College Prep Timeline

A guide for when to prepare for admissions tests.

Parents frequently ask me when the best time is to prepare for the SAT and ACT.  Typically, the best time to prepare is during the Summer before or early during your child's junior year.  In an attempt to provide useful info, here are some suggestions to help juniors decide the best times for them to get started preparing for these tests and for selecting the right college:

11TH GRADE

  

• TAKE A PSAT/SAT PREP PROGRAM DURING THE SUMMER BEFORE OR IN THE EARLY FALL OF 11TH GRADE.
• TAKE PSAT TEST IN FALL. THE PSAT HAS 2 PURPOSES: 1) QUALIFIES STUDENTS FOR NATIONAL MERIT AWARDS AND 2) PRACTICE-STUDENTS BECOME MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE TEST AND GET FEEDBACK ON WHERE THEY STAND.
• EVALUATE PSAT RESULTS AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE.
• TAKE AN SAT AND/OR ACT PREP COURSE IN THE EARLY SPRING.
• TAKE THE SAT AND ACT.
• EVALUATE RESULTS. TAKE ANOTHER TEST IN THE LATE SPRING IF THERE IS STILL TIME AND IF YOU NEED A HIGHER SCORE.
• START COLLECTING INFORMATION ON COLLEGES.
• ATTEND AVAILABLE COLLEGE FAIRS.
• BEGIN TAKING COLLEGE VISITS.
• TAKE SAT SUBJECT TESTS IF NECESSARY. THESE ARE SPECIFIC TESTS TYPICALLY REQUIRED AT HIGHLY COMPETITIVE COLLEGES.

For the full timeline for all high school grades, please visit http://knowledgeguides.net/Suggested_Activities_for_each_Grade