HELP - sick kid supposed to take the SAT in 5 hours

[Grantmom]

Ugh.  I don't know what to do.  DS (a senior) was supposed to take the SAT again tomorrow morning, and he was really hoping to bring his math score up.  However, he is really sick and not sleeping well.  I will wait and see how he is, but if his fever is down by then, I don't know whether to encourage him to push through and take it, or to just stick with the score he has.  He can't take it again in December because he needs to take a subject test.  I wish we had done these earlier and gotten them out of the way.  If he takes it and is feeling really bad, and gets a worse score, would that be worse than just not taking it again at all?

[calbear]

Are the schools you applying to super scoring or are you required to report all scores? If the latter, I would consider passing on it if you think he will perform poorly and the original score was reasonably decent for your target schools.

[mumto2]

Agree with above. Also wondering about adding the Math Subject test to his December plans.

 

;grouphug:

[Julie of KY]

Hugs. No advice as I'm sure your decision is already made.

 

[MarkT]

Good luck with getting refund/credit if you decide to postpone!

[catz]

We had to reschedule the ACT in the spring from April to June.  I did have to pay some sort of rescheduling fee but it was not a big deal at all.  I hope the College Board will work with you!

[Grantmom]

Thanks, all.  It was an unfortunate turn of events, but it is what it is.  He is thinking about trying to take the ACT instead, since there is still time to get that in.  He can't fit in another SAT because he has to take subject tests in December.  Is it reasonable to think he could prep for subject tests and the ACT in one month, having never done any ACT-specific prep before?

[Arcadia]

Is it reasonable to think he could prep for subject tests and the ACT in one month, having never done any ACT-specific prep before?

Took my younger boy two weeks each. An hour a day for the sat Math 2 subject test. 2hrs per day for the ACT. He did the full practice ACT in one sitting on Thursday (two days before test date) and rest on Friday. My older boy took less time to prep for math 2 and physics which he took on the same day.

 

Which subject tests?

The newest red ACT book is available at libraries.

 

Good luck.

Edited November 6, 2017 by Arcadia

[katilac]

Thanks, all.  It was an unfortunate turn of events, but it is what it is.  He is thinking about trying to take the ACT instead, since there is still time to get that in.  He can't fit in another SAT because he has to take subject tests in December.  Is it reasonable to think he could prep for subject tests and the ACT in one month, having never done any ACT-specific prep before?

 

Is he just trying to get a better score overall, or is there a certain target he is aiming for?  

 

The subtest that usually benefits most from ACT prep is science, because so many people misunderstand what this section is about and how it works, and you can do that fairly quickly. The Magnet Man videos: 

 

And this is the practice test he is using: http://bestactprep.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/printable-act-practice-test-pdf-2007-2008.pdf

 

The math prep he did for SAT will serve him well for ACT. I think they have some precalc that is not on SAT, but it is only a few questions at most, and many people find ACT math to be more straight forward. This is worth taking a look at, and lists the formulas needed as well: https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-36-on-act-math-8-strategies-by-a-perfect-scorer

 

The grammar and usage rules needed for ACT: https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-complete-guide-to-act-grammar-rules

 

My dd says that the best prep for ACT is practice tests, so certainly I would start with that and see where his score lands. Take a practice test before doing any prep or watching any videos, and you will see where to target his efforts. If you're lucky, he gets a decent practice score but while tanking the science, because that's so easy to pull up, lol. I should really send Magnet Man a thank you note, because his videos probably earned each of my kids thousands of dollars per year, because it boosted them to the next scholarship level. 

 

Best of luck! 

[Corraleno]

My dd says that the best prep for ACT is practice tests, so certainly I would start with that and see where his score lands. Take a practice test before doing any prep or watching any videos, and you will see where to target his efforts.

 

:iagree:

 

Get the Official ACT Prep Guide; it's $28 at Amazon or borrow it from the library (2017 & 2018 editions have the same practice tests, so if you can pick up last years's edition cheap that's fine). Do one test right away under timed conditions, then focus on weak areas. Take one practice test each week for the next three weeks, with at least several days off before the real test. One of the key things with the ACT is building up stamina; some kids are just fried by the time they get to the Science section, so learning to self-pace by doing multiple timed practice tests can make a real difference.

 

If math is his weaker area, then he may actually do better on the ACT, since math is only 25% of the composite score, versus 50% on the SAT. Good luck!