Study for the SAT/ACT this summer

This week, I will try to convince you to study for the SAT/ACT this summer. 

I don’t think I need to spend a lot more time going over why this test score is so important for your application. I’ve hammered this point home many times over the last few months and by now you should realize that it’s no joke.

As of this post, most colleges are still “test-optional” for the SAT/ACT (either temporarily or permanently). Please don’t let that distract you. This policy does not apply to the service academies. 

There are reasons behind the spread of test-optional policies that I won’t get into now. Believe me, the policies may not be a good thing for you, especially if you’re applying to highly-selective programs. 

It shouldn’t matter whether colleges on your ROTC wish-list are test-optional. You should do everything in your power to get a strong score on one of these tests. 

STUDY THIS SUMMER

The best way to do that is to prepare for the test this summer and not wait until junior year. 

Let me repeat that. 

To achieve the best score you can, you want to prepare for the SAT this summer, and not during your junior year. 

There is one caveat to this recommendation. You should be at least 1 grade-level ahead in math. If you are in grade-level math right now, you might not be far enough along to begin your SAT studies this summer.

Most of the students I work with are at least 1 grade ahead in math. They’re taking pre-calc, or honors math, or an AP, or accelerated math class. 

Assuming you are ahead in math, you do not want to leave “SAT prep” as a to-do item in the middle of your junior year — your most challenging academic year in high school. 

You will have many other priorities next year, such as: taking challenging classes, excelling in your classes, performing well for the teachers who will write your letters of recommendation, preparing for AP exams, taking on big leadership roles, playing your sport, dealing with recruitment issues (if your an athlete), and the list goes on. 

Do you really want the job of “studying for the SAT” to be hanging over your head the entire year? 

Fact check, no. You do not. 

The best case scenario is that you prepare for the test this summer and then take the test in Aug, Sep or Oct of your junior year (with November as a backup). 

This will allow you to use the summer to get fully primed and ready to roll…right before the test… instead of trying to squeeze it in in the spring with other 10 competing priorities. 

If you spend the last 4-6 weeks of this summer preparing for the SAT (and we’ll talk about what that means in a few weeks), you will peak at just the right time. 

If you’re wondering how many of your peers will actually follow this advice, the answer is not many.

You will be in the minority among your peers. Not many of your friends will be doing this, so be prepared for some push back from them. 

That’s okay. My guess is that not many of your friends probably aspire to do what you want to do. Not many of your friends probably have someone like me showing them the way. They’re doing what everyone else is doing, and that’s not what you want to do. You want to be different. 

So, when your friends are wondering why you’re studying over the summer, and tell you that it’s way too early, and stop stressing out, and calm down, just smile and nod and say, “yeah, I know, I just thought I’d get a headstart on studying. Next year is supposed to be really busy.” 

That’s it. 

You don’t have to apologize for studying, you don’t have to convince them to study, just do your own thing and carve your own path. 

They’ll figure out their own business at some point.

Mind you, your friends will not be the only ones suggesting that spring of junior year is, in fact, the right time to start thinking about the SAT. Your teachers, guidance counselors, parents, social media have all been conditioned to tell you the same thing. They’re telling you that, not out of malice, but because they are assuming that you’re like everyone else who takes the standard path. 

They’re assuming you’re a sheep. And you’re not a sheep. 

In their defense, there are some practical reasons why waiting a little longer to take the SAT may make sense for your average student. 

REASON #1 

You may not be ready. 

As I alluded to earlier, you may not have covered every one of the math concepts that you’ll see on the SAT or ACT quite yet depending on what your math progression has been over the last few years.

That’s a fair point, especially for students who have not yet gotten to pre-calc or some of the more advanced math classes. 

However, I would still prefer that you spend 4-6 weeks in deep study for the SAT over the summer with no distractions instead of just waiting for 6 months hoping that you’ll cover a few esoteric math concepts that you haven’t covered yet. 

Most students by the end of sophomore year have covered the lion’s share of math on these tests. If you haven’t, you can either spend a little time studying ahead, or get a tutor, or just resolve not to worry about those last few questions and focus on mastering what you do know. 

For most students, the goal here is not perfection.  

Not many students are shooting for a 1600 on the SAT or 36 on the ACT. If they are, they are well beyond the math tested on the SAT or ACT. 

REASON #2 

By spring of junior year, you’ll simply be 8 or 9 months smarter than you were at the end of the summer. 

You will have taken more classes, tests, had more life experience, and simply be more generally prepared.

Again, if I had two choices: (1) spend 4-6 weeks over the summer, studying and practicing for the test or (2) hope that I’m “9 months smarter” by the spring even though I had no time to specifically prepare for the test.

I’m taking the Choice #1 every time.  Study for the test.

There are a few other reasons that I’ll bring up that make the case even more strongly. 

By taking an early test, you ensure that you have plenty of time to recover in case the test doesn’t go well. Maybe you get sick, or there’s an emergency, or a worldwide pandemic? 

In my son’s case, he took his first SAT in September of his junior year, misbubbled his test, and had to cancel it. Thankfully, he took it again in November, crushed it, and never took it again. 

If you wait to take your first test in May or June and screw it up, now you’re forced to take one over the summer or even into senior year - and the pressure starts to mount.

ATHLETIC RECRUITING

If you’re an athlete hoping to get recruited, it’s best to provide coaches with an early SAT score if it’s a good one. 

Without an SAT score, as great as you say you are, coaches are reluctant to invest too much time in you because they’ll be wasting their time if you can’t deliver an acceptable SAT score. 

Send them a signal early that you’re worth a look because your grades and SAT score are in the ballpark.

EARLY ORIENTATION

That brings me to another, general point, and the premise behind ServeWell Academy — early is almost always better than late.

This is especially the case when it comes to the military and the admissions process for the military. 

You will soon be applying for congressional nominations, asking teachers for letters of recommendation, filling out service academy applications, maybe applying “early” to an ROTC college, so the sooner you have all the relevant parts of your application done — the better. 

Taking an early test also sends you a signal. 

Are you delivering an SAT score that is consistent with your goals — whether it’s for the Naval Academy or for Princeton ROTC? 

If you’re pulling a 950 or 1100 on the SAT, then you’ve got some major work to do. 

If you don’t figure this out until late into your junior year, it’s probably too late for you to recover and you’ve probably wasted a lot of time spinning your wheels unnecessarily. 

If you get a score early, assuming you’ve prepared for it, and it’s not to your liking, you’ll have time to recover.

You can either study more, hire a tutor, practice more, or whatever it takes to reach your goal.

Another reason to study this summer, even if it turns out that you didn’t score as well as you’d hoped for, or that you want to try a few more tests, is that you’ve gotten the bulk of your studying done already. 

You’ve done 80% of the hard work, and if you want to continue studying, practicing, and refining…great — but the heavy lifting is done. 

That’s a huge weight off your shoulders. 

Also, unlike at some traditional colleges, the service academies don’t penalize applicants for taking multiple tests. 

In fact, they encourage applicants to take several tests. 

SUPERSCORE

Most of the service academies will superscore your tests, meaning they will take your best sub-scores on each section (even from different test dates) and combine them into a single “superscore”. 

By taking an early test, it gives you more time to take more tests, which may translate into a better “superscore”. 

However, don’t take this the wrong way. You should still study and prepare for the test, as if it’s you’re only one. Don’t take official SATs as “practice”, and don’t count on taking 7, 8, or 9 SAT tests hoping to luck out on a few of them. That strategy would be expensive and would waste a lot of time.

I hope I’ve convinced you to carve out 4-6 weeks this summer for consistent, deep study for the SAT or ACT. You’ll be glad you did.