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Northeastmom
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 514 |
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Posted: Sun Jan 27th, 2008 01:24 pm |
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| Thank you for all the helpful advice. I might have my son wait until December of Junior year. I really don't want to put it off until much later because of possiblities like the one scoops mentions, and especially possibilities of illness on the test date (older son was ill during his soph. PSAT). My son will take trig and precalc as a junior. He will have completed Algebra I and II, and Geometry at the end of his sophomore year. I guess if the ACT has some trig questions, it is better to wait. He did take the PLAN, but his hs has not given us his scores yet. He also took that PSAT, and he felt more comfortable with the ACT practice test. Last edited on Sun Jan 27th, 2008 01:26 pm by Northeastmom
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globetrotter
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| Joined: | Sun Jan 20th, 2008 |
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Posted: Sun Jan 27th, 2008 03:52 pm |
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Thanks, everyone. This is so helpful. I am putting together all this useful information to plan for next year. What a great resource this is!
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Lderochi
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Posted: Mon Jan 28th, 2008 07:55 pm |
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Just waxing nostalgic on how times have changed. I took the ACT in October of my Senior Year and didn't get around to the SAT until the mid-November sitting of my Senior Year. Taking the SAT was so unusual in our neck of the woods that I had to drag my butt out of bed at some ungodly hour on Saturday morning and drive an hour and a half to Tulane. All this after a Friday night football game that resulted in a big win which (of course) required a celebration at the local disco that never required an ID card. My story, and I'm sticking to it, is that these circumstances directly caused me to get an SAT score that couldn't get me admitted to the local community college these days.
And my parents never batted an eye! What's happened to us parents (me included, believe me)! 
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DesperateDad
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 846 |
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Posted: Mon Jan 28th, 2008 09:42 pm |
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Ld:
your post brought back memories of kids in my class would take the SAT & Achievment tests on the same day, and just party during lunch break. (Back in the dark ages, the Achievement Tests were only offered in the afternoon.)
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Chedva
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Posted: Mon Jan 28th, 2008 10:22 pm |
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| And in my day, we thought ACT was something you did on stage. Never heard of it as a test.
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Jan 29th, 2008 12:48 pm |
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| Lderochi, times have changed. I do know of one student who refused to go to school on a weekend, so he did not take the SAT. Truly, he did not take the SAT for this reason. He still went to a 4 year college. He found out that one could get in through the back door by taking a course or two as a non-matriculating student. He did that and got a couple of Bs (lived off campus). He then applied to the college without standardized test scores and was admitted. This student is the type of person who very much marches to this own drummer. Last edited on Tue Jan 29th, 2008 12:49 pm by Northeastmom
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Momof3
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 09:44 am |
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My son's catholic school encouraged the ACT very much when he was in high school. A lot of students found it easier and did well enough to just submit that. My son didn't do much better, but he said it was because a lot of geometry was on it and he hadn't taken it for 2 years. (of course he didn't review much either)
I think it's a great alternative and I liked how you didn't have to report your scores.
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Deja
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 10:50 am |
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My jr son decided to take the SAT in January and March (yes, without knowing his Jan scores yet he turned around and registered for the March test administration). Thank goodness he took that SAT in January! Turns out he can't make that March test because they changed the date of the District Debate tournament to that weekend. Since he's taking 5 AP exams in May, I think taking the SAT on May 3 would be just too much (plus, he might be in the school play that is that weekend). And then on June 7 he'll be taking three SAT2 tests.
He did very well on the January SAT (2270 total score, all parts over 700). Some say he shouldn't touch that test again, but he might anyway. After all, what does he have to lose with superscoring? And he will need merit money to attend some private colleges, so it might be important. So maybe he'll take it in the fall. We haven't decided about the ACT, but he probably won't take it. He couldn't take the April test administration because there might be a conflict on that date.
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Fireflyscout
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 08:55 pm |
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The only reason I can think to take the SAT again with a 2270 score is to try for the Presidential Scholar program, which would probably require a 2400.
My daughter had a 2250, and she received plenty of college scholarship offers.
Son has decided to take the ACT because it is "less annoying". He prefers a format that doesn't jump from one topic to another and back again. He's also scoring better on practice tests, so it looks good.
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DesperateDad
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 12:21 am |
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deja:
if he does decide to take it again in the fall, you might consider sending all score reports out to colleges prior to the fall test. That way, you and he get to see the fall scores first and no one else. If he betters his first score, you'll have the additional expense to resend, but if he doesn't better his first score, you do not resend, and colleges end up with his best effort. Kinda of a backwards way to use score choice on SAT.
Last edited on Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 12:22 am by DesperateDad
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Consolation
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 04:15 am |
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Fireflyscout wrote: The only reason I can think to take the SAT again with a 2270 score is to try for the Presidential Scholar program, which would probably require a 2400.
It really depends where you live. Since the PS nomination depends only on one sitting, and only on CR and M, you don't have to have a 2400 to be nominated. Mine didn't, and he's a nominee.
Although 2270 is certainly a wonderful score, it is true that if you child is aiming at highly selective schools more points can't hurt, and with superscoring there's nothing to lose except a Saturday morning. For me, it really depends whether the kid finds SATs to be a major trial--some just roll out of bed and show up.
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Alumother
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 02:55 pm |
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Deja -My thoughts on SAT retakes.
1. If your son wants to retake, he should do it.
2. If your son really feels that one of his scores misrepresents him, i.e. he's the best math student in school and for some reason his math score is 700 while his CR is 780, he should retake.
3. If your son's grades are the highest of high, i.e. he's a 4.0UW in as many APs as they have etc., then you want the SATs to be in that same stratosphere, so retake. The SATs over 2300, where all scores are over 750, may change his category for acceptance.
4. If your son's grades are in the B+ category, his SATs already show that he could um, be underachieving in school a wee bit already, so IMO an increase in SATs doesn't move him out of the category he's already in.
5. Again, all else aside, if he wants to retake, let him have at it.
Last edited on Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 02:56 pm by Alumother
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Deja
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Posted: Sun Feb 24th, 2008 11:31 am |
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Thanks so much, everyone. DesperateDad, great advice about sending score reports to colleges before he retakes the SAT in the fall (that's assuming he's decided on his final list by then, but I'm pretty sure he will be pretty certain about most on his list).
No, his scores aren't out of line with what we expected. It's more of a case of his wanting a certain score on CR. Since his highest score was in Writing (the one that colleges usually don't consider), he wants his CR/M total to be a little higher, to be in the top category for scholarships at many (most?) colleges.
He doesn't mind taking standardized tests. This is a boy who took the last administration of the old SAT in Jan 2005 when he was in 8th grade "for fun."
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