Anonymous
05/29/2026 20:59
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
2023-2024 cycle
Took PSAT in 10th and 11th- did ok, not great (1200ish score)
Prepped for SAT late fall/Winter break junior year and sat for the March exam. Score- 1500+
Re-take August before senior year. No improvement over the March score.
Looking back, August re-take was probably not necessary but at least it took care of the “what-if” second-guessing.
Took PSAT in 10th and 11th- did ok, not great (1200ish score)
Prepped for SAT late fall/Winter break junior year and sat for the March exam. Score- 1500+
Re-take August before senior year. No improvement over the March score.
Looking back, August re-take was probably not necessary but at least it took care of the “what-if” second-guessing.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 20:11
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Once at beginning of junior year and score was good enough to be considered for T10, so one and done.
What does this mean. Isn’t every applicant considered? Or did you mean accepted?
Anonymous
05/29/2026 19:29
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
2026 grad: PSAT October 2023, SAT August 2024, PSAT October 2024, SAT June 2025
2027 grad: PSAT October 2024, PSAT October 2025, SAT March 2026, trying to figure out best time to retake this fall.
2027 grad: PSAT October 2024, PSAT October 2025, SAT March 2026, trying to figure out best time to retake this fall.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 18:31
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Who says it's an aptitude test? They changed the test a bunch of times and renamed it, so now SAT is a Standardized Assessment Test. It is nothing like an IQ test. The point of it is to test grammar and reading comp and math skills through geometry and algebra II.
Ah, ok! I’ve been living in the past—SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test back in my day, then changed to Scholastic Assessment Test, and now apparently stands for nothing.
Of course it stands for something. It stands for how well you take the SAT. Wherever the bar is set, that is what a good student should do to clear it. All assessments, including grades, are a combination of talent, effort, and preparation. So, putting in effort and preparation are not a negative attribute, but the proper way to organize your life.
Should go back to aptitude. It is now a useless measure.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 18:29
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
DC took it twice. 1450 then 1560 and done. Once in the fall and once in the spring of junior year. From the math standpoint, he could have taken it at the end of freshman year, but do not underestimate all the growth they will have in English between sophomore and junior year. Taking AP Lang in junior year helps a lot on the verbal section. and it's harder to improve the verbal scores than to improve the math scores.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:52
Subject: Re:How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:SAT one time - 1590
PSAT in 9th, 10th and 11th. Aced the nmsqt- PSAT in 11th. A huge jump from 9th grade...went from mediocre to exceptional. Fed PSAT results from CollegeBoard to the Khan Academy website by linking the two and did the personalized study guide from Khan Academy to do targeted prep for PSAT and SAT.
Finished the nmsqt-PSAT and SAT at the beginning of 11th grade.
This sounds like a lot of prep. Does a high score accurately reflect aptitude if it requires prep to attain? Not throwing shade at your DC; genuinely wondering what the point of the SAT is.
Yes, lots of prep, planning, studying for him. Lots of involvement of the parents to support him in terms of sweat, time and money from k-12. Lots of effort to keep the household and family loving, healthy, functional, intact, connected, supportive, humming and happy. Lots of collaborative planning so that milestones and socializing, fun and travel, EC opportunities and internships were also not missed. Lots of attention to diet, sleep, mental, emotional and physical health. It was a lot of work. Not something that all parents and all households can do.
No shade taken. Who really knows what the rites of passage are anymore? I am sure the normies were having fun and looking forward to a bright and glorious future.
What is the point of SAT? I don't know. US education system is broken. What makes even less sense than SAT is the need for teacher recommendations. But that's another story.
Anyways, we are expats here. We don't know when rules will be changed for admissions so we made sure that the kid excelled in every criteria.
What did it get my kid? I don't know. How much of magic can happen just because he clicked the "Link to Khan Academy" button on the CollegeBoard website? 8K in NMS scholarship and 50K tuition for 4 years? A double major and 0 student debt? International trips with friends and his girlfriend? 3 well paying internships - that made him 50K richer when he left college? 1 great tech job paying 200K, 50K signing bonus, a job offered to him by the dint of his internship performance? Who knows.
We are talking about butterfly effect here. It is all a mystery to me. The very first internship and research experience as a college freshman did look at the SAT scores, but later on it was just college GPA, coursework, internship experience, coding and engineering challenges etc.
Maybe SAT is used to just winnow the minnows? 🐟 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
My minnow got the same score with no prep, so 🤷🏻♀️.
Wow! Then your minnow is basically an amazing 🐡. A stealth overachiever. A true genius. Bravo!!
I wish! But no, I don’t think the score says anything of the kind. It checks a box on college apps, that’s all.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:44
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Once at beginning of junior year and score was good enough to be considered for T10, so one and done.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:43
Subject: Re:How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:SAT one time - 1590
PSAT in 9th, 10th and 11th. Aced the nmsqt- PSAT in 11th. A huge jump from 9th grade...went from mediocre to exceptional. Fed PSAT results from CollegeBoard to the Khan Academy website by linking the two and did the personalized study guide from Khan Academy to do targeted prep for PSAT and SAT.
Finished the nmsqt-PSAT and SAT at the beginning of 11th grade.
This sounds like a lot of prep. Does a high score accurately reflect aptitude if it requires prep to attain? Not throwing shade at your DC; genuinely wondering what the point of the SAT is.
Yes, lots of prep, planning, studying for him. Lots of involvement of the parents to support him in terms of sweat, time and money from k-12. Lots of effort to keep the household and family loving, healthy, functional, intact, connected, supportive, humming and happy. Lots of collaborative planning so that milestones and socializing, fun and travel, EC opportunities and internships were also not missed. Lots of attention to diet, sleep, mental, emotional and physical health. It was a lot of work. Not something that all parents and all households can do.
No shade taken. Who really knows what the rites of passage are anymore? I am sure the normies were having fun and looking forward to a bright and glorious future.
What is the point of SAT? I don't know. US education system is broken. What makes even less sense than SAT is the need for teacher recommendations. But that's another story.
Anyways, we are expats here. We don't know when rules will be changed for admissions so we made sure that the kid excelled in every criteria.
What did it get my kid? I don't know. How much of magic can happen just because he clicked the "Link to Khan Academy" button on the CollegeBoard website? 8K in NMS scholarship and 50K tuition for 4 years? A double major and 0 student debt? International trips with friends and his girlfriend? 3 well paying internships - that made him 50K richer when he left college? 1 great tech job paying 200K, 50K signing bonus, a job offered to him by the dint of his internship performance? Who knows.
We are talking about butterfly effect here. It is all a mystery to me. The very first internship and research experience as a college freshman did look at the SAT scores, but later on it was just college GPA, coursework, internship experience, coding and engineering challenges etc.
Maybe SAT is used to just winnow the minnows? 🐟 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
My minnow got the same score with no prep, so 🤷🏻♀️.
Wow! Then your minnow is basically an amazing 🐡. A stealth overachiever. A true genius. Bravo!!
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:40
Subject: Re:How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:SAT one time - 1590
PSAT in 9th, 10th and 11th. Aced the nmsqt- PSAT in 11th. A huge jump from 9th grade...went from mediocre to exceptional. Fed PSAT results from CollegeBoard to the Khan Academy website by linking the two and did the personalized study guide from Khan Academy to do targeted prep for PSAT and SAT.
Finished the nmsqt-PSAT and SAT at the beginning of 11th grade.
This sounds like a lot of prep. Does a high score accurately reflect aptitude if it requires prep to attain? Not throwing shade at your DC; genuinely wondering what the point of the SAT is.
Yes, lots of prep, planning, studying for him. Lots of involvement of the parents to support him in terms of sweat, time and money from k-12. Lots of effort to keep the household and family loving, healthy, functional, intact, connected, supportive, humming and happy. Lots of collaborative planning so that milestones and socializing, fun and travel, EC opportunities and internships were also not missed. Lots of attention to diet, sleep, mental, emotional and physical health. It was a lot of work. Not something that all parents and all households can do.
No shade taken. Who really knows what the rites of passage are anymore? I am sure the normies were having fun and looking forward to a bright and glorious future.
What is the point of SAT? I don't know. US education system is broken. What makes even less sense than SAT is the need for teacher recommendations. But that's another story.
Anyways, we are expats here. We don't know when rules will be changed for admissions so we made sure that the kid excelled in every criteria.
What did it get my kid? I don't know. How much of magic can happen just because he clicked the "Link to Khan Academy" button on the CollegeBoard website? 8K in NMS scholarship and 50K tuition for 4 years? A double major and 0 student debt? International trips with friends and his girlfriend? 3 well paying internships - that made him 50K richer when he left college? 1 great tech job paying 200K, 50K signing bonus, a job offered to him by the dint of his internship performance? Who knows.
We are talking about butterfly effect here. It is all a mystery to me. The very first internship and research experience as a college freshman did look at the SAT scores, but later on it was just college GPA, coursework, internship experience, coding and engineering challenges etc.
Maybe SAT is used to just winnow the minnows? 🐟 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
My minnow got the same score with no prep, so 🤷🏻♀️.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:26
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
August before junior year, after Algebra 2/trig in 10th. One and done, fortunately. Very nice not to have more studying and SAT taking during the heavy load of junior year.
You want to have solidly finished Algebra 2, so only take in 10th if your kid has already completed geometry and algebra 2 by the end of 9th.
You want to have solidly finished Algebra 2, so only take in 10th if your kid has already completed geometry and algebra 2 by the end of 9th.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:20
Subject: Re:How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:SAT one time - 1590
PSAT in 9th, 10th and 11th. Aced the nmsqt- PSAT in 11th. A huge jump from 9th grade...went from mediocre to exceptional. Fed PSAT results from CollegeBoard to the Khan Academy website by linking the two and did the personalized study guide from Khan Academy to do targeted prep for PSAT and SAT.
Finished the nmsqt-PSAT and SAT at the beginning of 11th grade.
This sounds like a lot of prep. Does a high score accurately reflect aptitude if it requires prep to attain? Not throwing shade at your DC; genuinely wondering what the point of the SAT is.
Yes, lots of prep, planning, studying for him. Lots of involvement of the parents to support him in terms of sweat, time and money from k-12. Lots of effort to keep the household and family loving, healthy, functional, intact, connected, supportive, humming and happy. Lots of collaborative planning so that milestones and socializing, fun and travel, EC opportunities and internships were also not missed. Lots of attention to diet, sleep, mental, emotional and physical health. It was a lot of work. Not something that all parents and all households can do.
No shade taken. Who really knows what the rites of passage are anymore? I am sure the normies were having fun and looking forward to a bright and glorious future.
What is the point of SAT? I don't know. US education system is broken. What makes even less sense than SAT is the need for teacher recommendations. But that's another story.
Anyways, we are expats here. We don't know when rules will be changed for admissions so we made sure that the kid excelled in every criteria.
What did it get my kid? I don't know. How much of magic can happen just because he clicked the "Link to Khan Academy" button on the CollegeBoard website? 8K in NMS scholarship and 50K tuition for 4 years? A double major and 0 student debt? International trips with friends and his girlfriend? 3 well paying internships - that made him 50K richer when he left college? 1 great tech job paying 200K, 50K signing bonus, a job offered to him by the dint of his internship performance? Who knows.
We are talking about butterfly effect here. It is all a mystery to me. The very first internship and research experience as a college freshman did look at the SAT scores, but later on it was just college GPA, coursework, internship experience, coding and engineering challenges etc.
Maybe SAT is used to just winnow the minnows? 🐟 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
Anonymous
05/29/2026 17:04
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Once at the end of junior year (missed the school SAT day). 1550, so it's one and done I guess. Booked a spot for the June testing date but canceled it.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 16:57
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:2 times. Once during 2021 and then twice in 2022. Took calc as a freshman. Did not study at all for test 1 and got a 1390, because he forgot some of the math he learned in 6th-7th grade and was careless on the reading. Went over khan academy a few times and second test got a 1560 (760 Reading, 800 Math).
This happened to our DC too. If the last time they took SAT math was five years ago, best to review first!
Anonymous
05/29/2026 16:52
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Who says it's an aptitude test? They changed the test a bunch of times and renamed it, so now SAT is a Standardized Assessment Test. It is nothing like an IQ test. The point of it is to test grammar and reading comp and math skills through geometry and algebra II.
Ah, ok! I’ve been living in the past—SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test back in my day, then changed to Scholastic Assessment Test, and now apparently stands for nothing.
Of course it stands for something. It stands for how well you take the SAT. Wherever the bar is set, that is what a good student should do to clear it. All assessments, including grades, are a combination of talent, effort, and preparation. So, putting in effort and preparation are not a negative attribute, but the proper way to organize your life.
No, I meant the acronym literally doesn’t stand for anything anymore, according to College Board! The test is just called SAT without any long form version of the acronym.
Anonymous
05/29/2026 16:50
Subject: How many times did you child take the SATs and what years?
It exists because nothing is standardized in college admissions so we need something to compare students who have very different readiness for college. That said, from my experience, a high score is necessary but not sufficient to get into selective college these days because all of the selective colleges practice holistic admissions. So, it doesn't count for much.