A 2-year or a 4-year school? College or university? State school or private? The buzz of questions and decisions can make any high school junior feel lost and confused. To top it off, the choice to go on to college comes with the dreaded task of taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test; The S.A.T. The most popular time to take the S.A.T is in the spring of your junior year in high school and many find it helpful to take more than 1 official S.A.T to ensure the best possible score reported to colleges. The S.A.T is a long-standing test and thankfully, there are many tips and tricks to prepare you for success on the S.A.T.
In order to do well on the S.A.T it is important to first understand the test itself. The S.A.T will take three hours, usually given at a local high school. The S.A.T is broken into 10 timed sections and one essay, measuring a student’s aptitude in Math, Verbal skills and Writing. Essentially, the S.A.T’s purpose is to measure a student’s ability and predict their success in post-secondary education. There is no “failing” grade on the S.A.T; each section is graded on a scale of 200-800, the best possible score being 2400. Students are required sign up for the test in advance; often receiving help through their guidance department.
After you sign up, there is a considerable amount of practice that should go into preparing yourself for the S.A.T. Thankfully, many years of the test have led to some great discoveries on the best tips and tricks.
Materials are crucial: dead calculator batteries or dull pencil erasers can really stress you out! Make sure you have a reliable working calculator, plenty of number 2 pencils in good condition and, for studying purposes, a dictionary.
Do research! Doing a little searching on the internet will give students an array of review guides, study materials and tips.
Practice, practice, practice! By practicing with old test questions, students become familiar with wording of questions and choices and become comfortable with the timing and pacing of the test. It is best to take as many practice tests as possible.
Mimic the test. During the S.A.T, all examinees will be in a very quiet room, so it is good to practice and study under the same conditions.
studying in front of the T.V while eating dinner and texting to your friends is not the way the test will be given on the exam day, so try your best to create a mock exam room each time you study and take practice tests; the room should be quiet and void of distractions.
There is also another study option available to many students: a formal S.A.T prep course. Companies like Princeton Review and Kaplan hire qualified teachers to tutor groups of students in preparation for the S.A.T exam. Some high schools even offer such a class for credit. Students gain the opportunity to work in a small group setting, studying and preparing with other students with the same goal and an expert. These courses offer students access to tips and tricks of the exam as well as valuable test taking skills over a series of sessions that meet for 1 to 1 hours per each section, Math and Verbal. This setting works for many students who are looking for a guide to navigate them through studying and preparing for the S.A.T.
If the S.A.T prep course sounds appealing to you, there are a few things you should know before diving into one. First, these classes, unless offered by your high school for credit, cost money. Eight-ten sessions over a span of months can cost anywhere from 200.00-600.00 dollars, which may or may not include your supplies for class such as a review guide and vocabulary book. Secondly, these classes cost valuable time each week. It is important to make sure that your schedule allows you to attend all of the sessions; missing just 1 or 2 could put you behind the other students and leave you feeling lost on some aspects of the test. Lastly, the amount of effort you put into the homework and assigned studying will be equal to what you get out of the course.
The S.A.T is an important part of finishing your high school career. Often, the test looms in junior Year as something big, scary and difficult. With a little practice and some research, the fears can be lifted and being successful on the S.A.T can be manageable and stress free. No matter your decision to study solo or join a prep class, completing the S.A.T to the best of your ability will ensure that you head down the right path as you move out of high school and on to college.
Alan Greene is a university administrator who writes on a wide variety of education subjects which include online degree programs and online college options for working professionals.