<p>People taking the 2016 SAT are only in grade 10 right now, but some people say they started studying in grade 9. Are you already studying?</p>
<p>That is absurd and a waste of time. Don’t start studying two years before the test, especially since its being completely redesigned. Instead use that time to involve yourself in extracurriculars and to get better grades. </p>
<p>It may sound crazy to you but I have met people who started studying very early on (like grade 9 and 10) and practices right up to the test. There are already people looking for materials for the new SAT. I certainly can’t fault them for their dedication. They were going for Ivy league.</p>
<p>Psh, I did SAT prep in 6th grade. But there’s really no point. Your going to learn the material anyway.</p>
<p>I dunno @wcao9311 . Not everyone learns what they need for the test in school. I think it would be bad advice to say don’t bother studying. Especially since the SAT isn’t just about curriculum, but reasoning.</p>
<p>There is no need to “prep” for the test that early, however, one should build up the knowledge and vocab early on. For the test technique, just a few months of preparation is enough. I do give questions from SAT/ACT to my D since middle school though just as an exercise, not really preparing for the test.</p>
<p>Thanks @billcsho
I like your perspective on building basic skills early, but not bothering with drilling the structure of the test itself early on. I hear a lot of perspectives and I see a disconnect between how people view supplementing their schooling with things like extra math help, etc to get ahead in their class and education and how people view exam prep. Supplemental education is proven to be beneficial, but people scorn the idea of laying the foundations for exam prep when a high score on your SAT could have a huge impact on your future. I believe strongly in the power of preparation, so leaving it to the Fall of grade 12 seems reckless to me.</p>
<p>@LisaCF I would say leaving it to the Spring of grade 11 instead. I would suggest to avoid taking these test in the Fall of senior.</p>
<p>Most people who really know say building vocabulary is very important and cannot be crammed. Build vocabulary by reading books that stretch your vocabulary by using the full English language. I am sure there is a list of good books for this. Fill your free time exploring ideas and reading good books. Work extra hard on every essay that you write- not just the content, but the approach and logic of putting it together.</p>
<p>I have heard that the best SAT essays come from allocating some time (less than a minute) to sketching out an outline, organizing paragraphs, and identifying a salient quotation to support your thesis; and then writing crazy-fast to produce what in real-life would be called a first draft (i.e. don’t sweat the details, just rough out the essay). If you practice this sort of approach/methodology and refine it with your teachers over the next couple of years every time you have a writing assignment, you will be ahead, since you will have been ‘practicing’ for the test.</p>
<p>And Math? Understand very well what you are being taught, and plan to start test-prep Junior year. It is hard to study concepts you have not yet learned.</p>
<p>In other words, consider what constitutes test prep when you have long time-lines and do that. Do not do the “test prep” that is designed for those who only have a couple of months to study.</p>
It’s not really a waste of time. Honestly, the earlier the better. People who are studying for the test can still study the current SAT books for helpful tips and knowledge. It’s not like people who study for the SATs are isolated from society and refuse to leave their house lol. I’m going to be a sophomore next year and I’m studying for the exam while strenuously volunteering… Like many other people are.
I’m becoming a sophomore next year, and I agree with the others. Reading, learning vocab, and paying attention in math helps. It’s good to start that now. Sure I’ve looked into resources and the new SAT, but I think it’s a waste to start full on prep now. That’s for junior year XD.
My boys started doing Khan Academy’s SAT prep last week to get ready for the PSAT in OCT. They will also take a local prep class in August. I’d rather them spend an hour a day for the next few months during the summer then trying to cram in September when they have school work, clubs, and sports.
Why prep in 9th grade when you can prep in 3rd grade? (Joking, though some kids do do that…)
Prepping the summer before the exam, before 11th grade, is fine. That’s what I did.
I’m sorry, I agree with @LisaCF in one area, and that is the new essay. You would be amazed — or maybe you wouldn’t be – how few students have been taught elements of rhetoric. The new SAT essay section is like the essay portion of the AP Lang exam.
Wait, if you don’t care about being competitive for college, don’t take the “optional” {wink, wink) essay portion of the new SAT.
This was precisely Mr. Coleman’s strategy, by the way. He said he wanted to make the [basic] SAT more accessible. (Translation: super easy, so that students whose schools don’t prepare them for college could get high scores and thus be accepted to a 4-year college and then not be able to perform at that college. Yeah, that makes sense.)
Then the new essay portion – or the ability to do well on it – could be “reserved” for serious students who have access to AP Lang in their high schools and are applying to selective colleges which will ask for that essay anyway.
That was the strategy.
The new reading portions are super-easy. It’s pathetic if someone can’t do well on them. Don’t know about the math, which is two sections – one with, one without calculators.