NEW SAT-REPORTING RULES
 The College Board has good news for juniors and younger students who will be taking the SAT in the future! Beginning with the official March 2009 score reports, you'll be able to select which SAT and Subject Test scores to send to colleges. Previously, you had no choice -- ALL of your scores would have been sent to colleges when you requested an official score report. A student had to be careful to avoid taking the SAT too many times or risking a low score, each of which could have a negative impact on college admissions. The SAT will now be on equal footing with the ACT, which has always allowed students to selectively send their best scores to colleges.
This new policy has a tremendous impact on your timing for both taking the SAT and preparing for it.
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Take your first SAT as a 2nd semester junior, after receiving your junior PSAT scores.
Most students took the SAT only 2 or 3 times: at the end of the junior year and again at the beginning of the senior year.
Most students did short-term preparation for just a couple of months before each test. |
Begin taking the SAT - and preparing for it -at the beginning of your junior year, starting with the October SAT.
Take the SAT several times during your junior year - and do long-term preparation to continually improve your scores. Re-test as a senior if you need higher scores.
A more precocious student can start this process at the end of 10th grade. |
You will no longer have to cram lots of test-prep hours into the few months immediately before an SAT. Rather, you can spread out your test-prep over your entire junior year, more comfortably building your skills and taking advantage of the positive benefits of long-term test preparation.
There are some nuances you'll have to be aware of - such as "opting into" this new SAT reporting service and making sure that your high-school transcript doesn't include scores you're not sending to colleges - so please check with your guidance counselor or your SAT tutor for more details.
Score At The Top Learning Centers offer workshops as well as private test-prep lessons throughout the year; our staff are ready to make a long-term commitment to you, making sure that you score at the top of your potential!
Special note to National Merit Scholarship contenders:
Take both the PSAT and SAT in October of your junior year. Start off with PSAT prep; transition to SAT prep immediately after the PSAT. That's a simple transition, as the PSAT comprises old SAT questions that have never been published. The PSAT and SAT test-taking strategies are the same; however, the SAT is a longer test that also includes some higher-level math problems and an essay.
For a schedule of our test-prep offerings
for the coming semester,
please go to our website:
www.ScoreAtTheTop.com. |
