Frugal SAT/ACT/CLT PREP Resources and Test Taking Strategies

Summary:  Here are our favorite frugal or free interactive prep resources for SAT and ACT testing.  Test taking strategies, too, plus why do the PSAT?  How to help teens who are not good at testing is discussed below. This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy. #satprep #actprep #homeschoolhighschool

Does the thought of having your teen take the SAT or the ACT give you pause? 

It is so nice to see some that some colleges in our area are dropping the SAT/ACT requirements.  But most colleges are not doing that.  (Be sure to check with your teen's likely colleges.)

Homeschooled applicants are still often asked to do these college tests, even if they are not required for the public school applicants.  

Please catch this - Did you know that the ACT/SAT, along with your student's GPA are the two most important factors in getting merit scholarships?

Today I'd like to share how we went about dealing with the SAT, including preparing for it in the early years of high school, scheduling it, and doing the actual SAT prep.

Since this is sort of a dry topic,  I have included some pictures of my college junior's fun times at college, to help us keep our eyes...on the prize, so to speak, lol.

Back to the SAT.  Let's start with early preparations....

Preparing For the SAT - In 9th Grade

Since my daughter was uncomfortable with test taking, we started adding in tests and quizes, just for practice, during her 8th and 9th grades years.   It was easy to do, by choosing curricula that offered some testing along with it, such as Switched On Schoolhouse.

This practice helped to build up confidence for later SAT testing.  We made sure that she had practice with testing not only in math, but also in the softer subjects, like Social Studies and English.  If you haven't done this ahead of time, there is always time to build that in now.

Once she had built up her confidence in test taking skills, she was ready to try her hand at the PSAT.....

Taking the PSAT

We did the PSAT in 10th grade.  Why?  Again, it was for practice.  Most families do the PSAT in 11th grade, when it counts for the Merit Scholarship awards.  But we did it in both grades. And for us, the practice was worth it.  You know your student, and of course, we all know that each one is different and has unique needs.

The PSAT is usually given at the public schools, in October, only once a year.  We called our local ps and scheduled it.  We did that in early September to be sure that we could get it all arranged.

Our next step was to decide when to take the SAT itself.....

Scheduling the SAT

The SAT is offered 6 to 8 times a year.  It is helpful to have already had Geometry and Algebra 2 before taking the SAT.  So we decided to aim for taking the SAT during spring of 11th grade.  Some families do it earlier.  

Register for the SAT here.  The College Board is now offering Spring testing times for the SAT in March, May and June this year, 2021.

For more information on available testing sites, etc please click here - 

PSAT and SAT Coronavirus Updates

  

We began studying for the SAT, then, in winter quarter.  Why do SAT prep?  Even if your student is rockin' it in English and Math, they are sure to encounter different types of questions in the SAT test itself.  The questions vary a lot from what they would see in their high school courses.  

SAT prep is so valuable as it helps your teen learn how the test works, and to become familiar with what the questions will look like.  

After her first SAT test, we considered whether we wanted to go ahead and do the SAT again.....

Take the SAT again?

This is a question that often comes up re college testing.  Is it really necessary to take the test again, to try to raise up the scores?  

I see two considerations here, for retesting....or not.  First, looking at the scores, do they reflect your student's abilities?  If yes, then why retest?  If not, if you think that the scores are really lower than your student's ability, then it may make sense to test again.  For us, testing stress was a big factor.

The other factor in play is the specific college or colleges that your student is considering.  If you wonder what a specific college is looking for, regarding test scores, it is not hard to find out.  

So, for us went online, and checked with our colleges.  Each of our colleges had the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen on their websites.  We compared them to my teen's scores, and decided to take the opportunity to retest again in the fall. 

Just an aside - Re-testing just to get into a prestious college may not be a good idea.  If a student has prepared and the scores seem to reflect their abilities, then maybe it is not the best idea to re-test.

If a student gets into a college that they really are not ready for, based on high scores from multiple re-tests, then they may end up where they were not meant to be.  That it might, after all, not be a good fit.

For us, we did a second test, and we set up more formal SAT prep, even making it it's own course.  We called it College Planner, and assigned it one/half credit.  And this credit was accepted by our colleges!  I'll be blogging more about that homemade course at a later date.

Next, let's look at resources for studying for that SAT test.  What did we use for our SAT prep? .
My friend Jean, also has advice on Prepping for the SAT.

SAT Prep Resources


Here's our favorites for SAT Prep, and some new resources that have popped up since my teen took her test.

1.  TestRocker SAT, ACT, PSAT Resources offers tons of free or frugal resources for test prep and also encouragement for us mamas.

2.  Daily Practice for the New SAT - One question a day, from College Board

3.  A FREE/FRUGAL/ SAT TEST PREP - The site called 1600.io offers a comprehensive list of free and frugal low cost SAT Prep resources, from live virtual classes to on-demand viewing classes to use anytime. Plus a well known SAT Strategy Video Course. 

They offer a FREE BUNDLE of SAT Prep Resources.

Also, for the Math portion of the SAT, they have a very approachable, easy to use frugal book for that, called the 1600.io SAT Math Orange Book. On Amazon for less than $30.00.  Volume 2 is here.

4.  Khan Academy SAT Prep - They have come together, Khan Academy and the College Board, to provide expert college test practice, working together.  They will give your student personalized practice on the things that they need the most.  Wow!  Wish we had this option when my teen was preparing for her test.  Here is how to link your PSAT scores with Khan Academy, right here. It sounds complicated, but it is really easy to set up. 

5.  Official SAT Practice Tests  also available.

6.  Hack the SAT  I liked Hack the SAT because it is so approachable. This author shares tips and how tos for dealing with the types of questions that can stump even well educated students.  And he does this is a very easy to understand manner!  Read more of my review here.

7.  Free e-books from Prep Scholar They offer many free e-books on the SAT, including 200 vocabulary words to study, and much more.

8.  The folks at eTap Personal Assistance Program  offer personalized assessment and test prep for SAT, ACT as well as the GED for those students who decide to do that instead.  Please go to eTap Personal Assistance Program for more information via YouTube.

ACT Prep Resources

We didn't use the ACT, but many homeschoolers prefer it.  Most colleges give you a choice of either one, the SAT or the ACT.

Here are our recommendations for ACT prep:

1.  Free ACT Test Prep from Union Test Prep - Including practice tests, flash cards and study guides

2.  ACT Online Prep - FREE online ACT test practice using sample test questions from ACT tests from earlier years.

3.  The Real ACT Test Book - On Amazon

4.  Barron's ACT Math and Science Workbook -  Exercises in Math and Science, plus sample tests and solutions

5.  SAT and ACT Grammar Workbook - Detailed grammar review and more

6.  My friend, Meryl from Funda Funda Academy offer a FRUGAL ACT Introduction Self Paced Class to prepare your student for the ACT testing.

The CLT - Classic Learning Test

The CLT is a new test designed for college bound teens.  It is an alternative to the SAT/ACT and is accepted by 150 colleges across the country.  Many colleges that accept the CLT offer academic scholarships to high scoring studies.

We did not use that test, but it is becoming more widely accepted throughout the U.S. for college admissions testing as well.

For more information on the CLT, please click here - The CLT Test

For me, the most important thing to consider with the SAT or the ACT or the CLT, and really everything about homeschooling, is that each child/teen is different, and has unique needs.

Isn't that why we chose to homeschool?

Amazon 

on Amazon and FREE to read with PRIME

This book is an easy-to-read guide to high school for homeschoolers, recently updated with 7 NEW chapters, including:

- My homeschoolers guide to the Common Application

- How to write the Counselor Recommendation Letter

- Where to find college scholarships

-  How to make your own homemade courses

-  12 homeschool high school planning printables to make your record-keeping easier.

 For even more tips and great resources on Preparing For the SAT, click here, and read what 7 Sisters Homeschool advises.  It iis full of helpful and even fun ideas!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

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