Guidance with SAT or ACT prep and tests for my junior year DS?

[Anonymous]

I'd love advice on how to help DS prepare for the SATs and/or ACTs.
The "New SAT" will be administered in the new year and I have heard that most schools will only consider the New SAT scores, so I thought it would be best to take a prep class on the new SAT and have DS take the test this spring. I've also considered letting DS skip the SAT and just focus on ACT as the SAT seems to be in this transition period and it's a big unknown on how the students will do. DS is my oldest so I have no idea how to help guide him on these tests, I've recently heard that many juniors have already started taking the tests.

Questions that I have for anyone who can share some advice are:
1. Is it beneficial to take both SAT and ACT or just focus on one?
2. Do the test prep classes help? Anyone in particular? Or a private tutor?
3. Has anyone's child taken the on-line, self-paced test prep classes that are offered?
4. Any tips on how DS can get his best possible score?

DS is a good student and has around a 3.8 GPA without a large amount of effort. He does retain knowledge pretty well. He'd like to go to a large school (VT, Penn, UMD, etc...).

[Anonymous]

What test your child should take depends on the schools he/she is interested in. If that isn't yet clear take both and see if they do relatively better on one or another.

The College Board / Khan Academy prep is supposed to be good if your DC doesn't need a class / is self motivated.

My kid's advisor suggested prepping about 10 hrs per week for four months and then take the test (or more hours for less time). It should be done for the first time before the end of junior year.

[Anonymous]

10 hours a week?! Wow that seems like a lot to me.

[Anonymous]

Just have a hearty breakfast and get a good night rest before the test. Oh, and try one practice exam to get familiarized few days before the test.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend PrepMatters private tutoring. My DC went from 500-550 on all three parts to above 650 on two parts and 730 on math. I was amazed! I have to mention that my other DC was tutored from PrepMatters and nothing changed. So who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly recommend PrepMatters private tutoring. My DC went from 500-550 on all three parts to above 650 on two parts and 730 on math. I was amazed! I have to mention that my other DC was tutored from PrepMatters and nothing changed. So who knows.

You should name the successful tutor at prep matters. Some are WAY better than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just have a hearty breakfast and get a good night rest before the test. Oh, and try one practice exam to get familiarized few days before the test.

This is actually what two of my kids did and they were NMSF level scores. So, if you know your kid does well with standardized tests, I wouldn't waste time with test prep. They can use that time much more effectively by using it for their extracurriculars. Time spent on extracurriculars will set them up better for college admissions than a few extra points for a kid who can do well anyway. Save your money for college expenses!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10 hours a week?! Wow that seems like a lot to me.

My DC took a one-month prep class at Montgomery College, which met on Saturdays and Sundays for a total of 8-10 hours/weekend.

His scores improved dramatically to a near-perfect 2370.

[Anonymous]

I am a college counselor who gives advice on these boards from time to time:

-Totally disagree with the advice not to waste time on test prep. I tell parents that if they are going to spend one dollar on this whole process, it should go to test prep (not me! I'm valuable too but test prep is even more valuable). I gain nothing by saying this, I just really believe it. I can tell you from sitting on a highly selective admissions committee that the "few extra points" can make a HUGE difference.

-I like Educational Connections the best for test prep. Another good option is Landon Zee. My clients have had REALLY mixed results with Prep Matters and so I would not recommend them, but if you are dead set on it, I think SunHee is the best tutor they have.

-Only focus on the SAT or ACT. I am having all of my clients take the ACT this year because of all of the issues associated with the new SAT. Most years I would have them compare two diagnostics and go with whichever is highest.

-If you can't afford test prep, have your son take a full length practice test every Saturday morning under normal testing conditions. Then have him spend an hour each evening that week studying from his mistakes - learning what he did wrong and why he made the mistake. Then repeat. A committed student who does that will do very well.

-I have all of my clients finish all of their testing during junior year. It makes things so much easier that way in the long term and they can finish their apps over the summer knowing exactly where they will stand. It is really hard to complete a college list over the summer when you are guessing what the student's final standardized test score will be. Senior fall should be devoted to making the best grades possible - every top school will call the school counselor to hear about initial senior grades before making a decision, whether the student applies early or not.

I think that's it.. let me know if you have any other questions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just have a hearty breakfast and get a good night rest before the test. Oh, and try one practice exam to get familiarized few days before the test.

This is truly terrible advice, as is the advice to focus on extracurriculars over test prep. If your child is always fabulous at standardized tests after lots of practice and has perfect or close to perfect grades in rigorous courses, then it's fine to do other things. But great ECs will not make up for mediocre grades or test scores, so your child should focus on those things first if he or she is on a serious college preparatory path.

You may not need to do a formal test prep program, but please do some research on trusted prep methods, which at a minimum involve doing lmany practice tests and focusing very intently on mistakes to understand what is needed to improve.

Also, I believe there is no school other than VA tech that will not accept an "old" SAT taken this year by a junior summer through January. Finally, a good test prep program can raise an SAT score much more than a few points--think from 1900 to 2200 as a reasonable good outcome.

[Anonymous]

Op, how does your DS feel about prepping? If you schedule a prep class will your DS go without a lot of push-back? Our son insisted he didn't want to take the test if it wasn't going to count (what's done in prep classes) but he was willing to take the test, for real, as often as we wanted. So he took the actual ACT 3 times, SAT 2. His scores did improve. Would it have been better to take a prep class? I think probably, but DS wasn't willing. It worked out.

[Anonymous]

DS is a junior and has decided to take the old SAT (given for the last time on January 23rd) after doing test prep. He will do SAT subject tests in June and then the new SAT early next fall. Schools, except for apparently Virginia Tech, will take the old test for the class of 2017.

It would be nice to have testing finished junior year but the counselors at our school told us that kids generally get their highest scores in the fall of their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Not every kid needs test prep. Lots of time and money is wasted on prep for kids who would get essentially the same scores with or without test prep. If a kid has a high GPA and usually does well on standardized tests, he doesn't really need SAT/ACT prep. His time would be better spent on leadership, sports, arts, whatever EC that he loves and will set him apart as a candidate.

Some kids have trouble taking tests and need prep, but many kids just don't need it. By this age, parents know their kids and have seen how they do on many standardized tests over the years. Once you're over 2200 or 32, colleges don't care if a kid has a "perfect" score.

There are lots of free and low cost ways to get familiar with the questions and directions ahead of time, so there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on test prep. I would save my money and put it away for college or retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor who gives advice on these boards from time to time:

-Totally disagree with the advice not to waste time on test prep. I tell parents that if they are going to spend one dollar on this whole process, it should go to test prep (not me! I'm valuable too but test prep is even more valuable). I gain nothing by saying this, I just really believe it. I can tell you from sitting on a highly selective admissions committee that the "few extra points" can make a HUGE difference.

-I like Educational Connections the best for test prep. Another good option is Landon Zee. My clients have had REALLY mixed results with Prep Matters and so I would not recommend them, but if you are dead set on it, I think SunHee is the best tutor they have.

-Only focus on the SAT or ACT. I am having all of my clients take the ACT this year because of all of the issues associated with the new SAT. Most years I would have them compare two diagnostics and go with whichever is highest.

-If you can't afford test prep, have your son take a full length practice test every Saturday morning under normal testing conditions. Then have him spend an hour each evening that week studying from his mistakes - learning what he did wrong and why he made the mistake. Then repeat. A committed student who does that will do very well.

-I have all of my clients finish all of their testing during junior year. It makes things so much easier that way in the long term and they can finish their apps over the summer knowing exactly where they will stand. It is really hard to complete a college list over the summer when you are guessing what the student's final standardized test score will be. Senior fall should be devoted to making the best grades possible - every top school will call the school counselor to hear about initial senior grades before making a decision, whether the student applies early or not.

I think that's it.. let me know if you have any other questions!

Well educational connections charges almost $3000 for test prep while the MoCo test prep costs $500 (for an out of state student)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not every kid needs test prep. Lots of time and money is wasted on prep for kids who would get essentially the same scores with or without test prep. If a kid has a high GPA and usually does well on standardized tests, he doesn't really need SAT/ACT prep. His time would be better spent on leadership, sports, arts, whatever EC that he loves and will set him apart as a candidate.

Some kids have trouble taking tests and need prep, but many kids just don't need it. By this age, parents know their kids and have seen how they do on many standardized tests over the years. Once you're over 2200 or 32, colleges don't care if a kid has a "perfect" score.

There are lots of free and low cost ways to get familiar with the questions and directions ahead of time, so there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on test prep. I would save my money and put it away for college or retirement.

Most kids benefit significantly from test prep, and I don't think it's very responsible to suggest otherwise. I agree that you don't need to spend a lot of money for it; the ACT and SAT prep board at College Confidential has very good advice for low-cost DIY options. It also doesn't take a significant amount of time to prep, whether you do it with a prep company or on your own. A focused course of study will take no more than 4-6 hours per week for 3-6 weeks. It will not interfere with any ECs your child is doing or may want to add.

With respect to your comment on scores, 2200 for the SAT and 32 for the Act are good scores. But top colleges will certainly look more favorably at a 2350+ or a 35 or 36 except in cases where the child is being recruited for a non-academic reason, and higher scores can make merit awards for kids who also have great grades. Parents and kids should look at the 25/75% averages for colleges to help figure what sorts of scores will make a particular school a reach, match, or safety.