's highly unlikely he's NM material), then SATs at end of Jr year. He'll do some SAT2s as well, obviously on different test dates.

 

Oh shoot, he can't do the May test date, he'll be out of the country. So, I guess we need to choose between subject tests in June or regular SAT in June. Well, subject tests will win that, if he does well on the practice ones.

 

So, first SAT in fall of Jr year, or PSAT instead, or both?

Whatcha think?

Thanks

[regentrude]

If the spring date does not work well, fall is fine. That is still early enough to allow for a retake in the spring and, if necessary, early in senior year.

I'd skip the PSAT unless the student has NM potential, since he needs to be taking the real SAT in the fall anyway in order to have a few more shots.

Edited February 22, 2016 by regentrude

[Hilltopmom]

That makes sense, thanks.

 

We'd also get an earlier idea of his scores, right now I have no idea of colleges he should be looking at without a ball park SAt range.

Man, high school is going by awfully fast!

[freesia]

We are trying to make the same decision here. I think we will have ds take it as he wasn't able to take the PSAT in the fall and it's possible he'll be in the NMF range so I don't want his first experience to be the test that counts. I also want to see how he does on the SAT and gauge whether we should also try the ACT.

[DebbS]

I would go ahead and take the SAT in June if possible. You will be able to see how he does and what he needs to improve upon. The SAT will provide detailed score reports (you may have to pay extra for these), so that you know specifically what your son needs to work on. Then you can plan his junior year to address those areas.

 

My daughter did not study the math that she was supposed to between her first SAT and her second. When we did a practice test about a week before the SAT test date, it showed that she wasn't going to improve her score much. So, for 2 hours a day for the next week we worked on her specific issues in math and she ended up raising her score by 60 points. So the SAT it isn't always about having a thorough understanding but rather about knowing what you need to know for the test. I hate teaching to a test, yet, in this case the prep courses, the score feedback, etc.. are all about that.

 

For homeschoolers, the SAT test does matter more in terms of college admissions & scholarships than it does for kids who attend brick and mortar schools. You'll need to have good scores before the start of your son's senior year because many colleges only offer their merit aid to those who apply before some given date in the Fall and have a certain SAT score. Sometimes there's a little more time to get in another SAT for a better scholarship in the senior year and sometimes not. So, it's best to have an admissions-worthy and scholarship-worthy score before their senior year and then maybe take another test to see if you can still increase it for more scholarships that are applied for in the spring.

 

I wouldn't rule out the PSAT yet. You could do both a PSAT and an SAT in the fall if you can't get in a SAT in June. Some kids do surprising well on these tests especially if they learn the strategies of how to narrow down the possible right answers, when to choose between a few possible answers and when to skip a question. This should be being addressed in his prep course. I also wouldn't try to predict his score using the practice tests in the prep books. I love Barron's because the practice tests are much more difficult than the real test which does help prepare for the more difficult questions. But, it can be discouraging because we have found that it will predict a lower score overall. I don't know how the other prep books compare.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by DebbS

[Hilltopmom]

If he takes it in June, he won't be able to take the subject tests that day for the classes he is finishing this year (US history & Bio- US history he could take any time, he's a history buff, but Bio he should probably take as he's finishing the class, not wait till next year's dates).

 

I wish there was a summer test date for subject tests, our school year doesn't even end till the end of June.

 

We will definately prep the areas needed:) thanks

[regentrude]

If he takes it in June, he won't be able to take the subject tests that day for the classes he is finishing this year (US history & Bio- US history he could take any time, he's a history buff, but Bio he should probably take as he's finishing the class, not wait till next year's dates).

 

 

Most definitely! It's much better to have the subject test right after the course instead of postponing it for four months!

[quark]

I wish there was a summer test date for subject tests, our school year doesn't even end till the end of June.

 

Not this year unfortunately, but there will be an August subject test date in the 2017/18 school year.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines

 

[FaithManor]

If the spring date does not work well, fall is fine. That is still early enough to allow for a retake in the spring and, if necessary, early in senior year.

I'd skip the PSAT unless the student has NM potential, since he needs to be taking the real SAT in the fall anyway in order to have a few more shots.

I agree.

 

We tend to do spring of 10, but when my grandmother died right around the spring date, we called and were able to, due to the situation, get it changed to fall of 11, one of the few times the college board has had decent customer service in our experience. It worked out just fine for her.

 

We skipped PSAT because it isn't offered locally, and the chances of any of the kids being an NM finalist is low. They are really good students with good SAT/ACT scores, but not the type that test well enough to be in that tippy, tippy top group.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I'm thinking of having my 10th grader take it this year instead of ordering the IOWA test as part of NYS regs ($30 vs. $50).  He took the PSAT in the fall.  I wonder if I could use that for regs., but that's a different topic.

[Hilltopmom]

I'm thinking of having my 10th grader take it this year instead of ordering the IOWA test as part of NYS regs ($30 vs. $50). He took the PSAT in the fall. I wonder if I could use that for regs., but that's a different topic.

I don't think the PSAT is on the NYSED list, but our guidance counselor ( he oversees our paperwork here, not the super) said he accepts the PSAT instead of CATs, IOWA, etc

[GoodGrief]

My daughter had potential for NM, so we had her do the SAT in fall of junior year, the same month as the PSAT. This was so she could prep for both at the same time. I know this kind of negates the "P" in PSAT (and in fact, the junior year PSAT was a week after her SAT.) But she had already done the PSAT twice, so she was familiar with it. The thought was that she still had plenty of time during the winter/spring of junior year to do an additional SAT if necessary, and she would be done with testing if her score was okay.

 

Anyway, it worked out very efficiently as far as study time to do it that way.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Gr8lander