In the past, students have done their test preparation almost exclusively during the school year. On the surface, that makes sense because no SAT or ACT tests are offered during the summer. But a new trend is emerging: more and more students are doing their test prep in the summer months. While the sample of students is small, these students are achieving some very strong results.
Summer test prep has some real strengths. The major strength is that test prep is not competing with school, homework, sports, plays, and everything else that goes on during the school year. As a result, students have time and are not stressed out. That is not the case in May of junior year, for example, when students are preparing for AP tests, starting to get ready for finals, and finishing spring sports seasons, among other things. Some students are simply too busy to make the SAT or ACT a priority during junior spring. When the tests are not priorities, scores can suffer as a result.
Summer test prep is not the perfect solution for everyone. Many students go away during the summer. Others may simply not want to deal with academic work during their precious time off.
However, if you are around during the summer and have plenty of free time on your hands, you may want to consider getting a jump on your test prep. It will be one less thing to worry about during the year.
