The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is the fundamental requirement for your college applications. It serves as a basis for colleges and universities in order to make decisions pertaining to admissions. The underlying purpose of the test is to check the preparedness of a high school student to enter college.
It is recommended that the students take the SAT Questions test towards the end of their junior year of high school or towards the end of the calendar year (November/December) in their senior year.
There are two sections on the SAT:
-Math
-Evidence-based reading and writing
There is also the third section, but it is not obligatory to all the students, because the admission policies of different colleges may vary. You need to check the requirements of the colleges that you are going to apply to, and then decide whether you want to take this part of the examor not.
The SAT is a 3-hour lengthy exam, and if you decide to appear for the third section, it will be 50 minutes longer. The test is pen- and paper-based, so you need to be preparedfor that format. According to the new guidelines, there no longer exists a wrong-answer penalty.
There are specific rules that you must follow in order to pass the exam successfully:
1. Try to understand mistakes that you committed in practice tests. After analyzing your errors, you are going to realize that all of them fall into four broad categories
-Content weakness
-Careless error
- Time pressure
-An issue in the comprehension of a question
Thus, after detecting the cause behind the particular problem, you can decide how to tackle it.
2. Passage reading recommendations
-Skim through: if you are not a very diligent reader and you need to read a lot of text, then you can use a special approach. Try to get the idea of the passage by reading the introduction, concluding paragraph, and the first and the last sentences of each passage. This is going to allow you to have a basic idea about the entire passage.
- Thorough reading: if you read quickly and can understand the crux of the passage from the first time, then this is the best option to resort to; however, if it is slowing you down,you may turn to skim through method.
-Strengthen the basics:as far as mathematics is concerned, you must be well versed with the basics so that you do not face any issue while dealing with the questions on the exam. You can also reattempt the questions that have been answered by you incorrectly in your practice test.This will help you understand how to deal with certain questions.
- Memorize the formulas:you must keep the formulas in your mind so that you do not have to refer to the book over and over again. This is going to save a plenty of time for you during the preparation and will serve you well on the exam.
Resourcesfor the SATPreparation
The SAT scores that you obtain can change your life,depending on the range they fall in. If you want the scores to be closer to the maximum, you may be interested in reliable materials to prepare for your test. Here we have compiled some resources, which you can use to improve your scoressignificantly.
SAT Books:
1. SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published-this book has been designed in order to develop strategies to ace the SAT test. The guide is considered to be very useful for students who take the exam seriously.
2. Princeton Review - 500+ Practice Questions for the New SAT -this book consists of various questions, which are similar to the ones made for the new SAT. Itcontainsquestions and answers,so you can check whether your answers are correct and get used to the test format.
3. Cracking the New SAT Premium Edition - this book has been designed in order to suit the changes that have been made to the pattern of SAT. The guide is equipped with various tests and a thorough guide on how to achieve the great marks on the SAT exam.
SATWebsites:
1. The Critical Reader: test takers can rely upon this source for the preparation to the English section of the SAT exam. Through this website, you can also get in touch with the SAT tutors, who are going to guide you through the preparation process and will help you to increase your scores.
2. Magoosh: this website is going to allow you to get acquainted with various resources that you can use as in your preparation. The site is used by more than 1,5 million students and offers a variety of prep materials such as practice tests and video lectures.
3. Veritas Prep: this website is one of the best that we have come across as far as the preparation for the SAT exam is concerned. The site offers various resources such as free prep classes and private tutoring, so that you can do well on the SAT test. Note: all the courses on site are paid.
4. Khan Academy: this website provides the access to a large number ofpractice tests along with the possibility to analyze the results so that you can work on your weaknesses.
5. Princeton Review: this resource offers the access to practice tests, which are considered to be the best training forthe SAT exam. On this site, you can also find various exam-taking strategies you can use on the actual test.
We wish you good luck on your SAT exam!
