SAT or ACT prep

[Anonymous]

My DD is a current junior and we are trying to decide on whether she will take the SAT (old), SAT (new) or ACT. My gut says she will be better at the ACT but that's just because she's a strong student but not a great standardized tester. I really want to find out if there is a company that does a great job evaluating which test is best for a student and then provides the most comprehensive training available. There are a lot of services out there and it's hard to know if one is better than the others - or if we should look at private tutoring. My in-laws have offered to help fund whatever we choose, which is great, so I'm really just interested in the quality of programs not trying to compare costs. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I'm a very big fan of Capital Educators. I can't vouch for how their actual test prep compares to anyone else's - though we were very happy with our child's results - but what really set them apart for me was the effort Capital put into advising us on a testing strategy, based on our DC's profile and diagnostics.

It sounds like that's what you might be looking for as well. I would just give them a call and have a preliminary conversation where you go through the questions you ask above. I found them very personable and easy to deal with.

At this point, it might be worth taking the old SAT just as a free roll - my understanding is that if it's good you keep it and if it's bad, you throw it out and don't have to report it as long as you subsequently take the new SAT. But I could be wrong and that's the kind of issue they're good on.

[Anonymous]

OP - when is your DD planning to take the exam?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have gotten many things from Capital Educators in the mail so it's good to know that they are not all marketing hype. What I really do think she needs is guidance as to which test fits her skills well so I'm inclined to give them a call and see what they have to say, especially after hearing you say you've had good experience with them.

She is not signed up for any test yet - though she took a few subject tests last year to practice. I was thinking she might try the original SAT this year (late fall) to see how she does and could just throw it out if she isn't happy with the results.

Also happy to hear from others about tutoring in case she tries Capital and the fit isn't great for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I have gotten many things from Capital Educators in the mail so it's good to know that they are not all marketing hype. What I really do think she needs is guidance as to which test fits her skills well so I'm inclined to give them a call and see what they have to say, especially after hearing you say you've had good experience with them.

She is not signed up for any test yet - though she took a few subject tests last year to practice. I was thinking she might try the original SAT this year (late fall) to see how she does and could just throw it out if she isn't happy with the results.

Also happy to hear from others about tutoring in case she tries Capital and the fit isn't great for her.

I'd recommend you find out whether she prefers SAT or ACT first before developing a path forward plan. You can easily do it from home if she is willing to commit a few hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I have gotten many things from Capital Educators in the mail so it's good to know that they are not all marketing hype. What I really do think she needs is guidance as to which test fits her skills well so I'm inclined to give them a call and see what they have to say, especially after hearing you say you've had good experience with them.

She is not signed up for any test yet - though she took a few subject tests last year to practice. I was thinking she might try the original SAT this year (late fall) to see how she does and could just throw it out if she isn't happy with the results.

Also happy to hear from others about tutoring in case she tries Capital and the fit isn't great for her.

DD is currently at CE. She's enjoying it, and they're keeping us informed about her progress.

[Anonymous]

OP again - thanks for the input and I am happy to take more but I think CE seems to have some strong support so I'm going to give them a call and at least figure out how to help DD decide on her testing path!

[Anonymous]

Prep Matters has free practice tests on the weekends conducted in a test like environment. I thought the timing and sequencing of the sections was key to understanding which felt more comfortable.
We didn't need any detailed analysis just to select the test as DC had a strong opinion after taking both the SAT and ACT that way.

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend you find out whether she prefers SAT or ACT first before developing a path forward plan. You can easily do it from home if she is willing to commit a few hours.

Agree with the above poster. My DC did the CE course and in hindsight, I'd have to give them a neutral rating. It helped, mostly by providing a structure, but I think that a private tutor was more effective in my DC's case by zeroing in on areas that needed the most help . If we had to do it over again, I'd determine ACT v. SAT first, then do some practice tests in a test-like environment to set baselines, self study, more practice tests, then go with some one-on-one tutoring (if necessary), and your DC can do most of the work on her own (and save you some major $). Also know that their scores naturally increase with time, which is why so many seniors take the OCT test of their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'd recommend you find out whether she prefers SAT or ACT first before developing a path forward plan. You can easily do it from home if she is willing to commit a few hours.

Agree with the above poster. My DC did the CE course and in hindsight, I'd have to give them a neutral rating. It helped, mostly by providing a structure, but I think that a private tutor was more effective in my DC's case by zeroing in on areas that needed the most help . If we had to do it over again, I'd determine ACT v. SAT first, then do some practice tests in a test-like environment to set baselines, self study, more practice tests, then go with some one-on-one tutoring (if necessary), and your DC can do most of the work on her own (and save you some major $). Also know that their scores naturally increase with time, which is why so many seniors take the OCT test of their senior year.

I'm 1204 you quoted. What you described is exactly what I'd recommend. You just need the Redbook (ACT), Bluebook (SAT), and time commitment to find out. Then, if necessary, engage tutors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'd recommend you find out whether she prefers SAT or ACT first before developing a path forward plan. You can easily do it from home if she is willing to commit a few hours.

Agree with the above poster. My DC did the CE course and in hindsight, I'd have to give them a neutral rating. It helped, mostly by providing a structure, but I think that a private tutor was more effective in my DC's case by zeroing in on areas that needed the most help . If we had to do it over again, I'd determine ACT v. SAT first, then do some practice tests in a test-like environment to set baselines, self study, more practice tests, then go with some one-on-one tutoring (if necessary), and your DC can do most of the work on her own (and save you some major $). Also know that their scores naturally increase with time, which is why so many seniors take the OCT test of their senior year.

+1

Practice and familiarity are key. My son raised his SAT scores from 630/660 (Math/Critical Reading) to 800/800 after taking a month-long class, most of which entailed practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'd recommend you find out whether she prefers SAT or ACT first before developing a path forward plan. You can easily do it from home if she is willing to commit a few hours.

Agree with the above poster. My DC did the CE course and in hindsight, I'd have to give them a neutral rating. It helped, mostly by providing a structure, but I think that a private tutor was more effective in my DC's case by zeroing in on areas that needed the most help . If we had to do it over again, I'd determine ACT v. SAT first, then do some practice tests in a test-like environment to set baselines, self study, more practice tests, then go with some one-on-one tutoring (if necessary), and your DC can do most of the work on her own (and save you some major $). Also know that their scores naturally increase with time, which is why so many seniors take the OCT test of their senior year.

+1

Practice and familiarity are key. My son raised his SAT scores from 630/660 (Math/Critical Reading) to 800/800 after taking a month-long class, most of which entailed practice.

+1000

[Anonymous]

A strong student may not even need any formal prep (a class or tutoring). You might want to have her take free diagnostics (offered at a lot of schools or online from Princeton Review or Kaplan) and see how she does going in to it cold.

My kid is not a particularly great student and got a 30 on the ACT without looking at any prep materials (I know that is considered a poor score here, but it's a good score for a B student not targeting top 50 schools). Someone who already gets straight As could probably ace it by just taking a couple of time practice tests since it's more straightforward than the SAT.

[Anonymous]

I have heard good things about the free prep available on-line through Kahn Academy, but we have not tried it yet. Also, I keep hearing that the new SAT and ACT are similar enough now that prep for one helps with the other. (I'm sure this won't be the views of prep companies....) I've heard several people say that they plan to prep for the new SAT but also take the ACT "cold." This seems to be the approach our school is recommending

[Anonymous]

Maybe order the ACT materials online, if that's still available. It was the ACT "Plan". The name is now changed, it was the ACT version of the PSAT. I did this. Sent away for the materials, locked son in the quiet room at the library, timed it and scored it (kidding about locking him in!) Compared the results to the PSAT. He went with the ACT.