For decades, the SAT and the ACT have only been offered during the school year. Starting in 2017, the College Board began offering an August SAT date. Now, starting in 2018, the ACT is offering a July testing date. These summer SAT or ACT test dates offer some pretty great advantages to certain students.
Rising seniors can get an extra chance for a last minute test score boost.
For a long time, the earliest test dates on tap were the September ACT and the October SAT. Seniors hoping for one last chance to improve their test scores before college applications came due could only twiddle their thumbs until the fall months. By the time those test dates rolled around, school was in full swing. This meant time for some last minute test prep was limited. That’s no longer the case! These summer test dates offer rising seniors a last chance to boost their test scores. Plus, there’s no worrying that their score reports won’t come in time to meet even the earliest of early application deadlines.
A new option that avoids conflicts with AP exams and spring finals.
A lot of juniors take the ACT or the SAT for the first time in the spring. If their scores aren’t what they hoped for, the only chance for a score improvement before the fall test dates were traditionally May or June. Unfortunately, most students face AP exams and/or final exams in these months. Throwing the SAT or ACT on top of the many other high stakes tests can be a bit too much. The addition of the summer test dates means that students have one more option for that in-between test date.
Get testing out of the way before the school year starts.
The old September to June testing schedule aligned too closely with the school year for most students. There were few, if any, options for taking the ACT or SAT working around the demands of the school year. The addition of the July ACT and the August SAT lets students get their testing out of the way while school is out, making the testing process just a bit less stressful.
Summer SAT or ACT test prep will be even more effective.
We’ve often argued that summer is one of the best times for test prep because you can really focus on boosting your ACT or SAT scores without having to worry about balancing schoolwork and test prep work. The one downside to summer test prep has long been that there’s inevitably a gap between the end of summer (and therefore the end of summer test prep) and the actual test date – and that gap can lead to a decline in scores. These summer test dates make summer test prep all the more effective by eliminating this gap!
C2 Education is offering 4-week intensive SAT and ACT Camps to help students maximize their test scores this summer. Many of our centers offer dedicated start dates to help students prepare for these summer test dates. Contact your local C2 Education center today to learn more!
