<p>So, I plan to take the January SAT for admissions to IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy) and I want to get the most out of my time. I am a 9th grader so I realize I have limited knowledge compared to what the SAT will be assessing. This entire summer I have been trying to study but find myself constantly slacking, getting distracted, and focusing on useless things. I realized I needed a structured learning process. I have been searching and searching for a plan to study but can't really find anything. I try to study now since I feel more time is better for a younger, less educated person. It is hard for me to create a plan that I don't even know works. This is what I can tell you about myself. </p>
<p>SAT score Jan '14: 1390
CR:410
Math:540
Writing:440</p>
<p>Looking for these kind of scores on the 2015 SAT
Score: 1850
CR: 600
Math: 650
Writing: 600</p>
<p>I have known for a while now that my reading skills are terrible since I don't read as much as I used to. Yet I am still in honors. So this is why am not the best at going through a SAT prep book productively or in a beneficial matter. Critical Reading is my main focus since that's probably the subject which will take me longer to learn. Writing for me is easy to improve on and I don't believe to be much importance to IMSA so I am holding off on that. I received an 8 on my essay. For math I believe I can catch on pretty quickly, but unsure on what I should do. Should I learn subjects under math from say KhanAcademy or learn the setup of SAT math problems? If someone could help give me tips on what I should do daily every weekday that would be helpful. I also would like to know the best way to learn mass amounts of vocab in this time. I actually want to know and understand so when I see the word in should be easy for me to know what the meaning is and how to use it in context. I am trying to do all this in about 5-6 months leading up to the test. Thanks!</p>
<p>Learn Direct Hits Volume 1 and 2, and comb through the CR sections for vocab in the multiple choice you have not seen before. Neither volume is long so you’ll be able to read through them quickly. Learn vocab as you take the tests because in my experience vocab lists were not helpful. </p>
<p>When I was studying for the SAT and especially in the summer, I took half an SAT a day. If I was really mad at myself I’d take the whole thing, lol. If you can get in the habit of doing at least a section a day (maybe a full SAT on the weekends) and reviewing it carefully, you will see your score improve. It really does just take practice and learning from your mistakes. </p>
<p>Oh when it comes to the essay, this method has always worked for me to get a 10+ on it. Got an 11 twice. Should be done within the first five minutes of the essay. It seems like a lot, but if you prewrite a little you can make up for it because you know what you’re writing and you don’t have to second guess yourself.
Find the topic and pick a side
Really short intro + thesis (the side you picked)
Pick three examples, make them simple (a personal example, two historical/literature examples)
Make sure the historical/literature examples are sorta unknown to most people. Pls don’t pick famous presidents or popular books.
Conclusion</p>
<p>Five minutes should save you a lot of time and panicking and this way you will definitely fill up two pages. If three examples are too much then write about 2, but make sure you have enough to say - you want to fill up both pages completely! </p>
<p>So, all I need to do in terms of vocab is reading through those two books? Especially since there are lots of words I don’t think I will be able to catch on as quickly to understand. So, i thought creating a list will help a lot more than just reading through.</p>
<p>well, Actually, IMSA doesn’t take the writing score. Question: Are you Indian? Because not to be racist, but Indian’s need a comparability higher SAT score then other people. </p>
<p>well, actually, IMSA does consider writing. But not from the SAT. They make you write around 4 essays on somewhat personal topics. But they definately don’t consider the writing portion of the sat. Only math and reading. </p>
<p>CR - Direct Hits Vol. 1 & 2.
- The Essential 500 Words
- NY Times / The Economist (learn words you don’t know and write brief summaries after reading articles.)</p>
<p>Math - Learn and master basic concepts of Algebra I/II and Geometry and Statistics (mean, median, mode, range)
- Practice & review***
- Practice & review
- Practice & review</p>
<p>Writing - Sparknotes section on SAT Writing
- Barron’s 2400 Writing section
- Practice & review**
- Practice & review</p>
<p>***You should use the Blue Book for practice and learn why you got questions wrong. Good luck!</p>
<p>**You can really use a lot of resources for Writing. Kaplan (great explanations), Barron’s, Sparknotes, but mainly use Blue Book. You improve in Writing after finding out explanations of right answers, because it’s easiest to improve on, as limited concepts are tested (conjunctions, parallelism, tenses, clauses, etc.)</p>
<p>Do spend a lot of time reviewing your results and don’t just mark the wrong answers but also note what area they are from. For example if you miss a question in CR, note down whether it was due to vocab or mistake in inference or main idea of passage, etc. Similarly in Maths if its Trig or Algebra or xyz.
Also when doing Practice when you are unsure of 2 answers and guess one of them put a mark on that question. Even if you got it right, you could use some more preparing in that area. Once you take a couple of practice tests start making a database of your wrong area’s and things you guessed.
Consider yourself lucky if you can identify your weak links and mostly make mistakes in them. If your mistakes are all over, you will longer time to prepare.</p>
<p>Take as many practice tests as you can. Im talking like at least 10. If you can, find a course like kaplan that offers a real practice tests once a week (about $600, but other companies are cheaper). If you cant afford that, then buy them from a test prep company and take them by yourself in a classroom after school ( taking the test in a realistic setting helps you concentrate, so avoid taking practice tests at home in your pajamas). </p>
<p>@kidfood what part of the SAT test do you need more help with? English or Math?
I had more trouble with Criticical Reading so I did like twelve lessons from an Indian SAT Prep program called Growing Stars. Trust me, this program is so helpful. My reading score went up from 590 to like 670. in around 12 lessons ( 1 lesson each week). It’s really cheap too. like $240 for 12 lessons. Where in Princeton Review it was like $1000 for 2 weeks of classes. </p>
<p>Probably reading so I guess that would help. I posted this in the summer since I had a LOT of time and I was stupid enough to not study. I thought I would have time when the school year starts, but I was very wrong. I don’t even have much time to study at home, let alone outside resources. @priyaluvsbooks </p>
<p>well, I did the outside sources thing during school. What I did, was I would wake up at 4:00 AM and immediately start studying. It’s hard, but honestly I feel like it paid off. My parents really pushed me to do it though. </p>