How Long Does It Take to Study for the DSAT or ACT?
This is one of those questions I hear frequently from parents whose first kid is going through the college process. Just a few weeks ago, in fact, someone asked it during the Q&A portion of a presentation I gave at a high school. And boy do I wish there were a a one-size-fits-all answer I could provide!
Unfortunately, as I have to tell the people who ask it, this question is no less complex and case-dependent as almost everything else in the standardized testing process! Nonetheless, there are a few basic “if….then” guidelines that apply to most if not all cases. Today I’m going to share those with you so that you know how much of your Digital SAT or ACT testing timeline to dedicate to actually studying for the SAT or ACT.
Article Contents
1. Watch this article as a video
2. What determines your DSAT or ACT study timeline?
b. How much do you want to increase your score?
c. Is your goal a perfect score?
3. Other factors that impact how long your DSAT or ACT prep will take
4. Conclusion
Watch this article as a video:
What to consider when making your DSAT or ACT study timeline
These three questions are the most important factors in figuring out how long you should study:
What score am I starting from?
By how many points do I need to improve to get to my Target Score?
Am I aiming for a perfect score (or something close to it)?
Your Initial Score Affects How Long You Study for Standardized Tests
The reason is straightforward: your starting score generally tells us a lot about how much foundational knowledge and skills you currently have to work with. As in, do you understand how numbers and grammar work, and do you understand what you read in a passage or a two-way table or chart?
After you learn how to set up a math problem about rates to solve, can you then solve the equation to get to your answer, or do I first need to teach you HOW to solve a two-step equation? And furthermore, before teaching you HOW to solve a 2-step equation, am I going to need to backtrack and teach you how to add and subtract fractions in the first place and then do order of operations to THEN solve said equation?
When it comes to reading comprehension, do you basically understand the sentences you read and merely need help with passage strategy and question strategy…or do we first need to get you on a “reading diet” so you can grasp the actual content of a passage within the time limit?
If you’re learning grammar rules, and I’m teaching you about how to combine two complete clauses, is that enough? Or do I need to backtrack to explain what a “clause” is in the first place…and perhaps backtrack further to explain what a “subject” and a “verb” are, too?
In other words, if I’m teaching you to build a house, can I give you directions about “sawing off a 2x4 wooden beam and hammering it to another”? Or do I first need to teach you how to hold a saw and what a nail and hammer even are?
If you need to learn the very very basics first, that will take considerably more time to prep before we can even BEGIN to learn the actual concepts and strategies to improve your score! Thus, your starting score could easily add a few months to your prep time.
For instance, if you’re starting below an ACT composite score of 22 or a DSAT score of 1100, you probably need to factor in about 3 months MORE prep time to learn the basics…and then continue prepping to actually learn the new concepts.
SAT and ACT study plan: By how much do you want to increase your score?
The more you need to improve to hit your target score, the more time it’ll take you to prep to get there!
For instance, if you want to increase 3 ACT composite points or 100 DSAT points, that’ll typically take less time than it would to improve 6 ACT composite points or 200 DSAT points.
Depending on your starting point, the first example (3 ACT composite points / 100 DSAT points) could be a 1-3 month situation, while the latter (6 composite ACT points / 200 DSAT points) could take more like 3-6 months.
If you need to improve MORE than 6 ACT composite points / 200 Digital SAT points, you’re generally looking at 6+ months of test prep. As in, we should jump in right after Sophomore year ends and prep through til February/March as our first test date.
Is your goal a perfect score?
As you near the top of the curves on both the ACT and the DSAT, a funny thing happens: on one hand, each question starts to be worth more points. On the other hand, it does get harder and harder to get every SINGLE question correct, because there are so many miscellaneous topics one has to know cold that might not get tested on each test. You actually have to learn considerably more nuanced concepts and strategies, just to make sure you’re well versed in them all, so you can be prepared no matter what’s asked.
For example, in my experience (which is pretty extensive!), it’s easier to bump a student up from 1380 to 1520 on the SAT than it is to get a student from 1460 to 1600. Both are 140-point improvements. Both are starting at a pretty high level, and thus, we know both these students have got their foundations down pat. But the second kid is striving for PERFECTION, while the first kid just wants to improve 140 points and break 1500.
The first student needs to learn the concepts and strategies that consume the MOST number of points she missed on the test. Ideally, she’d learn as many concepts as possible, leaving room for errors. If she’s not the type of student to make errors on things she knows, then she could skip a few tricky miscellaneous topics that only show up on a test every once in a while. I’ve actually helped one student do this exact jump—1380 to 1520—with three intense WEEKS of private tutoring with me. And that’s what she needed to get an early acceptance to the University of Chicago.
However, a student starting at 1460 and aiming for a perfect 1600 would have to learn every single possible topic that MAY be asked, because the only way to guarantee you get a perfect score is to get every question correct.
Even if you’re aiming for a 1550+ on the DSAT or a 35+ on the ACT, that part of the scoring chart isn’t consistent, and you may have to take the test a few times—not just to get your top performance, but also to get a test that has a normal (more forgiving) curve at the top. You may miss 2 questions in the ACT science and get a perfect 36 on one test…and get a 32 on a test with a more punitive curve. Basically, you can’t control how the scoring guide is going to pan out…the only thing you can do is not leave any points on the table by making mistakes.
But, of course, these are broad strokes we’re painting in.
Other factors that impact how long your DSAT or ACT prep will take
There are SO many factors to consider beyond just your starting score, your desired improvement, and how close to perfect you’re aiming for. You also have to consider these:
Which type or types of questions did you miss on the SAT or ACT? Are they “improvable”?
What’s your junior year schedule like? Do you have a stretch of time when you can focus on test prep, or do you need to do a little bit over a longer period?
What are you currently learning in your math and English classes? Would starting test prep later allow you to learn more in school, so you don’t need to spend quite as long on test prep?
How long it takes you to study for the SAT or ACT is about what YOU need to nail your target score.
All these very personal factors and MORE are exactly the type of things I take into account when I make individual testing timelines for my students. I’ve given you quite a bit to work with. If you find you need more help, book an Ace the Test: Game Plan™, and I’ll streamline this process FOR you.
