Test writing is a highly complicated scientific process that takes the College Board and ACT organization years to perfect.  The selection of question type and order has a major impact on the scoring of the exam and to attempt to recreate something that would give an accurate score is near impossible.  For this reason, we only recommend that students use real tests for practice and have all of our students purchase copies of The College Board’s Official SAT Study Guide and the ACT’s Real ACTs. Furthermore, other companies that write their own tests tend to overload them with techniques that they teach and often give their hardest test first and their easiest test last to show a dramatic score improvement.  We like to take a more honest approach to score improvement and instill genuine confidence in our students.

We don’t like to offer averages as each student is different, which is why we recommend that each student begin their test prep journey with a StratEDGEy Session.  At this session, students will meet with their instructor and will discuss their starting scores and Dream Schools and the instructors will make a personalized recommendation on the sufficient number of sessions a student will need to achieve the score necessary to gain acceptance to their Dream School.  Most students tend to complete at least 10 tutoring sessions in order to see a 250+ point improvement on the SAT or a 4 point improvement on the ACT.

The SAT introduced score choice in 2009, which means that you can pick and choose the dates that you want to submit to certain schools.  There are some schools that will not accept score choice and request to see scores from ALL test dates, but this is really done on the honor system as technically they would never know if you actually opted for score choice.  That being said, there is no magic number of times to take the SAT.  In general, most students will take it between 2-4 times since scores often increase the more times you take it.

The simple answer is the earlier the better.  It is becoming more and more common for college coaches to request SAT and ACT scores as early as sophomore year/beginning of junior year.  Coaches try to round out their teams and in order to make offers to players, they need to know where their SAT/ACT scores are to make sure that they are in an acceptable range for the school.  Many teams also work on an average system where they take a team average GPA and SAT/ACT score, so if some players have high SAT/ACT scores early on, they can balance out players with lower test scores.

There really is no “good” SAT score.  It all depends on where you are applying.  In terms of comparing the new scoring format to the old format.  You want to divide the total score by 3 and then multiply that by 2 in order to convert it to the old score.  For example, an 1800 on the new test is equivalent to a 1200 on the old SAT that was scored out of a 1600.  Most state schools will require scores about a 500/550 in each section, and then more competitive schools will require scores in the 600s in each section.  Ivy League schools and their equivalents will require scores in the mid-high 700s in each section.

The colleges will not see students’ PSAT scores. The PSAT is merely given as a practice SAT to give students a better idea of what the SAT is like. However, some junior-year students who have extremely high PSAT scores can qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, which is a prestigious award given to the top scoring students in the nation. You do want to notify colleges if your student is a National Merit Winner. 

There is no set number of times that a student should take the SAT; however, most students will take the test at least twice. Some students choose to take the test three times, if they have been working hard to prepare and are confident that their scores will increase. It is not recommended that a student take the test more than three times, and it is recommended to only take the SAT subsequent times after doing some form of preparation, since you definitely do not want colleges to see a lower score on the second test. 

The earliest a student should start preparing for the SAT is the summer before their junior year of high school. While some parents will want to start earlier, it is not recommended because a student will be taking the SAT in their junior year. Starting too early will most likely result in a child getting burned-out about studying and is usually a waste of time because students will not remember techniques that they learn too far in advance. The best time for a student to prepare is a time that leads up to the exam and a time when the student does not have too many other activities. 

The PSAT is administered by your student’s high school. All high schools will administer the test to students in their junior year, and some schools will also give sophomores the opportunity to take the test. If your student has the opportunity to take the test in his/her sophomore year, he/she should.

In March 2005, the format of the SAT was changed from two sections (Verbal and Math) to three sections (Reading, Math, and Writing). It is now scored out of a 2400, rather than a 1600, with each section being scored on a scale of 200-800. The new Reading section is similar to the old Verbal section, except the analogies have been eliminated and short reading passages have been added. The Math section is very similar to the old Math section; however, the quantitative comparisons have been eliminated and new advanced topics questions have been added. The Writing section is the new section that was added and includes three types of questions that will tests a student’s grammar skills. In addition to the multiple choice questions, students will have to write a 25-minute essay at the start of the test that will be scored by two people on a scale of 0-6.