PSAT Scores Are Out! Now What?

Hey guys, it’s Eric at Solution Prep and PSAT scores are starting to come out. This year, earlier than ever. As soon as October 24th if you took the PSAT from October 1st through 11th. For those of you who tested later, from the 12th to the 26th, you’re going to get your PSAT scores on November 7th. And for those of you who tested later in October from the 27th to the 31st, those scores will be out on November 14th, all at Collegeboard.org.

Now, what do you do with these scores once you have them? Well, that depends on what grade you’re in. So if you’re in 11th grade, junior year is testing year, and ideally, you want to take the SAT at least two, maybe three times and finish this school year. And that means, because time is linear and finite, there are really only four SATs left that you can practically get ready for this school year. That’s going to be the December 7th SAT, the March 8th SAT, the May 3rd SAT, and the June 7th SAT. And because spring is a really busy time with AP exams and proms and spring sports and more, you don’t want to plan to take Test 2 and 3 in May and June if you can avoid it. So the best bet is to get ready for the December 7th SAT first.

There are six weeks from the time of this recording until that test, and that’s enough time if you put the effort in to get ready for that test and take it. That way, the March 8th SAT can be your second SAT, so if you do need a third and final test to give it one more go to get your best super score, you can choose May or June and finish this school year. And the reason why you want to finish this school year is because once you get to the summer going into senior year, your focus is going to be working on college essays and applications. A whole new project that you should not take lightly and is much harder to do if you’re also prepping for the August or October SATs that come after.

Now, if you’re in 10th grade getting PSAT scores right now, again, junior year is testing year, and I laid out a pretty aggressive plan for the juniors. But you, sophomores, have the luxury of time, which means you can plan to take your first SAT in August or October going into junior year, which means prepping over this summer. That way you have the most flexibility to choose when you want to do the SAT for a second and if necessary, third time. So look at the calendar, make a plan, and if you need help, call us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.