When do you take the ACT,PSAT,SAT,SAT ll? 9th Grader here?

Question

I want to prepare for these tests as early as possible in order to familiarize myself so as to lessen anxiety and shitting involuntarily...

Things i want to know:

1) When do i take them? Time table and Grade Level

2) How do i prepare for them? Books,Classes etc.

3) General Advice (Anything)

Thank you mighty oracles of Y!A!

Answer 1

1) PSAT you take in spring of tenth grade, and sometimes again in the fall of eleventh grade, if you want extra practice.

SAT you take in the spring of Junior year, and then again in fall of Senior year if you want to try and get higher scores. SAT II and ACT can also be taken in spring of Junior year. It is not necessary to take SAT II, or ACT if you have taken the SAT. ACT focuses on more topics, so some people find it easier to take.

2) You can find prep books on Amazon.com or at any local bookstore that help prepare you for any of the tests. Some schools offer a class to prepare yourself for the SATs, so check with your guidance counselor. However, these classes sometimes require a fee.

3) If I were you, I wouldn't worry much. PSAT doesn't count for anything at all, it's just practice so if you don't get the scores you want don't freak out when it is time to take SATs.

Honestly, I didn't study at all for SATs, didn't go back to check my answers... and I did perfectly fine.

Answer 2

PSAT in 11th grade (beginning of)

SAT in 11th grade/12 grade (you choose which month is best for you)

SAT 2's whenever because they are subject tests.

buy the books. Kaplan/Princeton Review/Barron's.

Answer 3

Let's tackle these in order:

1) When to take 'em:

PSAT:  taken the fall of 10th grade year at SOME schools, but taken the fall of 11th grade at ALL schools.  Only the 11th grade PSAT counts towards National Merit Scholarships which are a great thing to put on your college applications.

SAT: you can take this any time, but be warned, everytime you take it, the scores will be on the report (you don't get to pick or choose, as I recall).  MOST students take this in the Spring of their Junior year, but you can take it earlier.  MANY students take it AGAIN in the Fall of their Senior year.

ACT: follows the same schedule as the SAT except that you can pick and choose which scores you want to send to colleges.

SAT II: now called SAT Subject Tests.  You can take these everytime the SAT is offered except for the March/April administration.  You cannot take the SAT and the SAT Subject tests in the same day.  MOST students take this in June b/c it coincides with the finals of the subject they're taking the test in (i.e. SAT Biology test in June b/c they are taking Bio in school).  You can take it anytime, though.

2) Advice?

Prepare for 'em.  As with anything, practice makes perfect so I'd buy the official guide for any test you're going to take (College Board for SAT and Peterson's Real ACT Guide for the ACT).  Once you've got the books, now you've got to figure out how motivated are you?  Do you like picking up the New York Times Sunday crossword and diligently do the puzzle a little bit each day until you can check the answers next Sunday?  If you're that guy, then online courses and books will work for you; if not, then take a paid class.

My suggestion is www.MyStudentEdge.com (it's powered by Peterson's).  It's a free test preparation and college planning website.  You'll need to register as a new user (use access code: XULGFRAD).

3. And what else..?

Take a few practice tests on MyStudentEdge.com and see where you're scoring.  Certainly test preparation helps, but there's a limit to how much it can help your score.  If you're scoring 1500 and you need a 2100 to get into a school, that's probably a long shot and you should look at different schools - ones that have average scores of 1800.

Good luck!