Junior Year:

PSAT (Fall test date) - So this is the real PSAT. Even though colleges won't request to see you PSAT score, I would recommend treating this test very seriously. Try to prepare as much as you can and achieve the highest score possible. Becoming a national merit semifinalist and getting extra cash is great. Moreover, many scholarship programs and selective summer camps may still ask for your PSAT score.

Finally, you might as well treat the PSAT as the real thing since the practice that you put forth in the PSAT will only help you on the SAT. I practiced more for my PSAT than for my SAT and my SAT score was higher than my PSAT score. The reason is that my SAT preparation was cumulative, including the efforts for the PSAT.

ACT (variable test dates) - I would space some time between the ACT and PSAT because you want some time to recover a bit and to gear up for a somewhat different test. I took the ACT in the December test date because that spaced the ACT far enough away from both the PSAT and the SAT, the two tests that I cared the most about. Some of you, however, will want to focus more on the ACT and you will have to readjust accordingly.

Read the section on Which Test to Take? to figure out the difference between the ACT and SAT.

SAT (variable test dates) - For many students, the SAT is the test that has been hyped the most and that they are treating as "the test." If you've been preparing thoroughly since the summer, however, you needn't worry. I would recommend a spring test date - there dates in March, May, and June. I took the earliest one possible in the spring (that was also the first offering of the New SAT). The spring test date offers certain advantages - you have already prepared with the PSAT, and the test date is sufficiently spaced from the ACT in December. The spring test date also gives you time to review over winter break. Also, there are two test dates after the first spring test date in case you want to retake. Nonetheless, retaking is tricky because you will receive your score report in April, which would give you one month to prepare for the May test date or two months to prepare for the June test date. The June test date, however, is also the best date for the SAT Subject tests (see below).

SAT Subject Tests (June test date) - If you are enrolled in any of the subjects that you want to take the test in (e.g. chemistry) you could attempt to take the test in June. This way, you will have a complete year of class experience. In your junior year, you will want to finish most of your SAT Subject Tests. Don't drag the tests on to senior year unless you are taking a test for a class that you will complete in senior year.

Summer in-between:

Hopefully you won't have to do any test preparation this summer and you can concentrate on your extracurricular commitments and college applications.

Senior Year:

If you need to take any more standardized tests, your options are fairly limited. You have to complete the tests in time for college applications, which means you need to take the tests in the Fall.

Summer in-between:

Just kidding… no more tests to review for. That is, until college standardized tests!

Good luck - standardized tests aren't as bad as they seem! Relax on test day; your life will go on regardless of your score.

Click here to go back to the first portion of the Suggested Timetable for College Entrance Exams