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Not all of these questions will be relevant to your situation now, but sooner or later most or all of them will be relevant. Read through the list of questions below and check off the ones you find that bear on your immediate or upcoming situation. Read these questions first, you can skim the others later. Since many of these questions involve long-range planning, however, have your parents read through all the questions.

1. What is the SAT?
2. What’s on the test?
3. How important is the SAT?
4. What’s a good SAT score?
5. When should I take my first SAT?
6. What if my school says I should take the SAT I on a certain date?
7. How many times can I take the SAT?
8. Who definitely should—and who definitely shouldn’t—retake the SAT?
9. Isn’t it true that my SAT score will go up each time I take the test?
10. Will colleges take only my best SAT scores?
11. Will my school sign me up for the SAT like it did for the PSAT?
12. Should I Take the SAT First Without Preparing?
13. Can I prepare for the SAT entirely on my own?
14. What should I be doing on my own to prepare for the SAT?
15. When should I start preparing for the SAT?
16. If I’m thinking about taking an SAT course or tutoring program, how do I decide which one to take?
17. What is the PSAT?
18. How is the PSAT different from the SAT?
19. Are my 11th grade PSAT scores good predictors of my 11th grade SAT scores?
20. Should I prepare for the PSAT?
21. What are the SAT II tests?
22. Do all colleges require the SAT II’s?
23. Which SAT II Subject Tests should I take?
24. Should I take an SAT II Subject Test if my teacher suggests it?
25. When is the best time to take an SAT II?
26. Can I take more than one SAT II on the same test date?
27. Should I prepare for the SAT II’s?
22. Do all colleges require the SAT II’s?
No, and those colleges that do usually require only three SAT II’s (though of course you can submit more than three). If you’re seriously considering applying to one or more competitive colleges that require the SAT II’s, you should start planning ahead as early as 10th grade.

See also questions 25 and 26.


If you’re seriously considering applying early decision to a school that requires three SAT II Subject Tests, try to get at least one of your SAT II’s out of the way before March of your junior year. It’s not absolutely critical that you do, but getting one SAT II out of the way early will give you a lot more leeway at the end of junior year and at the beginning of senior year, when your schedule is likely to get super crunched.