When Should My Student Take The First SAT or ACT?
- betsygreaney
- Mar 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 20
Good test prep looks like a program that doesn’t interfere with the student’s life so that they can spend their time pursuing their unique interests and excelling in high school classes.
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What is a good time frame for my student?
A program should allow the student to work with his/her daily routine is optimum. Students should schedule their next SAT or ACT based on the time they have to prepare and when they have completed the necessary content in school. Remember, the ACT format changes in 2025, and the College Board is adding a September test date this year.
Can a student start a few weeks before the test to prepare?
Generally speaking, no. Study time will vary by student based on their focus, current score, academic skills, self-study or with an instructor, test prep tools, and internal motivation. Using the Fall Junior PSAT or a recent timed diagnostic test will tell the student how much "gas in the tank" they need for schools on their research list.
Recommended Study Time To Improve SAT Scores
0-30 points – 1 hour a week
30 – 70 points – 20 hours – or about 2 hours a week
70 – 130 points – 40 hours – 4 hours a week
130 – 200 points – 80 hours – 8 hours a week
What test-optional schools still have more than 70% of students submitting scores?
Test-optional comes in many different shapes and sizes. Students should review section C9 in a school's common data set to understand the percentage of enrolled students submitting scores. This information can be a wake-up call to those students thinking that test-optional is a strong pathway to admissions.
This quick sheet identifies the following information for state flagship universities:
Current test policy
Lower and upper range of scores for admitted students
% of students submitting scores
Of course, study time will vary by student based on their focus, current score and academic skills.
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