What is SAT II? The subject tests?

We started with the SAT, set a goal and if he scored that or higher, he was one and done.

He was one and done.

We brought out son to Prepmatters and had him take mock tests for free. He took both the ACT and the SAT. He scored a little better on the ACT so he decided to go that way. End of story.

Also, if your kid has any accommodations for extra time, generally the ACT is the better test because time is really the toughest factor in doing well on the test.

We had each of our kids take one practice test of each. We let them choose. They considered the difference in scores between tests but also definitely felt the difference between the two and were able to gauge which one they were more comfortable with. For DS, it was the SAT. For DD, it was the ACT. It worked out well for both of them.

Anonymous wrote:Do one practice of each.

Yes. Buy a book with practice exams and administer to your child under test conditions. Don't have them take an actual exam for practice, just in case they wind up wanting to apply to a school that requires submission of all results.

Anonymous wrote:We trusted the decision to my son's SAT/ACT tutor.

After having known my son for years (he'd tutored him in English, as well) he thought the ACT would be a better choice and prepared for that one.

Turns out we were probably wrong but the reasons were good and that's how life goes. His scores were plenty good enough to get what he wanted in terms of college admission without ever studying for or taking the other test.

LOL

First response: “from our private tutor we paid thousands for.”

Serious entitled prestige on this board.

Anonymous wrote:We trusted the decision to my son's SAT/ACT tutor.

After having known my son for years (he'd tutored him in English, as well) he thought the ACT would be a better choice and prepared for that one.

Turns out we were probably wrong but the reasons were good and that's how life goes. His scores were plenty good enough to get what he wanted in terms of college admission without ever studying for or taking the other test.

"You had your son tutored for years! All to get scores that he couldn't on his own. What a grind. You and your son must be Asian-Americans" - so say some DCUM commenters. Their DCs are all well rounded, learning leadership skills through sports, will go to HYPSM no less, and one day will become CEOs for whom your son will work. Educated and yet lacking in knowledge bunch!

Do one practice of each.

Tests are meaningless. Kid got a 2310 and didn't get in anywhere competitive

DC decided to take the SAT first based on his pretty good PSAT score. If your kid doesn't have a good PSAT score, then try a timed practice ACT to see what the baseline is and go from there. Some kids do about the same on both tests and it will be a toss-up.

As it turns out, DC did a little better on the ACT, but he didn't really do any prep for either of them - just took them one time each after a practice test that turned out pretty well. It doesn't have to be an agonizing decision or involve a lot of prep. See where your kid is before you automatically commit him to a ton of prep.

As for subject tests, it's hard to know before you have a general idea of what is going to be on the college list. My junior doesn't have a list yet, but he also probably doesn't have the grades to be competitive for the selective schools that requires/strongly recommend SAT subject tests.

At our school, in both 9th and 10th grade, they do versions of the PSAT so we already knew something about the SAT. No the information is not perfect but with the SAT redesign, the difference isn't as great as it once was either.

The summer before junior year our school gave a free ACT for kids who were around in August. Our DC did roughly the same so we didn't see a big benefit one way or the other.

11th grade PSAT was more practice, then a prep class and a big improvement on a first SAT attempt led us to one and done.

In the end the deciding factor was that we felt our DC's SAT score matched their grades when we plotted them on naviance for several desirable schools.

And search DCUM. Hundreds of threads on this topic, I am sure.

1. Find out whether your DC is a SAT kid or an ACT kid. Have her spend a week studying SAT and take the SAT mock exam (using real retired SAT exam). Do the same for ACT. Compare scores and see which exam she feels more comfy

2. Summer after 10th grade is good time to start getting ready

3. SAT II are recommended/required for top tier schools. You need to look at each school's admin requirements. "Recommend" means your DC should take it

We trusted the decision to my son's SAT/ACT tutor.

After having known my son for years (he'd tutored him in English, as well) he thought the ACT would be a better choice and prepared for that one.

Turns out we were probably wrong but the reasons were good and that's how life goes. His scores were plenty good enough to get what he wanted in terms of college admission without ever studying for or taking the other test.

How do you decide? Do you take each multiple times? Starting when? How do you decide on whether to take the specialized subject test?