When should students take the SAT / ACT?

Written by Megan Dorsey on July 8, 2025. Posted in ACT, PSAT, SAT.

The quick answer is anytime junior year.

The full answer involves some key details. Is the student an ultra-high scorer who might earn scholarships from the PSAT? Does the student have an extracurricular that is more time consuming during part of the year? Will this student need to learn more in junior year classes to be fully ready to test?

If you work through the details, you can find the best time for your student to take the SAT / ACT.

Question 1: Is this student a National Merit contender?

National Merit scholarships are based on a student’s junior year PSAT results. Students scoring in the top 3% of test takers in their state can earn recognition and possibly scholarships. The benefits can be significant, but students need near-perfect scores to qualify.

If your student had a selection index of 200 or above on their sophomore year PSAT, they should consider preparing for the PSAT. Qualifying scores vary from state to state and can change from year to year, so there is no set score for National Merit commended scholars for semi-finalists. The past few years in Texas we’ve seen a cut off around 219.

My advice for these ultra-high scoring students is to prep in the fall. Start in July or August and test your readiness by taking the SAT in September. (I know it sounds backwards to use the SAT to prepare for the PSAT, but students can take the SAT multiple times; they only get one chance with the PSAT.)

Most students will want to retake the SAT to try for a few more points, but even with re-takes, many of these juniors are completely done with testing in the fall.

Questions 2: Is there an academic need to wait?

A few students are not academically ready to take the SAT / ACT in the fall of their junior years. Often they need to strengthen academic weaknesses or need another semester of math.

If your student is entering Algebra II in the fall, they may benefit from the extra practice and skills they will develop over the first semester. Algebra II is not a requirement for either test; I can easily help strong math students cover any concepts they have missed. However, the student who struggled through Algebra I may benefit from reinforcing their skills during the fall.

If your student has struggled with reading (comprehension, vocabulary, analysis) and has recently started a new program or treatment designed to help, waiting to test in the spring allows time for those new strategies to take hold. This typically applies to students with learning differences who are implementing new accommodations or working with a coach or specialist to build reading strategies.

The average student will NOT learn much in their junior year classes that requires putting off testing until the spring. Anyone who tells you the SAT/ACT are well aligned with your school’s curriculum is mistaken. Yes, I expect students to learn more math, vocabulary, etc. throughout junior year. While all of that prepares them for college level work, it isn’t geared to helping earn higher scores. Another semester (or year) in school will make very little difference. This is where quality test prep comes in.

Unless you have one of the rare students who will really benefit from another semester of skill development in school, you are free to plan standardized tests anytime junior year.

Question 3: Is there a better season to test?

Earning strong scores on the ACT / SAT takes effort. When will your student have the time needed to review test content, take practice tests, and prepare?

I start by looking for high-intensity time consuming activities. This might be football season for students involved in football, band, or cheer. It means rehearsal and performance season for the musical or orchestra competition or AP exam time. Identify those stress points on your calendar, the times when students realistically don’t have time to take on test prep.

Next, I consider the student’s interest level. I get it! No one wants to study for standardized tests, but it helps when students see the benefits to higher scores. For some juniors, fall is too early. College seems too far away. These students might benefit from a campus visit or two (so they can hear about admissions criteria and get excited about specific schools) and possibly waiting until the spring. It has been my experience that by spring semester, juniors start viewing college as an upcoming reality and take the SAT / ACT seriously.

Once you block out the times that don’t work, you can make your SAT / ACT plan.

Most Students Have Options

Most students have options: fall or spring, SAT or ACT. The exceptions are less common and include:

Students locked into fall prep for the SAT/PSAT due to National Merit Scholarship possibilities
Students who need another semester to develop math or reading skills
Students with time consuming activities that limit time to prepare and test

Time to Plan

The best thing you can do is plan ahead. You want to consider

When is the best time to prepare?
Will you focus on the SAT or ACT?
Have you allowed time to retest?

I will cover details of SAT vs ACT in another article. The short answer is compare your PSAT results to your ACT results and decide if the structure and content of one exam gives you a slight edge. DO NOT do this by taking the actual exam (More on why these “baselines” are dangerous and ill-advised HERE and HERE) Full-length practice tests are available from College Board (on the Bluebook app) and ACT (HERE).

Conclusion

Because seniors start submitting college applications as early as August 1, you want to complete your SAT / ACT testing as a junior. You might be able to retest in June, July, or August before a student’s senior year.

Save the last minute panic and plan ahead!

Here are the testing dates for 2025-26

SAT: Aug 23, Sept 13, Oct 4, Nov 8, Dec 6, March 14, May 2, June 6

ACT: Sept 6, Oct 18, Dec 13, Feb 14, April 11, June 13, July 11