It depends on your goals and current test level. The critical first step is to know what score you’d be happy with and taking a practice test to assess how much work you need to get there. Some students are content with an ACT score of 30, while others need a 35. This requires a little research. What are your target schools? What scores do you need for admission to said schools? If you’re dreaming of a place at Princeton, you’d better aim for a perfect 36, which means starting earlier than you might need to otherwise.
With this in mind, we recommend that all students start preparing for at least one exam (ACT or SAT) by the 10th grade, but no earlier than the summer before 9th grade. You can take either exam first but we highly recommend ACT in our fall season and SAT in our summer season.
Here are some pros and cons of starting test prep (too) early:
| PRO | CON |
| Gives enough time to maximize potential scores. | Student may lack enough maturity to cope with the curriculum. |
| Provides adequate time to develop skills in particularly weak subjects. | Student could benefit from the additional knowledge provided by school. |
| Taking tests early allows more school focus when it counts – when curriculum gets significantly more difficult, such as during junior year when IB and AP curriculums are at their peak in difficulty. | May need to retake the course due to need for increased help or failure to capitalize on the information in the course. |
| Gets testing out of the way to allow more focus on student resume. |
On the flip side, don’t wait too long! We’ve found that students starting in 11th grade often struggle or falter because they self-studied poorly, have too much going on in school/extracurriculars, or simply cannot grasp the material.
Choosing the right time involves many personal factors. And while mastering standardized testing helps leverage the college application process, GPA takes precedence over test scores. So when considering when to start, take your own levels, goals, and outside responsibilities into account.