When should I take my SAT 1, 2, ACT tests?
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If you aren’t sure where you want to go, take all three tests in the early fall of your senior year. You can take the tests more than once, but studies show that taking the test again does not dramatically increase the scores. Use the summer before your senior year to look into test prep books, etc. Make sure you are prepared the first time that you take it. You may want to take all three tests even if you think you know where you want to go just to make sure.
Good luck. You sound like a very bright and ambitious person.
The SAT Reasoning Test (SAT I) is a 3 hour long test where most people take it towards the end of junior year and the beginning of senior year. You can take the test up to three times, so it would be better to start taking the test early because if your not satisfied with yoru score, you could take it a second or third time to try and improve it.
The SAT Subject tests (SAT II) are tests which focus in specific subject areas such as English, Math, Science, History, and Foreign Language. There are also even more tests within each subject area. For instance, for Science there is the Physics Test, the Chemistry Test, and the Biology E/M Test. It would be best to take the SAT IIs right after you’ve completed the course because the material would still be fresh in your head.
Applying to college, most colleges require you to take the SAT I test and 2 or 3 SAT II tests. Keep in mind, when it comes to taking 2 or 3 SAT II tests, you would have to take 2 or 3 different subject areas. For example, having 2 tests, one from the English area and one from the History subject area. However, this shouldn’t limit you to what tests you take because you can take as many Subject tests you want and take them as many times as you want.
When it comes to the ACT, I don’t much about it but I think it’s similar to the SAT in length and difficulty. The only real difference is that the ACT does not have a written section.
I would recommend taking SAT 1 in January, then retaking it until you’re satisfied with your score.
Take SAT IIs right after you take the classes…I took mine in June. You don’t want to much time to elapse between when the material is fresh in your brain and when you take the test.