The Best Time to Begin SAT Prep
“When should I sign up my son/daughter for SAT prep?”
That is one of the most common questions parents have asked me in my 18+ years of SAT prep tutoring. Based on my experience, the best time to begin is shortly after students have taken their 10th grade PSAT exams in school.
Over the years, I have had students who began their studies with me in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, and let me share some personal insights into why I recommend students begin their SAT prep studies with me in the fall/winter of their sophomore years.
Parents who wanted to have their kids get a head start on their studies signed them up in their 9th grade year. Though the intent is admirable, the reality in most cases is that students lack any real urgency to study diligently at that grade. They just got into high school and are busying adjusting to their new schools, new classes, new friends, and just the overall culture of a new place called high school. Naturally, their focus will be on getting adjusted to their new environments and figuring out their new routines, not SAT studies. For this reason, I don’t recommend starting SAT studies in 9th grade for most students. Having said that, there have been a small number of students who were exceptions. These students had already taken the SAT exam in middle school for such programs as CTY (Center for Talented Youth) at Johns Hopkins University. They scored in the mid to high 1300s, or higher, on their SAT exams and wanted to complete their high school SAT exams early. Those students have been success stories because their motivation and competency levels were high, even as 9th graders.
Students who begin with me in the middle of their junior years must rush their studies and do not get adequate time to prepare because they have college application deadlines awaiting them in November. Students who come to me at the beginning of their junior years are in a much better situation, but because I usually have a waiting list, it’s often not possible for students to begin as soon as they want.
The best-case scenario is when a parent fills out the waitlist form on my website as soon as their child begins 10th grade. After the student takes the PSAT exam in October, our studies begin. At this stage of a high school student’s life, he/she is usually properly motivated to do well on the SAT exam and has the maturity and discipline (for the most part) to put in a sincere effort in his/her studies.
As I’ve already written about in a previous article, merely taking numerous SAT practice tests DOES NOT raise scores. This is perhaps the biggest myth surrounding SAT prep. Please do not be fooled into thinking that busyness results in improvement. Effective SAT prep (the kind that significantly raises scores) takes time and an unorthodox process that has a proven track record. On average, my students study with me for about a year. Beginning SAT prep studies in the fall/winter of sophomore year ensures sufficient time to study and prepare adequately for this critical test in a high school student’s life.
If you have further questions or want more details, please feel free to visit my website at www.ckeducation.org.
