SAT and ACT exams are required by many four-year colleges and are sometimes one of the criteria they use to determine whether or not to accept a student into the college. It is recommended that students take either the SAT or ACT at the end of their junior year. If they don't do as well as they would like, they can always retake or or both of these exams at the very beginning of their senior year.

PSATs are given at the high school toward the middle of October to all juniors who sign up to take them. They are a good practice for the actual SAT. There is also a free SAT test prep through the Khan Academy that students can use.

Other than the cost and the time it takes to sit for these exams, there really aren't any disadvantages to taking both exams. Colleges typically focus on the exam that students did best on and many colleges super score the results, which means they count the highest section for students that take an exam more than once.

To register for the SAT or ACT, students must register online. Although Mount Markham High School isn't a test center for either exam, there are other local high schools that do offer the exams on Saturday mornings. Anyone who fills out the free/reduced lunch form and is eligible for free or reduced lunch for the current school year is also eligible for an SAT or ACT fee waiver.

Students eligible for testing accommodations through an IEP or 504 plan may be eligible for some or all of their testing accommodations for the SAT or ACT. However, students will have to apply for and qualify for these accommodations for each of these exams. Juniors or their parents should contact the high school guidance office as soon as possible if you would like to apply for these types of testing accommodations.

Below are the exam dates as well as the registration deadlines for each exam.