For best results, we recommend the following timelines. You can follow the one for the SAT, the ACT, or combine the two until you identify which test format works best for you.
The SAT Preparation Timeline
1. Take the PSAT 8/9 in your freshman year and the PSAT 10 as a sophomore to get used to standardized testing.
2. In the summer before your junior year, take a practice SAT to learn your baseline score. This test can be something you administer yourself at home, or you can attend a formal practice test at a prep center (Princeton Review offers free, proctored paper-and-pencil practice tests).
3. Study to take the official SAT for the first time in the fall of your junior year. This usually means an October or November test date.
4. Sit for the PSAT/NMSQT as a junior. If possible, aim to complete your SAT preparation before the PSAT/NMSQT test date to increase your chances of qualifying for a National Merit Scholarship.
5. If you’re not happy with your first score, study to take the SAT again your junior spring.
6. If your score still needs some work, prepare to take the SAT one final time in late summer/early fall of your senior year.
The ACT Preparation Timeline
1. Take the PreACT in your sophomore year to get used to standardized testing.
2. In the summer before your junior year, take a practice ACT to learn your baseline score. This test can be something you administer yourself at home, or you can attend a formal practice test at a prep center (Princeton Review offers free, proctored paper-and-pencil practice tests).
3. Study to take the official ACT for the first time in the fall of your junior year. This usually means an October or November test date.
4. Sit for the PSAT/NMSQT as a junior if you want to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. You should do some PSAT specific studying if you’re aiming for National Merit status, as the PSAT is different in structure and content from the ACT.
5. If you’re not happy with your first score, study to take the ACT again your junior spring.
6. If your score still needs some work, prepare to take the ACT one final time in the summer before your senior year.
Only take the SAT or ACT in your senior year if you are sure your score will increase substantially. Typically, we recommend finishing up your testing before then just because this time tends to be busy with other college application tasks.
Remember that these are just guidelines. If you have extenuating circumstances, when to take the SAT or ACT could be a little different for you. It may make sense for you to skip some of these steps or move your timeline around a bit. For example, if you have substantial commitments your junior year, consider taking your exam at the very end of sophomore year. Or, if you take an SAT practice test and discover it’s not for you, try the ACT instead.
Whatever approach you take, we strongly recommend against sitting for the SAT or ACT more than three times. You are unlikely to see substantial increases in your score after three attempts.
Last Tip: Recognize that studying for the SAT or ACT is a serious commitment. The more focused you are during your preparation the first time around, the less likely you are to have to take it a second or third time. You save a lot of time and stress in the long run by setting aside two or three months and studying intensively up front. For more tips on how to build the best prep schedule, check out 10 Tips to Prepare for the SAT and What Parents Need to Know about SAT and ACT Studying Prep.
Is There Such a Thing As Taking the SAT or ACT Too Late?
There IS actually such a thing as taking the SAT or ACT too early. When to take the SAT or ACT is due to a couple of different factors.
It’s important for you to become very familiar with the content of these standardized tests, and your high school curriculum will cover it over the course of all four years. So, if you take the SAT or ACT early in your high school years, you are missing out on a lot of prep that your peers will get in class.
Additionally, admissions officers tend to not like seeing students take the tests too many times. In general, the greatest score increases are between your first and second test. Just because you take the test seven times, it doesn’t mean your score will continue to get higher. We recommend that in general, three test administrations is the most you should take.
Instead of starting to take the SAT or ACT extra early, we recommend that you get the ball rolling by taking the PSAT or PreACT in your sophomore year. This way, you have some background on these standardized tests before you actually take your first one.
Then, the summer before your junior year, study for the real SAT or ACT, so you can take the test in the fall. This will give you ample time to retake the test in the spring or summer, if needed, and help you avoid having to test during college applications season in the fall of your senior year.
If you want to aim for National Merit Semifinalist status, granted to the top 1% scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT, you should factor in studying for the PSAT the summer before your junior year. This will in turn help you study for the SAT. For more on the PSAT, check out our posts What Does My PSAT Score Mean? and How to Qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Is There Such a Thing As Taking the SAT or ACT Too Late?
Sorry to break it to you, but if you came to this post as a senior looking for reassurance about not taking your tests yet, you came to the wrong post. There absolutely IS such a thing as taking your tests too late, and if you haven’t taken them yet and your senior year is well underway, you’re late to the game. That being said, there’s still time to register for December test dates and if you prepare well and apply regular decision, you just might sneak out a victory.
If you’re planning for the future, though, first and foremost you need to consider application and scholarship deadlines in advance. Keep in mind that some schools even request that you don’t apply until you’ve taken your tests. Even if you have time before these deadlines, if you wait until the last possible test administration date, you won’t have the chance to retake them. This would be a loss since most students experience the greatest increase in scores between the first and second test administration, mostly due to a decrease in stress, better preparation, or more familiarity with the test.
In general, if you are applying Early Decision, you need to plan on taking your final round of standardized tests no later than the October or November administration deadlines during your senior year of high school. In 2020-21, these test dates are October 24, 2020, for the ACT and November 7, 2020, for the SAT. If you are applying Regular Decision, your application deadline is likely December or January, with your final chance for an SAT test is December 5, 2020, and for an ACT exam is December 12, 2020.
Preparing for the SAT? Download our free guide with our top 8 tips for mastering the SAT.
To learn more about the SAT and ACT, check out these CollegeVine posts:
- ACT vs SAT/SAT Subject Tests
- What’s a Good SAT Score?
- PSAT to SAT Score Conversion: Predict Your Score
- ACT Score Range: What is a good ACT score? A bad ACT score?
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