Over the course of a dozen years of helping students achieve their highest possible scores on the ACT and SAT, I’ve seen both tests change a LOT. Today’s post is about one of the less cheery changes I’ve born witness to. Years ago, both tests’ calendars were arranged in such a way that students basically had to take a break from test prep in the summer. As soon as the early June SAT and ACT sittings ended, test prep season was over, and summer vacation was ON. Travel, internships, camp, summer jobs, and foreign travel—students were all but forced to have fun and pursue their passions without the cloud of test prep and the fear of falling behind hanging over them.
These days, however, things are different.
Unfortunately, today’s schedule simply doesn’t leave room for a break from testing. An SAT sitting is offered every 1-2 months (March, May, June, August, October, November, December), from the first test you take in the spring of junior year until you submit your final college application. This also goes for the ACT, which has test dates distributed evenly every 1-2 months year round (February, April, June, July, September, October, December).
So, this poses the question: if the Test Prep Fairy isn’t going to give me a real break, how can I take this darn test multiple times without totally burning out?
I’m glad you asked! Because, as YOUR Test Prep Fairy, I have some answers. You actually CAN make room for the mental break you need. It just means carefully and intentionally planning ahead. (And if you’ve read a couple of my blog posts, you’ve probably seen me say that planning is, in general, the key secret to staying sane through test prep and college applications. Of course, I know that’s easier said than done, especially without expert help!).
Here are some guidelines to help you out, pulled from my decade-plus of experience helping students grab their dream scores.
(If you make smart decisions about your time, you WILL have time for fun. I promise!)
How Many Test Sittings Should You Plan For?
For both the SAT and the ACT, plan for 2-3 sittings. This score is the most important standardized test score you'll send to any college, and between Super Scoring and improving your test-taking skills, three sittings can be worth it.
When Should You Start Taking the SAT or ACT?
I’ve dedicated a lot of blogging space to testing timelines—how to figure out your whoooole standardized testing schedule, from freshman year on. Here’s the most recent post, with four timelines depending on YOUR experience and needs. But here are some pointers for when to take these tests, with a specific eye towards avoiding burnout:
1) If you need extra time to learn all your content and strategies for the SAT or ACT, you may not want to start taking them at the first chance, in early spring. So, instead of the March SAT or February ACT, you might begin YOUR testing in May (for the SAT) or April (for the ACT).
2) On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re quite advanced—like, superspeed Junior curve-breaker advanced—it would make sense to sit for your first test in December of Junior year for either test.
3) If you fall somewhere between those two extremes, schedule your first test date for March, if you’re taking the SAT, and February if you’re taking the ACT.
When Do You Need to Be Done with the SAT and ACT?
1) If you’re applying to Early Action or Early Decision schools, plan to have completed your SAT or ACT rounds for those schools by September or early October.
2) For regular decision schools, you could finish by late October, November, and possibly December, depending on the application due dates.
3) Remember that you’re also writing all your college applications during the fall of senior year, so you might want to be finished by the time the school year begins!
Other Important Scheduling Considerations for the SAT and ACT
1) Finals
If major culminating schoolwork—final exams, APs, final projects—conflict with the June test dates of the SAT or ACT, you might consider skipping it and opting for the summer test date instead.
2) Big Summer Plans
If you attend an intensive theater camp every July and August, you’re not going to be able to take those summer test dates…which means you should most likely NOT skip June or early fall dates.
3) Momentum
Take it from an expert who’s watched hundreds of students go through the process: it’s WORLDS easier to continue prepping than it is to prep, take a test, stop, and then get going again. If you can help it, taking your tests in a row will cut down on your overall study time.
As you can see, there’s always a give and take with preserving your mental health while you study for the SAT/ACT. (If constructing a testing timeline that maxed out your scores AND kept you sane were easy, you wouldn't be reading my blog!)
For instance, if you have Early Decision applications, AND you need more time to prep before you begin sitting for your test, AND you have an intensive internship eating up your July…well, you’re not gonna be able to give yourself a break from the June test dates while you take finals, without sacrificing the necessary 2-3 test dates before your applications are due.
Or if you can start early spring and need to divvy up your test dates to take the SAT before Early Action deadlines, you have a choice: take off June for finals, take off August for summer plans, OR take off October to work on applications…but you can only pick one of these break periods.
In other words, you DO get to take a break, but you have to consciously choose it in advance, and not change your plan!
Yes, I know it's hard. But I hope these principles help. If all these moving parts seem overwhelming to you, just reach out! Making order out of chaos is my specialty.
