When should I study SAT?

(This article assumes a student who is an immigrant with weaker English but strong math skills. If you also feel weak in math, it may be advisable to start SAT preparation one grade earlier.)

You can take the SAT multiple times a year. Tests taken as early as 9th grade can later be used for college applications, so there’s an advantage to starting relatively early. So, when and how should you prepare for the SAT?

The timing depends largely on your background:

If you have lived in the U.S. for a long time or are proficient in English (R/W score 650–700)

Even if you won’t prepare intensively yet, it’s beneficial to start early—as early as middle school. Light exposure to SAT-style vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and the test’s argument logic (claim → evidence → reasoning) helps you enter high school with the right habits. This early ramp makes 9th–10th grade smoother and lets you focus on timed practice in 11th grade.

With a solid English base, beginning serious SAT study in 10~11th grade is still generally sufficient. Most students struggle most with Reading, which depends heavily on overall English proficiency and vocabulary; if you can grasp meanings and nuance, Reading won’t be a major obstacle. Apart from Reading, Writing and Math can usually be raised significantly in a shorter period, so building fundamentals in 9~10th and concentrating on Reading in 10~11th remains an effective plan—starting earlier simply gives you a higher ceiling.

If you immigrated later and are not proficient in English (R/W score 500–600)

Start as early as possible. If you transferred around 9th–10th grade and aren’t confident in English, you must first build vocabulary and reading comprehension. The SAT targets U.S. students, yet even native speakers often find Reading difficult. If English is a weakness, raising your score is even harder, so it’s crucial to master vocabulary and contextual understanding during 9th–10th grade.

Without vocabulary and contextual understanding, problem solving and analysis are not meaningful. If you don’t know the words, you can’t interpret the passage; and if you can’t interpret it, any “strategy” is useless. If you arrive in 11th grade, you must leverage the summer break. During the school year, it’s hard to focus solely on the SAT, so use the term to build the basics (vocabulary and reading) and devote most of the summer to SAT study.

Scores in the 1500s are certainly attainable, but 1550+ depends heavily on English proficiency, so an objective self-assessment is necessary.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the SAT comes down to whether you can lock in 800 in Math and surpass 700 in English. Because English is difficult to raise in a short time, your start time and current English level determine your ceiling. Assess your English realistically and prepare strategically at the right time for your situation.

(※ This article is based on the author’s experience and collected sources. If anything is inaccurate or uncertain, please feel free to point it out so it can be corrected or supplemented. ※)