SAT Prep!

[creativedentist]

Ok, so in 8th grade, I took the SAT and got a 1600. I know, it's not that good, but that was 3 years ago.

I'm going to be a junior in high school, and I am going to take the PSAT and the SAT, along with the ACT. I'm not that worried about the ACT, though; I took the PLAN test a while ago and did well on it.

I've been taking lots of practice SAT tests, and I'm averaging around 2050. Any tips to get it up to 2200? That's my goal.

Also, I'm taking the PSAT, and I really want to get the national merit scholarship. What's the minimum score I need to qualify?

Thanks for your time!

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[Depakote]

Hopefully we'll find someone with a little more recent experience (It's been a while since I took the SAT/ACT).

I've found that with any standardized test, the most helpful thing was to go in with a strategy and have practiced that strategy on a lot of practice tests. This would include triaging passages to make sure you hit the material you know first, practicing your pacing, etc. Again, I haven't taken the SAT in a while, so I can't say how applicable those are.

I didn't take a prep-class for the SAT, I did for the ACT and the MCAT... this made a big difference in my score. ACT went up by 4 points. I don't have a baseline MCAT to compare to, but I can tell you that taking the course helped.

I used Kaplan for both of the above. I don't know if The Princeton review offers any pre-college testing services but they were essentially comparable for the MCAT. I'm sure there are other strong test-prep services out there, I'm just not familiar with them.

 

[creativedentist]

Hopefully we'll find someone with a little more recent experience (It's been a while since I took the SAT/ACT).

I've found that with any standardized test, the most helpful thing was to go in with a strategy and have practiced that strategy on a lot of practice tests. This would include triaging passages to make sure you hit the material you know first, practicing your pacing, etc. Again, I haven't taken the SAT in a while, so I can't say how applicable those are.

I didn't take a prep-class for the SAT, I did for the ACT and the MCAT... this made a big difference in my score. ACT went up by 4 points. I don't have a baseline MCAT to compare to, but I can tell you that taking the course helped.

I used Kaplan for both of the above. I don't know if The Princeton review offers any pre-college testing services but they were essentially comparable for the MCAT. I'm sure there are other strong test-prep services out there, I'm just not familiar with them.

I do agree that practicing helps a LOT.
My strongest subject is writing, then math. I do slightly better on the writing section than the math. I get a little above 700 for both, and then...*drumroll* the reading comprehension. *sigh* I think the sentence completions kill my scores. I only get about half, maybe not even half of them right. I will know a few of the words, and recognize a lot; however, I tend to freeze up when I see words I don't understand.
How much does knowing Latin roots help? I know a lot of them, but I could definitely improve.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I was a National Merit Scholar. In....*cough cough*....1993. While I don't have much advice on how to do well on ACT/SAT now (and the tests have changed a lot) I do want to wish you luck and congratulate you on your hard work and dedication.

I'm sure others will come and chime in soon. I hope that this forum will become a great way for people to exhange study tips and support each other!

 

[physics junkie]

Send me a PM with your email and I'll send you some practice material. What is your breakdown with reading/writing/math? I'm an SAT math instructor at summer bootcamp program. It's 6 hours a day 5 days a week with about 10 hours of homework a week. It's an intense program but we get kids up to perfect 800s a few times a year. Since I'm only a math instructor I can only give you some advice on that but my advice depends on what you're already scoring.

I have 5-10 students right now all scoring above 750math so for them I give them some GMAT math problems to challenge their top scores. For the students scoring less than 650 math I emphasize the fundamentals. For students above 650 I really push taking a lot of practice tests. If you want to improve your mathematics ability in general pick up a copy of "How to Solve It" by George Polya--one of the best books on problem solving ever.

Oh, and I generally recommend against prep courses unless you have a weak subject you want to focus on. Most of the time will be spent catering to the kids whose abilities are lacking. Most of my smart students are bored out of their minds.

 

[physics junkie]

I do agree that practicing helps a LOT.
My strongest subject is writing, then math. I do slightly better on the writing section than the math. I get a little above 700 for both, and then...*drumroll* the reading comprehension. *sigh* I think the sentence completions kill my scores. I only get about half, maybe not even half of them right. I will know a few of the words, and recognize a lot; however, I tend to freeze up when I see words I don't understand.
How much does knowing Latin roots help? I know a lot of them, but I could definitely improve.

We force our students to memorize 50 words a night for 8 weeks. Do the same. The vocabulary isn't so intense that it is important to know the roots. I don't know why people keep pushing that myth.

 

[ksmi117]

Also, I'm taking the PSAT, and I really want to get the national merit scholarship. What's the minimum score I need to qualify?

The qualifying score changes every year and also depends on your state.

Wikipedia's article on it explains it pretty well I think. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Merit_Scholarship_Program

This website has all the qualifying scores by state.
http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html

Definitely aim for above a 200 at the very least.

 

[creativedentist]

We force our students to memorize 50 words a night for 8 weeks. Do the same. The vocabulary isn't so intense that it is important to know the roots. I don't know why people keep pushing that myth.

I'm so glad it's a myth I will definitely start memorizing words. Do you recommend using flashcards or just memorizing them off of a list?

 

[creativedentist]

The qualifying score changes every year and also depends on your state.

Wikipedia's article on it explains it pretty well I think. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Merit_Scholarship_Program

This website has all the qualifying scores by state.
http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html

Definitely aim for above a 200 at the very least.

I took it last year (they offered it to sophomores just as a little "taste" I guess), and I got a 69 in math, 67 in writing (I got mad haha) and a 50 in critical reading. If I had gotten a 65 in critical reading, then my score would have qualified for 2008. Of course, I was a sophomore so even with a qualifying score I wouldn't have gotten the scholarship.
Hopefully I do way better on the critical reading my junior year! Which is coming up really fast...wow time flies.

 

[penguinophile]

I took it last year (they offered it to sophomores just as a little "taste" I guess), and I got a 69 in math, 67 in writing (I got mad haha) and a 50 in critical reading. If I had gotten a 65 in critical reading, then my score would have qualified for 2008. Of course, I was a sophomore so even with a qualifying score I wouldn't have gotten the scholarship.
Hopefully I do way better on the critical reading my junior year! Which is coming up really fast...wow time flies.

You can PM me if you want, I've been and SAT tutor for the past 3 years and can give you some good overall advice if you want.

 

[tennisball80]

Anyone here speaks English as a second language and still need to prepare for the SAT ? The verbal part is so hard ....

 

[deleted197541]

I know this may sound bad, but I say do everything in your power to do well on the ACT and SAT. Scholarships are handed out right and left for doing well on these tests. The best thing one can do is to do practice tests and analyze weak areas.

For the PSAT, a good score is whatever will get you National Merit Semifinalist qualification.

From my own experiences, practicing helped the most. However, I know some students who studied a lot harder than I did (and did much better than I did, heh). Some students go through like four books to get a good score. It just depends on how you are with the content and how well you take tests. Some kids don't do any practice questions at all and get 2300+ on the test.

My advice is to do everything you can to do well on the test. Some minor prepping for the test can do wonders for you in the long run. Spend some weeks pacing yourself through some tests, analyze what you did wrong, and improve on your mistakes. Some weeks (even days) prepping for the test can get you a scholarship for four years. Definitely worth it.

 

[emcee]

Ugh, I am terrible at math. I like it, but when ever I see huge equations, I freeze up. Probably going to take the SAT in october, but I'm already freaking out! The verbal and writing part is no problemo, it is the math part that is stressing me out.

 

[penguinophile]

Ugh, I am terrible at math. I like it, but when ever I see huge equations, I freeze up. Probably going to take the SAT in october, but I'm already freaking out! The verbal and writing part is no problemo, it is the math part that is stressing me out.

What classes have you taken? If you've taken through Algebra II, then you are golden. The best way to get over the nerves is to simply practice. If you have a friend that you can go over problems with, all the better, but no matter what you should still get out there and practice some problems. Are there any specific types of problems that make you nervous?

 

[EyEnStein 07]

I just graduated highschool, therefore obviously very familiar with the SATs.

Here is my advice to you;;

Math - The easiest section to pull up your grades, whether your a math person or not. This is because looking through many practice tests...the SAME questions with different numbers frequently appear. All you have to do is learn how to solve just one..and keep doing it. You will also see similar phrasing but ofcourse here and there will be one out of the blue, and in many cases its part of an "experimental" section, if not, 1 question wont hurt you too much.

Critical Reading - I cannot help you here because im poor in this area. However i can tell you to memorize vocab because honestly thats the only points i had in this section. The best thing to do is look online for an "SAT word list." Kaplan gives you flash cards (though i took the course was bored out of my mind). Word lists are flashcards are great, its just a matter of which you feel more comfortable, even if it means giving your little brother sister or someone in the family the list to test u every day after your done memorizing.

Writing - I liked this section alot. Remmember the essay is actually the easiest part to maximize your points. All you need is to read the question they ask. Forget whats in the box. Read the question, think of 3 examples, try to mix them, like 1 example from a book, 1 from history, 1 from personal experiences. One intro stating indirectly yet sort of obviously if you agree or disagree with the quote. 3 paragraphs on your examples. A short and fine conclusion. This isnt an AP English essay or an honors essay. Its simply to show that you know how to write, clearly and though out in a short period of time.


Prep courses i took kaplan, bored me to death. Remmember, the point of a prep course is not to learn any material really....Your paying for their books, and tests. Which is what everyone really needs...a practice.

And think of it like this....it does not matter AS much what type of classes you have taken in highschool In my opinion...why? Simply because when studying for the SAT you never hear of someone taking out there notes from 9th and 10th grade studying math or reviewing essays. These tests are for placement basically...focus more on breaking down the actual test literally, in terms of time and content, and what is asked of you.

Hope this stuff helped

 

[DwyaneWade]

When I took the SAT it was out of 1600, so I can't really help with the writing section.

As others said it is very important to take lots of practice questions and get familiar with the format/timing/pacing of the exam. I used the old "10 real SATs book" and took a few of those tests to prepare.

Besides that the SAT and PSAT are very important, people underrate the PSAT but that is an extra $2500 you could get as a National Merit Scholar. Doing well on these tests will help greatly with the college admissions process besides getting you above cut-offs.

 

[chordy4]

granted, it was a few years ago when i was awarded a scholarship, but at least through 2004 you always had to score in the 99% percentile on the PSAT to be considered for a NM scholarship. it doesn't necessarily matter what your score is in each section (though it will need to be relatively high) so much as if you are in that top percentile.

also, keep in mind that it is no guarantee that you will actually get the scholarship. there is then an application, essay, recommendations to get. i believe in my high school there were 6 students out of over 400 who qualified, and i believe i was the only one who was awarded a scholarship. granted, it's not horrible odds. and depending on the type of scholarship, it can actually end up being more than $2500. if you get one of the ones that goes through the college/university you attend, it can be upwards of $2000 every year for 4 years.

 

[penguinophile]

granted, it was a few years ago when i was awarded a scholarship, but at least through 2004 you always had to score in the 99% percentile on the PSAT to be considered for a NM scholarship. it doesn't necessarily matter what your score is in each section (though it will need to be relatively high) so much as if you are in that top percentile.

also, keep in mind that it is no guarantee that you will actually get the scholarship. there is then an application, essay, recommendations to get. i believe in my high school there were 6 students out of over 400 who qualified, and i believe i was the only one who was awarded a scholarship. granted, it's not horrible odds. and depending on the type of scholarship, it can actually end up being more than $2500. if you get one of the ones that goes through the college/university you attend, it can be upwards of $2000 every year for 4 years.

Also, there are scholarships that only NM finalists are eligible for, so that 2500 could multiply quickly.

 

[vstexas09]

i didn't do that great the first time (1900, not the greatest test taker), and now im taking it in october...

how many times should i practice to boost my score..i only have like 6 wks left!

 

[penguinophile]

i didn't do that great the first time (1900, not the greatest test taker), and now im taking it in october...

how many times should i practice to boost my score..i only have like 6 wks left!

As many times as you can stomach. If I were you, at least 1 full length test each weekend and 2 sections per weekday so you do 2 fulls tests per week.

Also, (this goes to everyone reading this) the "not the greatest test taker" was always a personal pet peeve of mine when I tutored. Sure, maybe you didn't do well, but there isn't anything inherent in you that is making you do poorly. Perhaps you didn't review as much as you needed to, or didn't do as many practice tests as possible, or didn't mentally walk yourself through the test taking process. Any and all of these things are possible reasons why you didn't reach you goals, but being a "bad test taker" is not a valid reason.

So much of standardized tests are mental, and you knock yourself down a good 50-100 points by pigeonholing yourself as a bad test taker. Suck it up, practice as much as you can, and you can do anything you want. Best of luck!

 

[Laurel123]

Hi everyone!

Well, I took the SAT about 15 years ago, and everything's changed so much since then. My neice is just starting her SAT studying and I want to get her an SAT prep material for Christmas (sounds lame, but she's very intense and would love it)

After taking standardized tests for most of my 32 years, the one thing I have learned in that the best way to study is by taking practice tests that are identical to the real thing. In fact, old tests are the best way! So i was hoping you guys could recommend to me the best way to get old SAT tests to practice or a study guide that has the most accurate SAT practice tests and scoring.

Thanks!!

LL