SAT prep/advice?

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-02-13 04:24
  Just a lot of practice tests
  just 1 section a day is fine, while you can do whole tests on weekends
  just do 1 month of this and you'll be scoring well
  
  the cat will send Claudia books and stuffs
• Claudia wrote on 2012-02-13 04:27
  Man, I am really liking the sound of the ACT now. I figured the SAT would be the easier of the two but the hardest thing for me on tests is essay/short answer writing. I'm a boss at multiple-choice, though.
  
  But for now, practice practice practice sections. Starting with math tomorrow, I think.
  
  Also, what on earth, Naviance is suddenly showing weighted GPA for acceptance standards. 5.2 for BC? um ok.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-02-13 04:32
  ACT is basically time intensive
  if you're fine with that go ahead
  but in SAT you only answer half the questions in the same time frame
  the cat's master finishes sections 10 minutes before the time is up.
  
  this is a good thread for SAT
  http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html
  
  and this PDF too
  http://www.mediafire.com/?ez82wbtg33ro6k3
  
  both threads have good advice
• woohoohelloppl wrote on 2012-02-13 04:33
  In addition to what I posted, the ACT doesn't have free response questions for math. The math section is harder than the SAT's, since there is some basic Pre-Calc(logs and other stuff, but you may have covered it in Alg II as well) on it. The timing on the ACT is a little more strict though. You also get no points reduced for incorrect answers, so bubble in random letters if you run out of time.
  
  Good luck on the tests. ^^
• Claudia wrote on 2012-02-13 04:36
  ACT is sounding better and better. I'm only in Algebra II, though, and we haven't gotten that far yet. I think we're getting near things like logs (logarithms?).
  
  I don't even know when the ACT is. :>
  (thanks for the links, Cat!)
• chaolin wrote on 2012-02-13 05:18
  ACT was much friendlier on me if I recall correctly. When I took the SAT, I felt extremely pushed for time and the test seemed to drag on forever because of the multiple sections (bleh). If there's anything I would recommend for the ACT, it would be:
  
  1) Know your basic math to the point where you never make a mistake. I know this seems like common sense but believe me, the quicker you can perform basic problems without making mistakes, the higher your score goes. This will actually help you in college too believe it or not, as most mistakes come from algebraic errors rather than conceptual errors.
  
  2) Time yourself. This is ABSOLUTELY imperative for a good score. The more comfortable you feel with time, the better you'll perform when it comes to the real test. Also be sure and take past practice sections in a test environment where there are no distractions.
  
  3) Work on reading comprehension. This will improve your English section and your science section (half the challenge of that section is reading through all the problems quick enough).
  
  Practice courses are cool but like TA said, they can be pricy. If you're dedicated enough, you'll set aside an hour or two every day to do problems/practice a test section. If you're going to buy a supplement book, I recommend Barron's as they cover anything you'll ever encounter on the test.
• Episkey wrote on 2012-02-13 06:07
  I would also like to chime in with the whole taking the ACT input as well. I did a lot better on the ACT, the science section wasn't overall too bad. Of course, I like science though ...
  
  Writing the essay was my biggest challenge. But just recognize that the essay prompters know your time constraints as well.
  
  Sadly/Fortunately (depending on how you think about it), the essay topics can be very random. So, brushing up on recent news or famous plays/books/works of literature seems to be the best way to go. The more random useful stuff you know, I think the better off you'll be whatever essay prompt you get.
  
  Don't change your multiple choice answer unless you are 95% sure you made an error. Skip any questions that takes more than 10/15 seconds to answer, go back to it later. If I recall you only have like 45 seconds on average for each multiple choice question. Of course, it varies - so I might be wrong there.
  
  Good luck!
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-02-14 15:32
  [Image: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxws22Nv0E1qakgigo1_400.jpg]

  
  
  anyways colleges prefer both equally.
• Claudia wrote on 2012-02-15 03:20

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;774507:

  [Image: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxws22Nv0E1qakgigo1_400.jpg]

  
  
  anyways colleges prefer both equally.

  
  
  I actually saw one or two schools while I was doing a quick search yesterday that REQUIRED ACT's and didn't care about SAT's.
  
  Thankfully, most colleges don't want SAT Subject Tests. Those sound like a nightmare.
• Akami wrote on 2012-02-16 10:33
  SAT Subject Tests aren't required in public Californian colleges to be best of my knowledge, but my two-cents is that since your weak point is your math, make sure you read the strategies in the practice books, they actually really help you get through things more quickly and efficiently (as stated before it tests how well you take the test).
  
  For the Critical Reading one strategy I found helpful is to avoid extreme answers, though you will want to scan through every choice first.
  
  The writing section should not make you cringe as much as you would think it does. The prompts are rather blatantly out there and pretty easy to answer with supporting examples from literature or history (I always used The Great Gatsby for some reason..). What I mostly did for my three body paragraphs was, in any order, use examples from history, literature, and then some example from my own life (yeah I know that sounds strange but this is a last resort because you mainly want historical and literary examples). If you need an example feel free to ask, I can whip out an old sample that I wrote that scored an 11.
  
  I hardly studied other than 2 full length practice tests on Saturdays with my class and I broke 2000 (though I wish I did better), so don't worry too much as long as you practice beforehand.
  
  Edit: I regret not taking the ACT!
• satprepgroup wrote on 2012-12-24 11:31
  Below Advice may help you in SAT preparation:
  
  1) Especially for math problems, view the answer choices as an important tool to help you find the answer.
  
  2) If there is a variable in a math question and variables in the answer choices, you can plug your own number into the question and generally figure out the answer.
  
  3) In many sections, the early questions are easier than the later questions. If a late question seems easy, be suspicious that there is a trap that you haven't noticed.
  
  4) The process of elimination is your friend.
  
  5) For the essay, make sure that your essay has paragraphs, a beginning, middle, and end, and try to fill up most of the space you have been given.
  
  6) Pace yourself. Don't linger on a particularly tough problem.