When to Start Preparing for the SAT & ACT Tests | Expert Advice from PrepMatters

Renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur observed that “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” There’s not only a what and a how to being prepared but also a when. Just when should students begin test preparation for the ACT or SAT? In his work with viruses, Pasteur discovered that the correct dose at the right time, enough to tax but not overwhelm, with enough time to build resistance and immunity, was the key to preparing the body against dangerous viruses.

While standardized tests may not technically be virulent, the same sound logic applies to preparing for college admissions tests. Too strong a dose can be noxious, too little inefficacious. Start too early and the effects wear off, start too late and there’s not enough time for the benefits to take hold. When matters. The rest of this post will discuss all the important details of when to start ACT and SAT test preparation.

Deciding When to Start Preparing for the ACT or SAT Test

So, when is the right time to start ACT or SAT test prep? Let’s start with the end in mind: college applications. For early admission deadlines, you’ll need excellent scores by October of your senior year; for regular deadlines, by December of senior year. Intuitively, you need scores earlier for early deadlines, so you have them in hand by the time you apply to college.
For other reasons, you may want good scores earlier than that. Ideally, you can be finished with testing by the middle or end of junior year. Given recent changes in testing policies, ACT and SAT scores are again an increasingly important, if not essential, part of applying to highly selective colleges. Scores are also important in determining scholarships and merit aid shopping over spring break, broadly framing both admissions chances and what you might pay.

Another reason to prep for the ACT or SAT before senior year is that the start of senior year is a Very. Busy. Time. In addition to enjoying being a newly minted senior, you’ll be working on college applications and essays, while still keeping your grades up. It’s a lot. You certainly can retake the ACT or SAT in senior year, but ideally you’ll have test prep behind you before senior year.

Okay, so when should you start? For most students, the summer after sophomore year is the right time to begin prep. One, you will have learned most of the math you’ll need. Two, you will have a few months to get some practice under your belt before your junior year PSAT, with plenty of opportunities to take the ACT or SAT before the end-of-junior-year crunch of final exams and APs (if your school offers them). Three, everyone else is doing it. Honestly, camaraderie can help – you’re not in this alone!

But don’t freak out if you don’t start test preparation until the beginning or midway through your junior year. Lots of activities and life can happen over the summer, or maybe your fall calendar is just too full. I have been working with high school students since 1993; I get it. Almost always, the problem is not with students starting too late but students (or more likely their parents!) wanting to prepare too early. Seriously.

Avoid the pitfalls of starting too early 

In my experience, people look to start ACT or SAT prep early for one of two reasons: to fill in significant learning gaps or to keep the stress low. The first I can (mostly) get behind, but please look for math tutoring or reading help – not test prep. The second paradoxically usually backfires. Here’s why:

Starting too early can actually increase stress because: 

1. You will face a lot of new, yet-to-be-learned material, which causes stress and an early loss of confidence.
2. You may lay the foundation for a stressful environment surrounding test preparation.   

Now I know you may have a cousin whose kid started prep in 9th grade and did great—but they likely did well despite starting early, not because of starting early. 

CAVEAT for Future Athletes: Students who are recruited athletes may face pressure to share scores with coaches at the start of junior year, in which case prepping a little early may make sense. But, again, only a little early is best, as in part way through sophomore year. 

Optimal Time Investment for Test Prep

Okay, got it: start ACT or SAT prep after sophomore year. How much then? Generally, students do well to allot three to six months for test prep, depending on what you know and the schools on your college list. Target scores should be based on the average scores (25th-75th percentile) of colleges on your tentative list, based on your academic profile. When you know the ACT or SAT scores for those colleges and where you are currently scoring, you can determine how big of a gap you have to close and thus how much work is needed. Cramming in a few weeks is a dubious approach, but a three-year plan for test prep is not recommended either.

Is three to six months enough time?!?

Yes. Students do well to allot three to six months for ACT or SAT test preparation. It is important to remember that you are learning and practicing skills that can also be reinforced each day in school. We have done prep for 25+ years, and we have seen our staff work with students to achieve terrific results within this window. Trust us, we too want you to succeed!

Prioritizing Grades and Test Prep

Grades are the most essential criterion for college admissions, but good test prep can help raise your scores to a level as high or higher than your grades. Additionally, test prep can improve your math, grammar, and performance under the pressure of timed tests. Nevertheless, you do not want to work hard to raise scores if you lower your grades. Grades first, test prep second. 

Essential Components of Test Readiness – What You Need to Know

At a basic level, you’ll be ready to ace a test like the ACT or SAT when you have the right knowledge, skills, and a brain state to allow you to perform your best (or close to it) under test-day pressure. Knowledge is relatively straightforward: you must know math, grammar, punctuation, test structure, and test-taking strategies.  

However, knowledge can be fleeting if not practiced regularly. Sadly, most students forget 90% of what they learn in school within three months, which may explain why so many A students are initially stunned by their first scores. Three to six months allows for interleaving and enough time to learn or relearn at a pace that allows things to stick.

Essential Components of Test Readiness – Building Critical Skills

Starting test prep at the right time is also important for building skills. Sure, you aced every math quiz in the last two years, but do you know what formula or tool to apply and when? Students often take quizzes with exponent, percentage, or quadratic problems. Usually, all three types of problems are not presented at once. When school tests are topic specific, it is easier to know what tool to use and when. It’s a different experience on the ACT and SAT – knowing what the question is asking and what skill to apply often is what is being tested. The ACT and SAT are akin to final exams on three years of math, all mixed up under time pressure. Knowing what the first step is matters just as much as executing the steps.

Strategy matters too. Performing well is not so much following a script as knowing how to dance – or improvise. The ACT and SAT reward students who mix and match approaches, who can be creative under pressure, figure things out on the fly, and find efficient ways to solve problems, including how to use “tricks strategically ” (AKA using 8th-grade math tools to answer 11th-grade math). As students move on to higher math, they often apply the most powerful tool in their toolboxes rather than the most effective one: a chainsaw may be a powerful tool, but sometimes a bread knife can get the job done just fine. Effective test prep helps students broaden the tools they are comfortable using, teaches them how to deftly apply them, and allows enough time to be practiced before the actual test.

Essential Components of Test Readiness – Motivation and Stress Tolerance

Ok, but should it be three months or six? That is a good question. Here’s a sideways answer. It depends. On your student. If great scores were only a matter of knowledge and skills, you likely wouldn’t be reading this blog. Focus matters. Motivation matters. Thinking well under pressure matters. Brains, like students, can be complicated.

Let’s take a field trip into some brain science.

The Yerkes-Dodson Law describes how excitement and stress (in the scientific parlance, physiological arousal) affect performance.
Without enough stress, engagement is meh. Too much stress blows up performance, as overly stressed brains simply don’t learn or perform well. Importantly, for every person in every activity, there is a zone of optimal arousal, what neuroscientist Amy Arnsten describes as the “Goldilocks zone”: excited just enough (motivated) but not overly stressed (test anxiety).

Some students perform better with less pressure. Others with more. The kicker can be a parent who imagines their child feels what they feel, especially if a parent feels urgency when their kid doesn’t. To maximize the ROI of parent money and student time and energy, when matters, for starting at the right time will impact the brain state students are in both through the prep process and on test day.

How can you know what the right place is for your son or daughter? You can’t. But together you can. When making a plan for test prep, it’s really important to make it with them not for them. Why? Well, two reasons. One, the only person who knows what they are feeling is that person – where a person falls on the Yerkes-Dodson curve is subjective. Two, motivation and anxiety are both HIGHLY connected to a sense of control. A low sense of control undermines motivation and supercharges anxiety. You’ll get both better effort and outcomes when you consult with rather than manage your student and their test prep. But that’s not always easy.

Benefits of Professional Test Prep Tutors When Preparing for the SAT and ACT

Professional tutors can help you and your student craft the right test prep plan for them – their personal Goldilocks approach.

Since tutors will help students stay on the task to execute their test prep plan, it makes sense to have those same tutors work with families to design the test prep plan. As kids navigate test prep and the college process, it helps to have parents who are steady, supportive, and sane. Tutors can take the stress load off of parents, who often try to take on the dual role of parent and test-prep coach, which leads to increased stress for all involved. For more than 25 years, we’ve had the good fortune to help thousands of families prepare for and succeed on the ACT and SAT.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Should I Prioritize Grades over Test Prep?

Why else should students start ACT or SAT prep later? Grades are the most essential criterion for college admissions. Full stop. The plan is for good test prep to help raise your scores to be as high as or higher than your grades, not to have them to meet in the middle: you do not want to work hard to raise scores if you lower your grades in the process. Grades first, test prep second.

Can you prepare for the ACT in a month?

It’s possible to prepare for the ACT in a month, but it requires an intensive and focused approach. To make the most of this short timeframe, prioritize practice tests, identify and target weak areas and consider working with a tutor to maximize your study efficiency.

Is it better to start SAT/ACT prep in sophomore or junior year?

For most students, starting prep in the summer after sophomore year is ideal. This timing allows enough room to build knowledge, practice effectively and take multiple test attempts if needed, without the added pressures of junior and senior year activities.

How many hours per week should I study for the SAT/ACT?

On average, one to three hours per week (especially once full practice test commence) over 3-6 months is recommended for effective test preparation. Focused prep trumps lots of prep, especially for already busy students. However, the exact amount varies depending on your starting point and target score. More intensive sessions may be needed for students with shorter prep periods.

The Right Time for ACT and SAT Prep

Timing is crucial when preparing for the ACT or SAT. Starting at the right moment—typically the summer after sophomore year—gives students the time to build knowledge and confidence without added senior year pressures. However, starting later can still lead to success with a focused approach.

Please contact our team to schedule a time to learn how working with the right tutor can help your son or daughter succeed.
We get kids. We get tests. We help kids get tests. We’d love to help yours get theirs.