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Whats the best advice to give someone ho will be taking the SAT in December?
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Doc’s Answer
WHEN SHOULD YOU TAKE THE SAT
Before you decide when to start studying for the SAT, first you need to figure out when you’ll take the SAT. Given the content on the SAT and the college application timeline, you should aim to take your first SAT in the fall of your junior year. This gives you time to retake the SAT in the spring if you want to achive a higher score. Then if you score well, your senior year will be freed up for your college applications. Also, aiming for fall means your SAT studying won’t compete with AP or IB exams.
WHEN SHOULD YOU START STUDY FOR THE SAT
Working backwards from junior fall, it’s good to start studying at some point during sophomore year for a longer, less intense plan or the summer after sophomore year for a more intense plan. You'll have to decide between a more intense study schedule (like ten hours a week for two months) or a more gradual one (four hours a week for five months). Either method can work and help you make huge score increases, so choosing a plan will just depend on your schedule and study style.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE
If you’re aiming for highly selective colleges like the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and MIT, getting a high SAT score is extremely important. Definitely plan to take the PSAT as a sophomore to see how you are shaping up to do on the SAT. You should consider taking a full SAT practice test as well, since the PSAT doesn’t include all of the content tested on the real SAT. Once you have a starting score, decide whether you want to study during sophomore year at a more gradual pace or use the summer before junior year for a more intensive study schedule. Keep in mind your target SAT score should be 1500 or higher if you are aiming for top schools. This puts you in the higher end of admitted student score ranges for these schools, and thus improves your odds of admission. Next, take the SAT for the first time during junior fall. If you fall short of a 1500 (or whatever you set your target score at), plan to retake the SAT in junior spring and continue to study.
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE OVERALL STRUCTURE AND FORMAT OF THE SAT
The SAT is out of 1600 points distributed into two chunks: 800 points for the Math section, and 800 points for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (made up of a Reading test and a Writing test). The lowest possible score is 400 points (200 on each section). The different sections of the SAT test different areas of your knowledge and skills. Additionally, the SAT has a particular style of asking questions that you’ll want to become closely familiar with. Thus, each section has its own distinct set of question types and formats that you will face on test day. How to prepare for SAT math will be different than how to prepare for SAT reading, which will be different than how to prepare for SAT writing!
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Practicing for the SAT has two facets. The first facet is targeted practice of the skills you need to hone for the test. You can do this through practicing specific question types, topics, or entire sections that you need more work on. When you get questions wrong, make sure to really work through them to understand where you went astray. You’ll also probably want to engage in a couple of complete test practice runs. For these, take an official complete practice test under the same conditions you’ll have on test day. You may even want to try starting at the same time your test will really start at least once. Be sure to include breaks and a snack!
Good Luck Daniela
Register for the SAT – If you haven’t already registered for the SAT, you can register at the College Board website. You’ll need to create an account with them to register if you haven’t already. You’ll be able to select from different locations and dates. Try to pick a location that’s not too far away, since you’ll have to drive there the morning of the test! In terms of date, you want to make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare. If you’re totally unfamiliar with the SAT, I would advise picking a date at least three months in advance if possible. If you have to work on a compressed timeline because of application deadlines, you can do that too! You’ll just need to expect to spend more time preparing every week for a shorter number of weeks.
Before you decide when to start studying for the SAT, first you need to figure out when you’ll take the SAT. Given the content on the SAT and the college application timeline, you should aim to take your first SAT in the fall of your junior year. This gives you time to retake the SAT in the spring if you want to achive a higher score. Then if you score well, your senior year will be freed up for your college applications. Also, aiming for fall means your SAT studying won’t compete with AP or IB exams.
WHEN SHOULD YOU START STUDY FOR THE SAT
Working backwards from junior fall, it’s good to start studying at some point during sophomore year for a longer, less intense plan or the summer after sophomore year for a more intense plan. You'll have to decide between a more intense study schedule (like ten hours a week for two months) or a more gradual one (four hours a week for five months). Either method can work and help you make huge score increases, so choosing a plan will just depend on your schedule and study style.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE
If you’re aiming for highly selective colleges like the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and MIT, getting a high SAT score is extremely important. Definitely plan to take the PSAT as a sophomore to see how you are shaping up to do on the SAT. You should consider taking a full SAT practice test as well, since the PSAT doesn’t include all of the content tested on the real SAT. Once you have a starting score, decide whether you want to study during sophomore year at a more gradual pace or use the summer before junior year for a more intensive study schedule. Keep in mind your target SAT score should be 1500 or higher if you are aiming for top schools. This puts you in the higher end of admitted student score ranges for these schools, and thus improves your odds of admission. Next, take the SAT for the first time during junior fall. If you fall short of a 1500 (or whatever you set your target score at), plan to retake the SAT in junior spring and continue to study.
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE OVERALL STRUCTURE AND FORMAT OF THE SAT
The SAT is out of 1600 points distributed into two chunks: 800 points for the Math section, and 800 points for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (made up of a Reading test and a Writing test). The lowest possible score is 400 points (200 on each section). The different sections of the SAT test different areas of your knowledge and skills. Additionally, the SAT has a particular style of asking questions that you’ll want to become closely familiar with. Thus, each section has its own distinct set of question types and formats that you will face on test day. How to prepare for SAT math will be different than how to prepare for SAT reading, which will be different than how to prepare for SAT writing!
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Practicing for the SAT has two facets. The first facet is targeted practice of the skills you need to hone for the test. You can do this through practicing specific question types, topics, or entire sections that you need more work on. When you get questions wrong, make sure to really work through them to understand where you went astray. You’ll also probably want to engage in a couple of complete test practice runs. For these, take an official complete practice test under the same conditions you’ll have on test day. You may even want to try starting at the same time your test will really start at least once. Be sure to include breaks and a snack!
Good Luck Daniela
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Updated
Bryan’s Answer
One thing I would add on top of John's answer is practice the time management skills. Running out of time is not uncommon; there are a lot of questions crammed into fairly short sections, and test-takers often get bogged down by super-hard questions, unsure of whether they should guess and move on or keep working. It is definitely hard to concentrate for hours after hours, and this does require training.
Make sure you know how many questions are in each section and learn your own pace by practicing. Be familiar with all of the instructions so that you can save time for unnecessary reading. If you are ever ahead, make sure you use all the time given and review the answers you marked.
If you are opted in for SAT essay, it is also good idea to create your own template to structure your thought efficiently within the time frame, which will save you time as well.
Make sure you know how many questions are in each section and learn your own pace by practicing. Be familiar with all of the instructions so that you can save time for unnecessary reading. If you are ever ahead, make sure you use all the time given and review the answers you marked.
If you are opted in for SAT essay, it is also good idea to create your own template to structure your thought efficiently within the time frame, which will save you time as well.