Chariot Learning
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Our Curriculum
    • Areas Chariot Learning Serves
  • Services
    • SAT & ACT Prep
    • Academic Coaching
    • Subject Tutoring
    • Strategic Reading Club
    • Proctored Practice Tests
    • GRE Prep
    • Roots2Words
  • Calendar
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
June 23, 2017 by Mike Bergin

The Case for the August SAT

The traditional academic year spanning from around Labor Day to well past Memorial Day feels like a marathon designed to test the endurance and focus of any participant (students and teachers alike!) Today’s high schoolers juggle so many academic, extracurricular, volunteer, family, social, and even work commitments that every hour in a week becomes scheduled far in advance. Adding insult to injury, college bound teens have to carve out time during the school year to take–and hopefully also prep–for SAT and/or ACT exams that are only administered from September through June.

At least, that is, until now.

The College Board may not elicit much praise from the teens who feel compelled to take the organization’s array of standardized tests, but who could complain about a new August administration of the SAT and SAT Subject Tests? I consider an August SAT the best news–and best option–we’ve received in a long time, well worth sacrificing the largely-ignored January SAT for. In fact, most rising juniors and seniors should strongly consider sitting for the August SAT for two compelling reasons:

1. You can test before school starts, or at least really starts.

2. You can prep before school starts.

While schools in the warmer regions of the United States convene in August, most others open around the beginning of September. How exciting is the prospect of getting a big test out of the way before classes even start? If you aren’t sure, the answer is very exciting.

Even better, though, is the option to connect summer prep to a summer test. The months of July and August have always been among the best times for test prep, with the one downside that the first SAT of the academic year didn’t arrive until October. Now students can prepare and practice right up to the exam without the distraction of school. Fall athletes may struggle to focus, but everyone else can enjoy a clear path to test readiness.

A secondary benefit of the August test date accrues to those who don’t discover until midsummer that their target colleges require SAT Subject Tests. These special exams are best taken in May or June, but August may be the next best option to test before you completely forget what you learned the previous school year.

The case for the August SAT becomes even more persuasive when you consider that both juniors and seniors have reason to set for this test. That suggests that the inaugural August administration will be extremely popular, which might lead to trouble considering how few high schools may be serving as test centers. In the Rochester area, only a handful of schools are hosting.

Any high school student entering junior or senior year who has at least some time to study this summer should strongly consider prepping, registering (ASAP), and sitting for the August SAT. Play your cards right and you could be done with this big test before your first little quiz of the new school year!

planning SAT summer

Previous articleYou Can't Cram ReadingNext article Test Ready for Summer 2017
Mike Bergin
Tens of thousands of students a year prep for the SAT & ACT through programs Mike Bergin created or organized. After more than 25 years of intensive experience in the education industry, he's done it all as a teacher, tutor, director, curriculum developer, blogger, podcaster, and best-selling author. Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Helping high schoolers with tests, school, and life is what Chariot Learning is all about. Let us know how we can help you!

Latest Posts

  • Burning Questions About Testing and Admissions for the HS Class of 2022
  • Curiosity and Persistence Matter
  • Questions for First Time Test Takers
  • Exercise in Repeatedly Recalling a Thing
  • How Tests Open Doors
  • Tough tests open doors: https://chariotlearning.com/how-tests-open-doors/
    by chariotlearning 23 hours ago
    Tough tests open doors: https://chariotlearning.com/how-tests-open-doors/
  • Don
    by chariotlearning 3 days ago
    Don't just talk about it...
  • Are you a masterpiece or a work in progress? Why not both? ;)
    by chariotlearning 5 days ago
    Are you a masterpiece or a work in progress? Why not both? ;)
  • Nothing worth having comes easy.
    by chariotlearning 7 days ago
    Nothing worth having comes easy.
  • Challenges are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
    by chariotlearning 1 week ago
    Challenges are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
  • If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice.
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice.
  • Just start.
    by chariotlearning 3 weeks ago
    Just start.
  • Don
    by chariotlearning 3 weeks ago
    Don't stop until you're proud!
  • You were born to be awesome!
    by chariotlearning 3 weeks ago
    You were born to be awesome!
  • Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves as well as others.
    by chariotlearning 4 weeks ago
    Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves as well as others.

Subscribe to Mike’s Podcast

Subscribe to Tests and the Rest

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

College Road is your source for expert educational advice, test news, college admissions action steps, special offers, and more. Sign up now!

Upcoming Events

  1. Free Practice Online SAT (3/6/21)

    March 6 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  2. Free Practice Online SAT (3/7/21)

    March 7 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  3. Free Practice Online ACT (3/13/21)

    March 13 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  4. ACT Intensive Class for the April 2021 Exam (Online)

    March 15 @ 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
  5. SAT/ACT Extended Class – Early Spring 2021 (Online)

    March 16 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

View All Events

Testimonials

We highly recommend... We considered classroom instruction given by national programs, but having one-on-one instruction, on our schedule, in our home, with the focus on areas and skills critical to our daughter’s success was important to us. Teaming up with Chariot Learning was definitely the right decision for our daughter and my family.

Eileen, Rochester mom

Read more testimonials...
© 2020 Chariot Learning, LLC. All rights reserved.