General guide for students on when they should take examinations.
9th grade: Students are encouraged to take your first PSAT at this point, students almost always score higher on the SAT versus the PSAT.
10th grade: Take your second PSAT examination. Very rarely do students take their official testing at this point but if a student feels as though they’re ready, they should take it no earlier than the Spring semester of their sophomore year.
11th grade: Take third PSAT examination during the fall, take first standardized test (SAT/ACT) during the winter (before December). Try to wrap up testing by the end of your junior year, you want to focus on applying to college/scholarships during your senior year.
12th grade: If you must take your SAT/ACT again/for the first time, take it in September in order to have a score to apply to college with. If you happen to be deferred or waitlisted from a school, feel free to take it again before the deadline.
Tips: Do not rush into retaking a test, you need time to reflect on what you did incorrect and how you could improve. Do not take your SAT/ACT more than three-four times, past that point, scores become repetitive and colleges do not want to see so many attempts with no clear improvements. Colleges can see all SAT attempts, each sent SAT report shows every attempt by that student. Colleges cannot see all ACT attempts unless the student sends them. Keep in mind, when planning when to take tests, ACT scores come back after about two weeks while SAT scores come back after about three weeks. With the way these types of tests are set up, it is more beneficial for students to get used to the way questions are formatted instead of solely reviewing topics. Therefore, practice taking these tests! Review topics in chunks, you’ll be able to remember more if you are constantly studying as opposed to sitting down once and reviewing everything. To study for tests, download free apps, read prep books, (such as our ACT prep book! - COMING SOON!) and review math/grammar tips and rules online. Nice review sites: www.prepscholar.com www.collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/act/chapter10section1.rhtml www.princetonreview.com/college/act-test-prep