How Many Times Should I Take the ACT or SAT?
How Many Times Should I Take the ACT or SAT?
Here at Hillview Prep, we get asked “How many times should I take the ACT or SAT?” a lot. Students, their parents and many other test prep services have their theories, but let’s first start with an analogy.
Sally, the Softball Superstar
Let’s consider a hypothetical situation of a student, Sally, who just made the softball team. Sally’s played softball her entire life and she, as well as everybody else, knows how good she is. Before her first game, though, Sally is really nervous. Her knees are shaking, her heart is pumping faster than usual, and she’s having trouble concentrating. This is pretty unusual for Sally because, before getting to high school, she’s always been one of the best players on the field. Then, when the game finally starts, she makes a bunch of errors and strikes out every time it’s her turn to bat. Despite years of playing in lower leagues, playing catch with her dad, and practicing her swing, Sally just had the worst game of her life.
After a few games, though, things start to change for her and by mid-season she’s one of the best players in the league. She’s no longer having trouble throwing the ball accurately and she’s leading the team in home runs. How did that happen? Could she really have improved that much as a player in just a few weeks or was it something else? The more likely reason is that Sally had gotten some experience under her belt, which made her a lot more confident playing at a higher level.
The ACT and SAT are no different than Sally and her softball performances. After a while, she came to expect what was going to happen in her games. Certain situations that used to faze her eventually became second nature to her. This is because she gained experience!
So, How Often Should I Take the ACT or SAT?
At Hillview, we instruct students to take the ACT/SAT multiple times not because we think they’ll get lucky on one of them. We don’t advise students take these tests multiple times for practice, either. If that were the case, we’d just tell our students to take as many practice tests as possible every day. No, the real reason we recommend students take them multiple times because we want them get the experience of taking the test in a real test situation. You need to know what it’s like to take the test when you’re not in your bedroom with your dog lying next to you and the clock serving more as a “soft reminder” of how much time you have left. You need to know what it’s like to be in the classroom, with the pressure on and a clock you can’t start or stop at your leisure bearing down on you.
Yes, all of the prep work you do with a service like ours is necessary. Yes, you need to take many practice tests on your own to get accustomed to the types of questions asked. But, taking an actual test is the final piece to fully getting yourself prepared. As such, we recommend that you take the ACT or SAT between 2-3 times. Any less and you won’t give yourself the opportunity to reach your full potential. Any more and colleges may think you haven’t taken the test seriously enough.
Our tutors can help you make sure you ace the HSPT. Head over to our Registration Page and get started today!
Share this post