How Long Does It Take to Prep for the SAT/ACT?

Written by Megan Dorsey on January 24, 2025. Posted in Uncategorized.

I enjoy working jigsaw puzzles. Over the holidays I was shopping for some new puzzles and came across a Q&A on one manufacturer’s website.

“How long should it take to complete a 1000 piece puzzle?”

I was a little offended by their answer of 5-9 hours. I thought I was pretty sharp, but I wasn’t assembling my puzzles in under 10 hours.

When I get the question of how long should it take to prepare for the SAT or ACT, I want to give a more accurate answer.

Lots of Variables

I’m going to outline what I see as minimal and optimal preparation, but I understand there are plenty of variables that will impact the total time a student needs to study for the SAT or ACT.

Your time may vary depending on

Desired score goal— wanting a few extra points versus an aggressive improvement
Test taking skill and typical speed of learning— some students are quick learners and others need more repetition and time
Gaps in knowledge— students who struggle with reading or processing or those who retained nothing from geometry, for example, will need to take more time
Learning differences— The student who is already approved for extended time testing knows their test day will be longer; their prep will be too
Attention span and focus— first there is the issue of how much prep the student is realistically willing to complete; there is also the issue of how effectively the student works through material without losing focus

Minimum Prep

For the student who isn’t interested in test prep, for any reason, there are a couple things to do before taking an actual exam.

I believe every student, even the ones who don’t want to do any prep, should take two full-length timed tests from ACT or College Board. You can find the tests on the official ACT or SAT websites and take them at your kitchen table. If you are taking a paper and pencil version of the ACT, print your practice test and take it the same way you will the official version.

Taking a couple timed tests provides:

Familiarity with the exam format and questions
Understanding of potential timing limitations
Potential for review of missed questions

This barebones approach works for some students. It tends to work for:

The student who wasn’t going to do any more. At least they get some exposure to the format and content and can adjust their pacing and approach.
The student who needs just a couple points to reach their score goal.
The self-aware quick-learner who can see what they missed on a test and adapt their approach without help.

This level of test prep can be completed in 7-14 days. (I don’t recommend taking two back to back tests without spending at least a little time reviewing what was missed on the first one and making plans to improve.)

A word of caution: NEVER sign up for an actual SAT or ACT as a practice test. The idea that an actual exam can serve as a “baseline” or practice can be potentially costly error. Both ACT and SAT use the metric of “too much score improvement” to try to catch cheaters. You don’t want your baseline to red flag your later improvements.

Moderate Prep

For the student who wants a little more than minimal preparation (and score improvement), moderate prep can work.

Moderate preparation involves adding a modest level of studying in conjunction with two to four full-length practice tests. I offer a Crash Course program that fits this. It includes video lessons for the most essential strategies and the most frequently tested content.

This type of preparation tends to work for:

The student who is close to their score goal, but still needs a few more points.
The student who can take a handful of rules and strategies and apply them to different questions.
The student who wants more than the minimal approach, but may not have the time or interest in more involved preparation.

This type of test prep can be effectively completed in 14-28 days. A couple weeks allows adequate time to learn, practice, evaluate, and adjust.

Complete Prep

Complete prep takes more time to address all aspects of testing: content review, pacing practice, test taking strategies, work on focus / mindset, and practice under timed testing conditions.

How long does this type of preparation take? I expect the typical student can reach their best level of preparedness in five to ten weeks by for five to ten hours a week (a combination of learning, working practice problems, and analyzing results.)

I have a couple key assumptions in my estimate:

The student is only counting focused work time. (Not counting time getting ready to study, breaks, daydreaming, etc.)
The student is working on quality lessons specific to that test. (Not general review of math with a math tutor, testing strategies not specific to the SAT or ACT, endless online “tips & tricks” videos.)

Ideally, students will combine learning with practice, then adapt. My traditional test prep classes follow this format. Each week students have two-hours of classroom instruction (a balance of content review, test knowledge, strategies, and focus exercises) followed by two to five hours of homework. The next week, we start with questions and issues from the previous week. Students have the opportunity to get feedback and adjust their approach.

Complete preparation tends to work for:

Students who are willing to do the work.
Students who need more instruction than the moderate level of prep can provide.
Students who work better when they have time to learn, practice, and perfect new ideas.
Students who are willing to examine their work and learn from their mistakes.

Students who need more accountability or more personalized guidance would do well with a private tutoring program that follows the same schedule as a class.

Too Much Prep

Unlike my jigsaw puzzles which won’t be affected by “too much” work, student performance on the ACT and SAT can be undermined with too much prep.

This may go against some of the learning and mastery principles you follow. I’m basing this on more than two decades of working with high school students. There is a point where additional prep yields diminishing returns.

Here are some problems I’ve observed:

Students who start test prep in 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th grade burn out by the time their preparation actually counts. (They also tend to use up all of the official materials, so we can no longer assess what they know versus what they remember from when they completed the questions before.)
Shutting down or heightened anxiety. Test prep that goes beyond three months wears on students. Some shut down, even without meaning to, going through the motions without really engaging the content. Some just get more and more anxious as they try to do everything possible.

At some point students need to decide they have done a good enough job and actually take the exam. Once those scores come in, some additional work may help. Sometime that means additional test prep, but in many cases, it means moderate review and another attempt.

Conclusion

Unlike completing a jigsaw puzzle where there is a clear end-point, preparing for the SAT or ACT means weighing multiple factors including:

The time a student can dedicate to test prep
Degree of interest in the process
Desired score improvement
Ability to focus and self-study

Minimal prep can be done in a week or two; moderate to complete preparation takes between two and twelve weeks.

If you have questions about my crash course, traditional prep, or private tutoring options, let me know. I’m happy to discuss the differences and find a program that is right for your student.