10^th and 11^th graders: Your SAT or ACT scores will likely play a significant role in your competitiveness when applying to colleges, with 88% of colleges placing considerable or moderate importance on students’ standardized test scores for admissions purposes.¹  Given the importance of your SAT/ACT scores, how should you develop your testing calendar and plans?  In this article, we’ll review three questions to help you decide when you should prepare for and take the official SAT or ACT—including what sophomores should do over the summer to determine whether they may be competitive for National Merit recognition on their junior year PSAT.

 

Here's everything covered in this post:

• How Should I Approach the SAT/ACT Testing Process? 3 Steps to SAT/ACT Success
• When Should I Take My Practice SAT and ACT?
• When Should I Take My Official SAT or ACT? 3 Questions to Help You Decide
• Next Steps: Checklist for Rising Juniors
• Next Steps: Checklist for Rising Seniors

 

First, let’s start with a high-level overview of SAT/ACT testing strategy.

 

 

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Topics: SAT Subject Tests, ACT, SAT, 11th Grade - Juniors, 10th Grade - Sophomores, 12th Grade - Seniors, College Admissions: Test Well, Anchorage, PSAT

 

Of everything you do in high school, the activities you undertake during your junior year will have the among most significant impact on your competitiveness for college admissions and scholarships.  As a rising junior, how can you set yourself up for success?  In this post, we’ll walk through a checklist for rising juniors to review before school starts.  Specifically, we’ll show you how to tackle each of the following five priorities with free tools and resources developed specifically for Alaska students:

 

1. Determine whether you should prepare for the PSAT—something you should do before or during August)
   
   
2. Craft your SAT/ACT strategy to maximize your scores and efficiency
   
   
3. Get serious about your GPA: Depending on when you submit applications, the next two semesters will comprise the final grades colleges see.
   
   
4. Start developing your college list—the single most important factor upon which nearly all of your other decisions over the next 12-18 months will depend
   
   
5. Determine whether and when you will need to take SAT Subject Tests

 

Let’s get to work!
 

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Topics: SAT Subject Tests, College Admissions, ACT, SAT, College Admissions: Explore Early, College Admissions: Excel Academically, 11th Grade - Juniors, College Admissions: Test Well, Anchorage

 

SAT Subject Tests could be an important part of your college admissions profile.  In this post, we'll cover critical things to know about SAT Subject Tests—like the fact that there is still a penalty for guessing, unlike the regular SAT.  We'll also discuss other FAQs from Alaska students, including which colleges require SAT Subject Tests, what makes for a competitive score.

 

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Topics: SAT Subject Tests, 11th Grade - Juniors, 10th Grade - Sophomores, 12th Grade - Seniors, College Admissions: Test Well, Anchorage