Note: this post is primarily directed toward Juniors, but it isn’t too late for seniors to improve their testing! If you’re a senior or parent of a senior, please call us right away to discuss your situation.

As the new school year begins, Juniors begin to think more seriously about college. Many are taking challenging course loads and pursuing any number of extra-curricular activities as well. For families who have been through it before with an older child, the process may not be as daunting as for newcomers, but every student is different, and every college process is a little different as well. This goes for college entrance exam testing (i.e., ACT and SAT testing) as well.

Most students will begin the college exam testing process by taking the PSAT. Depending on the school, this may happen on Wednesday, October 16th or Saturday, October 19th. A notable exception here is students who expect to be recruited for athletics. If this is the case for your student, please call us! The PSAT is no more than a glorified practice test for all but a few students, and therefore nothing to worry about unnecessarily. For students scoring in the top ~1%, however, the PSAT offers the potential to qualify for the highly competitive National Merit Scholarship program. Thus, paradoxically, the best test-takers are the ones who benefit most from PSAT specific prep early in the school year.

For most students, the PSAT is the springboard for launching into the more serious SAT and ACT: the tests they will take for college admissions. It is worth emphasizing that students do not need to take both tests. SAT and ACT scores are accepted interchangeably by all U.S. colleges. During their preparations, students can identify the test in which they perform better and focus there.

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to determine on which test students will perform better, so it can be a good idea to have a student take one of each before beginning the preparation process. Think of it like trying out a tennis match and a round of golf to determine the sport at which you’re more gifted before learning the rules of either game. Fortunately, the tests have a great deal of overlap, so it is perfectly reasonable to begin preparing without deciding definitively up-front which test will be the eventual focus.

Many families have heard about the SAT that is administered state-wide in Colorado and some other states in April, but this test is just one of many options. Students can take the ACT in December, February, April, June, July, September, and October. The SAT is offered in December, March, April (in Colorado at public high schools), May, June, August, October, and November. In other words, January is the only month of the year in which neither test is offered. And, colleges only consider students best scores, so it is in their interest to take their stronger test two or three times in many cases, whether that be the ACT or SAT.

There is no “normal” for when students take tests, though the February, March, and April tests tend to be the most popular, and many students seek to complete their testing by the end of their junior year. Scores for both SATs and ACTs are released within just a couple of weeks of test administration, and students who are engaged in a test preparation process will have practice test results, which indicate their strengths, weaknesses, and growth long before an official test arrives.

In order to plan for individual circumstances, please contact Scott Moser at 720-605-6622 or via email at scott@mosereducational.com. Advice is always free and willingly shared!