If you’re a high school sophomore or junior wondering when you should sign up for your first standardized test sitting, look no further: this post lists out all ACT and SAT test dates for the 2022-23 season. Whether you’re an international student or one based in America, whether you’re taking the SAT or the ACT, this post has got the dates you need, as well as info on how to register for each test.
When Should I Schedule My First ACT? 2022 Edition
Timing is KEY when it comes to the ACT: take it too soon and you might not have completed all the high school coursework you need for the test—but take it too late and you might be risking a low score with no chance to re-take it. Plus, the way the ACT is administered has changed recently, so the scheduling calculus is different in 2022 from previous years. Don’t worry, though: I’ve got your back with this step-by-step guide to figuring out what test dates are right for YOU.
Class of 2022: How Do the Cancelled SAT II Subject Tests Affect You?
If you’re in the class of 2022 or after, you’re probably wondering how the College Board’s decision to discontinue the SAT II Subject Tests affects your test prep. I’m breaking it down for you with expert analysis of several different situations you might find yourself in.
Avoid These Three Common Mistakes For a Winning Testing Timeline—And Winning Test Scores
Avoid these top three mistakes I see all the time in my work as an elite test-prep expert and your road to the doors of that dream school will run a LOT more smoothly.
The Testing Timeline: The SUREST Path to the ACT and SAT Scores That Open Doors
So you want the best possible SAT or ACT scores you can get, huh? AND you’d like to stay sane while achieving them, so you can enjoy that dream school when you get there? Your road map to navigating the overwhelming, stressful testing and college processes needs the SUREST tool to success: a Testing Timeline.
SAT and ACT Test Dates 2020-2021
To plan a successful 2020-2021 college application cycle (read: to get into that dream school in 2021), you need to start making a testing plan now. So here’s your complete ACT and SAT testing calendar for 2020-2021—every test date with information about which tests (ACT, SAT, and SAT II Subject Tests) are available, registration deadlines, and score availability dates. Get planning!
Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors AND Seniors: Here's Your Quarantine/Post-Quarantine College Admissions To-Do List
We may be having a very weird semester, but time hasn’t stopped. Your future is still coming—so how are you getting ready for it? In this post, I’m giving every high school class a to-do list for using your quarantine time to set up the most successful college process and transition possible. Tackle this list and you’ll have a leg up when things do get back to baseline.
Sticking To Your Test Prep Plan Through The Winter Of Your Test Prep Discontent
This is the time of year where people start changing up their test prep plans—or just bailing out on them altogether. I’ve been talking my students through this “winter of their test prep discontent” for more than a decade, and across to the other side to where the results they need lie. In this post, I’m doing the same for you.
2019-2020 SAT and ACT Test Dates
Wondering what the full schedule of test dates looks like for the SAT, SAT II Subject Tests, and ACT in 2019-2020? Wonder no longer.
Adversity Score No More: Meet the SAT "Landscape"!
Worried about the new SAT Adversity Score and how it affects your testing strategy? Well, here’s an update you need: it’s been replaced by a new College Board innovation that affects your college applications, but differently. Meet the Landscape…and let me brief you on what it is and what it means for you.
Summer's Over: It's Time to Get Serious About Studying Again
No matter what year you are in high school, if you're anything like my students, now is the time for a wake-up call: summer vacation is over...it's time to get serious about testing and the college process again! I'm breaking down the year ahead for every grade level!
What's the SAT Adversity Score?
If you follow testing and college-process news, you may have heard of the SAT’s new “Adversity Score.” But what is it, really? And how will it affect YOUR testing strategy? I’m breaking it down for you.
Testing Timelines When You're Applying Early
Planning on applying early? You need to make a plan—like, today. Here are the guidelines and information you need!
So You Skipped the June SAT...Now What?
The June SAT date used to be an absolute must-take. New test dates mean that’s not true anymore…for SOME students. Which students have my blessing to skip the June SAT, and what should you do if you’ve already chosen to sit it out? I’m breaking it down.
New ACT (& SAT) Dates: What They Mean For You!
New test dates are here, and this week I'm focusing on what this new development means for your ACT planning. Don't be caught off guard! There's a competitive advantage here for those who know how to find it.
New SAT (& ACT) Test Dates: What They Mean For You!
New test dates! Every move the College Board makes changes the way testing works. This week I'm going over the new SAT & ACT dates and how they affect your SAT strategy.
SAT II Failproof Study Plan: Literature
We've done Math 1 and Math 2, one of which you should be taking if you need a quick SAT II plan. But you still need another Subject Test! Here's my study plan to ace Literature.
SAT II Failproof Study Plan: Math Level 2
SAT IIs got you down? No need to worry! Here's a handy plan. In this post, I'll walk you through picking the right level for you, and map out a plan to show Math Level 2 who's boss.
SAT II Failproof Study Plan: Math Level 1
People often push the SAT II Subject Tests to the bottom of their list, so if you don't have a plan to deal with yours...you need one! So here's mine, starting with the big question: Math 1 or Math 2?
6 Easy Steps to Get Into College
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Whether you’re about to begin your Junior year of high school or you’re only a Sophomore or Freshman and have considerably more time, I want to give you a quick landscape of the major steps to get into college that you need to take.
My intention here is that if you know what the crucial milestones are, you can methodically work to knock them off your list one at a time and not be a total anxiety-ridden stress case! I’ve gone ahead and listed them in chronological order, though some steps may be ongoing and thus overlap with other steps.
Moreover, I’ve tried my best to provide an ideal timeline of when you should be doing each step and about how long it takes. Keep in mind that “ideal timelines” may of course vary depending on where you are right now and your personal strengths and weaknesses. With my private clients, I can tailor this process to the perfectly bespoke little black dress of college admissions prep timelines—go here for an Ace the Test: Game Plan. However, if I do not know you personally, realize that you may have to adjust the dates just a modicum to apply perfectly to you.
Step #1: SAT I or ACT
Unless you are specifically researching colleges that don’t require standardized tests, you are going to have to take either the SAT I Reasoning Test or the ACT. (To find out which one, either go here or click on the cute teal pop-up in the bottom right of your screen.)
SKILLS NEEDED:
You are going to need to brush up on your math, grammar, reading comprehension, vocab and essay-writing abilities for both tests.
For the ACT, you should also brush up on interpreting charts and graphs and basic scientific method facts for the Science section. (NOTE: If you’re currently a Sophomore, you’ll need this skill too, regardless of which test you take, since you’ll be choosing between the ACT and the Revised SAT.)
IDEAL TIMELINE:
August before Junior year, if not before: Start reviewing content weekly.
January/February of Junior year: Focus on taking mock and practice tests (between 4-6) and going over them.
March/April of Junior year: Take first SAT/ACT for real.
May: SAT attempt #2
June: ACT attempt #2
Fall of Senior year: Attempt #3 if needed.
Step #2: SAT II Subject Tests (Depends on School)
Depending on the schools on your college short list, you may be off the hook for SAT II Subject Tests. Or, if you are applying to Harvard, you may need 3 of them! Each college has its specifications, so make sure you do your research and write them down. (Need help? An Ace the Test: Game Plan will do it for you!)
IDEAL TIMELINE:
May/June of Sophomore year: If you are taking any classes that would aptly prepare you for a Subject Test, go ahead and take it. Give yourself about 2 months’ study time, and pick the test date that is as close to your final exam for the class as possible.
June of Junior year: Take another 1-2 Subject Tests in subjects that correlate to classes you are taking.
Fall of Senior year: If you still need to take more subject tests or improve a score, take them after you have secured the SAT I or ACT score you desire.
Step #3: College Visits
You want to make sure you get a feel for the type of academic environments ideal to your growth and development before you craft your entire testing timeline around them!
IDEAL TIMELINE:
June/July between Sophomore and Junior years: Try to do some of your college visits at this time to set your testing targets and complete all your requirements in a mellow, stress-free manner.
June/July between Junior and Senior years: Do the rest of your college visits at this time.
Step #4: College Application Process: The Activity List
This is where you break-down all of your passions, interests, community involvements, leadership positions, extra-curricular activities, jobs, volunteerism, sports, and talents so that the people in the admissions office know a) what you have to bring to the table at their institution and b) how exactly you’ve spent your time the past four years. This is where you have the ability to explain some odd-ball hobbies and interests that make you YOU (competitive Pokemon, anyone?). This is also where you get to demonstrate the actual number of hours you have devoted to your passions and the depth to which you have ventured to explore them.
IDEAL TIMELINE:
July/August between Junior and Senior years: Start keeping a running tab of your activities, denoting the description, length of time you were involved, hours per week, leadership positions and notable accomplishments.
November 1st: This is the beginning of early decision application deadlines.
January 1st: Most regular decision deadlines are due around this time.
Step #5: College Application Process: Common App Essay
Formerly called the Personal Statement, you’ll use this essay for the Common App but can tweak it for applications that are NOT on the Common App, too. This is the main college entrance essay you will write that will give the readers in your dream school’s admissions office a glimpse into you, your hopes and dreams, your mind, your life, your accomplishments, your character, and your essence. All in under 650 impeccably-written words! Have fun!
IDEAL TIMELINE:
July/August between Junior and Senior years: Start brainstorming and ideally have your first draft done before school starts.
November 1st: This is the beginning of early decision application deadlines.
January 1st: Most regular decision deadlines are due around this time.
Step #6: College Application Process: Supplemental Essays (Depends on School)
As delineated by the admission requirements of your particular dream schools, you very well may have additional “essays” to write and include in your application. I say “essays” with quotation marks, because some are incredibly brief, like describing yourself in 5 words. Stanford University has a supplemental essay like that. In fact, Stanford has 10 supplemental essays! (Don’t worry, they’re not all mammoth.)
IDEAL TIMELINE:
August 1st: The Common App opens. You will be able to look up your list of colleges and compile all the supplemental essays you have to write. Please plan ahead before you start typing away – can one essay for one school be marginally tweaked and reused for another supplemental essay? Let’s be a little pragmatic, shall we?
November 1st: This is the beginning of early decision application deadlines.
January 1st: Most regular decision deadlines are due around this time.
So, yes, this DOES seem like a lot, and you may be wondering how I dared to claim these were “6 Easy-Peasy Steps”… But seriously, if you take a long-range look at these, there are a few tests, a few trips, and a few essays that just need to happen at a few designated times. If you start doing what you can during Sophomore year and the beginning of Junior year, you will be sitting very pretty by the time those acceptance letters start rolling in.
I hope this was able to ease some of your high school stress and help you plan. Remember that though I’m able to offer this one-size-fits-most information for free, you can get more tailor-made advice by working with me. And if you found this helpful, please do me a huge favor and pass it on to 3 of your friends!
Xo,
Kristina
