Oct 9

Oct 9 To Test Prep, or Not?

Juniors, National Merit Scholar, PSAT, SAT/ACT, Test Optional

Testing Tips and Timeline for High School Juniors (Class of 2025)

October - Taking the PSAT

Most high school juniors in the US will take the PSAT in mid October each year. It is meant to be a warm-up to the real test, and it is! We always recommend that students take this to help them practice the content, pacing, and stamina for the real deal.

The 2023 PSAT was digital for the first time, as well as shorter, adaptive, and more generous with time per question:

Digital format – no more scantron sheets!
Calculator for all math questions (not just a portion). Students can use the built-in calculator or their own device.
Bluebook software that students can practice on ahead of time on College Board’s site.
Moderately adaptive test– for example, students who score below a certain threshold on the first half of the math test will be given different questions from those who score above that threshold, but the test does not adapt question by question.
No more long reading passages.

The PSAT will still be the qualifying exam for the National Merit scholarship (the NMSQT).

How Do I Know Whether to Take the SAT or ACT?

The first step is to take a diagnostic, working with a tutor or test prep company to take sections of both tests. You can also simply take a practice test of each and compare results. Make sure you pay attention not only to your total score but your timing. Now that the SAT is digital (note that the ACT is offering an option to test digitally at some sites, but not in the adaptive, modular way that the SAT is offering), many students make the decision based on whether they prefer a paper or digital test.

How Do I Know When to Take the SAT or ACT?

Most students will want to study for at least four months ahead of the first test and can plan to test once they have completed Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry. If a student has prepared, we recommend at least one test sitting and two if possible before winter of junior year. This affords time for retakes and avoids students taking the first test in the busy spring of junior year. Many students will take the test at least twice, as the vast majority of colleges will “superscore,” counting the highest score on each section from separate dates.

Taking the Digital SAT

The new digital SAT debuted in March 2024. Like the new digital PSAT, it was shorter, adaptive, and eliminated long reading passages.

Students who start prepping for the SAT or ACT in mid to late fall of junior year will be ready to test in late winter or early spring.

May - August: Retaking the SAT or ACT

Most juniors will have taken the first SAT or ACT by spring. On the other hand, some juniors are in Algebra II and therefore will not be ready to take the math on these tests until the end of junior year.

We recommend that those students start preparing in winter, beginning with verbal prep, and sit for the first exams in late spring. The SAT is held in May, June, and August. The ACT is offered in April, June, July, and September.

Testing Tips and Timeline for High School Sophomores (Class of 2026)

We think of the SAT and the ACT as the province of junior (and sometimes senior) year, but some students may be ready sooner, especially if they

Far enough advanced in math that they have completed Algebra 2 by the end of sophomore year and generally advanced academically

A recruited athlete who is applying to academically competitive schools. Although test scores are optional for athletic eligibility, colleges vary in what they want to see and when for athletes

Students in these categories may begin test prep as early as the middle of sophomore year and test beginning in the summer before junior year.

This can be especially advantageous for students who will have very heavy course loads or extracurricular commitments in junior year. Once the testing is done, it’s done!

Our Team’s Best Advice for Mastering the SAT

Our team member Grace Ginsburg teaches all aspects of the SAT and offers some of her top tips here:

There is a certain assumption that often plagues my students in the early stages of the studying process. The exam, to them, feels to be an assessment of a completely random and untackleable body of topics that could spring up on them at any moment. This is not true. In fact, I have found that the SAT is fairly consistent in what it assesses students on, and a little peek behind the curtain can help remove some of the mystery in conquering this beastly exam.

In the grammar section, for example, the test makers are assessing students on a series of very concrete topics that are completely transparent: punctuation, subject-verb agreement, verb tense, modifiers, and so on. When approaching a grammar question, it helps to picture a funnel. Begin by reminding yourself of the broader topic at large (i.e. punctuation), and then within that umbrella category, siphon the question down to its more concrete parts and its accompanying rules (i.e. this a comma question → we use commas to conjoin independent and dependent clauses → do I have an independent and dependent clause here? → if yes, then a comma is appropriate, and so on).

This exam is far more accessible than test takers think. If you consider what you are being assessed on, you gain insight into the test maker’s perspective, and with a little work, you can conquer the exam.

Our Team’s Best Advice for Mastering the ACT

CTK team member Emma Winkel teaches all aspects of the ACT and offers some of her top tips here:

The ACT is well designed for the test taker who is a straightforward thinker– it does not feel as “tricky” to many students as does the SAT.

English - Although there are many rules at play here with grammar and punctuation, you know much more than you fear that you don’t know. Use your ear along with your rules to test your answers.

Reading & Science - With these tests, my best advice is to stay calm: the answer is almost always on the page (in the text and in the graphics and charts). Do not overthink, but rather spend your time finding the answer in black and white.

Math - For math, knowing the fundamentals of geometry and Algebra will take you most of the way through the test.

Overall, let go of your panicked thinking and focus your mind. Ask yourself, always, “Does my answer answer the question?”

Test Optional/Test Blind FAQ

Are Colleges Still Test Optional?

We had major movement in this space in early 2024 with schools like Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Cal Tech, Harvard and UT Austin joining the ranks of test-required schools like Purdue, MIT, and Georgetown, though the overwhelming majority of colleges remain test optional, including heavy hitters like Stanford, the University of Chicago, and Duke, and the vast majority of state and liberal arts colleges. Fair Test is always your most up-to-date source for learning a school’s test-optional status. Public colleges in California are permanently test blind.

Will Colleges Still Be Test Optional When I Apply?

Although we cannot guarantee the future, we predict that most if not all schools will remain test optional, as the drivers that make test optional attractive for colleges aren’t changing: it gives colleges more freedom in selecting their class members, vastly increases the number of applications colleges receive, and it is preferred by many students and families who wish to avoid the pressure and cost of testing.

If Colleges Are Still Test Optional, Why Should I Take the SAT or ACT?

There are several reasons:

Not all schools are test optional: Public colleges in Florida, the top three Georgia public colleges, the University of Tennessee, Purdue, Georgetown, MIT, and military academies now require testing again (or never went test optional during the pandemic). As mentioned above, in early 2024 Dartmouth, Brown, Harvard, Cornell, UT Austin, Yale, and Cal Tech also became test required.

Not all programs are test optional: Certain majors, like nursing or BS/MD accelerated programs, are often exempted from test optional policies.

School Preference: Some test-optional schools have a clear preference for submitting test scores. Auburn, for example, only accepted 9% of its class from the test-optional applicant pool. You can research this yourself by reviewing a college's common data set.

CASE STUDY: Of first-year students on campus in Fall 2022, Brandeis reported that 39% of enrolled students submitted SAT scores and 17% submitted ACT scores, and the University of Michigan reported that 54% of students submitted SAT scores and 24% of students submitted ACT scores. We don’t know how much overlap there is between those groups– how many students submitted both scores (and we never suggest you do as colleges almost never want both) – but we can see that there are more students on Michigan’s campus who submitted one or both test scores than there are on Brandeis’ campus who submitted one or both test scores.

Standing Out: Having a test score higher than the average for the accepted student body always helps a student stand out, so many students will prep for and take tests to see if they can achieve this, especially when applying to highly selective schools.

Raising the Academic Profile: A strong test score can be a helpful part of the profile for a student whose grades are lower than she or he would like.

Students applying to the most selective schools: These students are competing against such a high-achieving group of students that they will want to have every possible advantage in their application, and a high test score is one of them.

The Bottom Line: Whether and When to Test

Most students will at least attempt testing for one or more of the above reasons; some will work for weeks or months to achieve a competitive score.

On the other hand, there are many students whose test scores are not commensurate with the rest of their academic profile, and we have seen many of those students gain admission to the colleges they want to attend.

When we make recommendations to our clients, we consider the student holistically, including factors that can interfere with test taking, like ADHD and anxiety. We encourage you to consider your college list, your student’s abilities, and your timeline, and decide on the best course of action.

Book a brief consultation with Christina to discuss test prep for your student.