Question: “When should I start preparing for the SAT?”
Answer: Start preparing for the SAT either in 10th or 11th grade with a plan to take your first SAT spring of 11th grade (junior year). If you have a lot of gaps in math and reading skills, then I suggest starting your SAT prep in 10th grade or even earlier. If you know how to read well, and you have a solid handle over your math and grammar fundamentals, then start prepping in 11th grade.
Follow these steps to get started studying:
Thanks to our readers for making SAT Week such a success! We received a lot of comments and feedback. We hope everyone got something out of it.
In honor of SAT Week, we asked our readers if they had taken the SAT more than once. The majority (60%) said they had only taken it once, while 40% said they took the SAT at least two times.
Posted in Special Features, Test Prep
Tagged ACT, Higher Education, Poll Results, SAT, SAT Week, Weekly Poll
The SAT plays a major role in the college application process, which is why many students have spent this week cramming for the exam on Saturday, October 1, 2011.
Standardized testing isn’t for everyone, so rather than resort to something drastic – like cheating or holding off on applying to a good school - students have other options.
Alexis Avila is a private tutor and founder of Prepped & Polished. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and a masters in counseling psychology from University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has more than ten years of full-time tutoring experience with a specialty in the SAT.
What tips do you have for SAT-takers?
1. Plan your SAT schedule ahead of time. That way, you can take the test multiple times, if necessary. Historically you could always take the SAT as many times as you wanted to, but you now have the option of reporting only your best scores to colleges. Of course if you do stellar on your first few SAT sittings, you won’t want to take the SAT a dozen times. Most students will plan to take the SAT during two time periods – once during the spring of junior year and again in the fall of senior year.
The grading of the essay portion of the SAT is a much debated topic. Ever since the 25-minute writing portion was introduced to the exam in 2005, it has received much criticism. One of the primary concerns is that content of the writing is being overlooked for length of the essay. There have been numerous studies done over the years that point to this being the case.
Posted in Special Features, Test Prep
Tagged College Board, Dr. Les Perelman, Essay, M.I.T., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SAT Week, SAT Writing
Ned Johnson is president and “tutor-geek” of PrepMatters and co-author of Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed. He has a degree in Political Economy from Williams College.
What are characteristics of good test-takers?
The best SAT test-takers are strong readers with good vocabularies. They are good at math but also willing to tackle problems in different ways – they groove on the “puzzle” nature of the questions. And, they are willing to learn from their mistakes rather than being traumatized by them. To borrow from success coach Brian Tracy, anything worth doing well is worth first doing poorly.
Posted in Special Features, Test Prep
Tagged High School, Ned Johnson, Parents, Political Economy, PrepMatters, SAT, SAT Week, Test Prep, Williams College
Last week we asked, “What is/was your method of preparing for the SAT?” Most readers – 50% – chose studying from a book. Taking a preparation course came in second with 38%, while 12% chose to work with a tutor
Posted in Test Prep
Tagged Poll Results, SAT, SAT Books, SAT Courses, SAT Week, Studying, Test Prep, Weekly Poll
The same way people train for weeks and months for a marathon, it is up to students to properly train for the SAT. Most students know exactly what to do to mentally prepare for the exam, but that’s only half the battle. When the day finally rolls around, you want to be both mentally and physically prepared to nail the exam. Making sure you stay healthy and properly nourished up to, and throughout, the exam is equally important.
Students, here are a few simple things you can do to stay healthy for the SAT.
Posted in Special Features, Test Prep
Tagged College Planning, Health Tips, High School, SAT, SAT Week, Test Prep
Question: “Is there a way to increase my SAT Score?””
Answer: Yes, there is. Did you know that the writing multiple choice section is the part of the test you can control the most? Most students approach the SAT from a position of fear rather than one of mastery. Mastery is possible! Once you understand what tricks College Board test writers have up their sleeve, you should be able to anticipate the answer before even looking at the choices. Arm yourself with a thorough knowledge of the key grammar principles (see below) tested on the SAT, and you will be surprised at how quickly you can improve your score.
