My child on the same MoCo math track also got a crazy low math score the first time. Before the second test two months later he reviewed the formulas, completed all of the math practice tests in the College Board book, and increased his score by 150+ points. Not 700 but good enough for a non stem student.

Anonymous wrote:Colleges these days are really looking for Physics and Calculus.

Depends on major and selectiveness of the university. HS graduates can still go to college (generally just below the top 100) having competed only Algebra 2 and w/out Physics. Op I know this is not your son's case, but in case others have a different level student. I like to correct this notion when I can ~

When to take the SAT's. Every 12 months adds 100 points, is hearsay - based on nothing more than maturity. Regardless if a qualifying score for a target college can be achieved early, all the betters

You already imparted that pearl of wisdom on the first page. Are there really a large pool of people who don't know that? That was true when I applied to college 30+ years ago too.

Colleges these days are really looking for Physics and Calculus.

Depends on major and selectiveness of the university. HS graduates can still go to college (generally just below the top 100) having competed only Algebra 2 and w/out Physics. Op I know this is not your son's case, but in case others have a different level student. I like to correct this notion when I can ~

When to take the SAT's. Every 12 months adds 100 points, is hearsay - based on nothing more than maturity. Regardless if a qualifying score for a target college can be achieved early, all the betters

I've heard that SAT math is about pre-calc level, at the highest. So if you're on to Calc B/C by the time you take the SATs, you may well have forgotten all that pre-calc and also the geometry you did the year before that. In this respect, at least, doing advanced math means you're not as fresh with these concepts for the SATs and review would be helpful.

To the PP who was surprised by taking SAT prep the summer before junior year, I think "ease up" may actually be the motivating strategy here. Lots of kids try to get SATs out of the way by spring of junior year, January if possible, by getting scores that are high enough for the target college. DC did this - scored well on the SATs taken January 2012, and was done with them. That way you can reduce SAT-related stress and spend senior year focusing on the application essays.

I've heard the same thing as PP about review courses: some prep companies make the tests super-hard so that you feel you got your money's worth when the actual SAT score comes in higher. I think once prep company was actually sued for this, because somebody was able to prove it. This says nothing, though, about whether other vendors continue to do the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the responses. DC will be a junior taking AP calculus. He hasn't actually sat for the SAT but has taken a couple of proctored practice tests this summer in a review course and has received about the same score each time. If the course does not help him to improve, I wonder if more targeted private tutoring would make a difference, or whether this is just going to be his weak suit? His verbal and writing scores are in the ballpark for the schools he thinks he wants to apply to, but not the math scores. Maybe continued good grades in advanced math (fingers crossed) will help offset the lower math scores? Thanks again for responding.

I have read that review courses have tests which score lower than actual SAT tests in order to make it seem like the courses were effective. Don't know if this is true, or just tinfoil hat stupidity, but it makes a sort of perverse sense.