Advice for SATs

[Dudette]

Hey all, I need to take an SAT (because I want to go to college in the US) but Canadians aren't required to take them, so I was wondering if you had any info to offer me...I'm kind of lost. Thanks.

[Brother Adam]

Not all colleges in the US require them, in fact I never took them and have gone to three colleges - a community college, a public university and here at FUS. But if you have to take them the only advice I can give is this:

Go with God

[Jaime]

Advice on how to get the test or pointers on taking it?

[Dudette]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Oct 19 2005, 12:52 PM']Not all colleges in the US require them, in fact I never took them and have gone to three colleges - a community college, a public university and here at FUS. But if you have to take them the only advice I can give is this:

Go with God
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Well, to apply at Benedictine they ask for your ACT or SAT score..so....yeah.

hot stuff, pointers on taking it.

[Sojourner]

Sleep well beforehand and eat a good breakfast.

[Carrie]

There are practice books if you're really worried about it.

If I remember correctly, the sections are vocbaulary, math, and they have recently added an essay writing section.

You can get six free practice tests [url="https://satonlinecourse.collegeboard.com/loginAction.do"]HERE.[/url]

As Abby said, a good night sleep and a good breakfast are really important.

[Iacobus]

Take both the ACT and SAT and take them more then once.

[Carrie]

More free practice sites:

[url="http://www.number2.com/"]Number2.com[/url]

[url="http://www.freesat1prep.com/"]FreeSat1Prep[/url]

[url="http://www.freevocabulary.com/"]SAT vocabulary words[/url]

Good luck!

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Iacobus' date='Oct 19 2005, 03:41 PM']Take both the ACT and SAT and take them more then once.
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This isn't always beneficial. Some schools take your best scores, while other schools take your average.

That's true for the LSAT's, too, I've been discovering.

[argent_paladin]

Good breakfast and sleep are overrated. I didn't sleep the night before and aced it.
I've maxed it out and taught it, so I would say that there are a couple of things that you should do that would improve your score by a hundred points or more.

First, buy a prep book with a cd-rom so that you can take practice tests on a computer. The most important thing is to take at least two practice tests under real test conditions (timed and in the morning). Then you will be comfortable for the real thing.

There are definitely techniques that can increase your score. The books have a lot of them. They involve educated guessing. You don't need to know the answer from nowhere. Instead you have four choices and just need to eliminate the wrong ones. Even if you just eliminate one and guess, you will do better than skipping it.
For math, brush up on formulas like the area of a circle, the relationship of angles to sides in triangles, etc. For vocab, the books have vocab lists. All you have to do is cram a bit and it should help a lot. There are only about 100 words that most people need to learn for the test. The other million words in English are either too easy and most people know them already or too hard and no one is expected to know them. If you know the middle 100 words, you will do much better.
Finally, the essay. Every study has shown that length is what matters here. Just write like crazy and don't stop until the time is up. The longer the better.

[argent_paladin]

One more thing, even if it doesn't matter too much to get a high score to get into the university you want, it does matter once you get in, because some scholarships are tied to it. I've found that I am eligible for ALOT more money in grad school because of my test scores. Even two weeks is plenty of time to prep for the test.

[Sojourner]

Practices are overrated. I didn't prepare at all and aced it.

[Brother Adam]

i agree that practice tests are pretty much a waste of money unless you've never taken an objective test before in your life.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Take it twice. If you don't like the first score, you'll do twice as well on the second. They best way is to have a general idea of the format of the test (time alotted, etc.)

[Dudette]

Thanks so much everyone...uh...which books though? Like I have no idea, someone recommended me the Collegeboard book and the Princeton book on SATs...I don't know if there are any better ones?

About the overrated stuff, how about I do both, the practice tests (i don't want to pay for these) and getting a good night sleep.

[Iacobus]

I did one fake test, the school made me. It said I woulg get a 22. I got a 31. If you did well in school, are good at tests, and sleep the night before, they are a brezze. Also, most schools are looking less and less that those numbers and more at the other data (one of the big ones, I think it is Ivy, has stopped looking at tests altogether.)

[theculturewarrior]

I recommend buying the Princeton Review's study guide. Take the class with them too if you can.

[Dudette]

[quote name='theculturewarrior' date='Oct 19 2005, 08:13 PM']I recommend buying the Princeton Review's study guide. Take the class with them too if you can.
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hehe, thanks. What kind of class, internet? If it's not then I can't....

[Snarf]

For the Verbal section, spend your life reading novels by over-rated British pedants.

[Cow of Shame]

and know what pedants means