<p>I am going to take SSAT exam in November so I need to try harder. Because I'm an international student so I find some difficulties in SSAT. I want to ask about some skills for SSAT. I think the questions from SSAT is quite broad.
- Verbal:
+ Synonyms: If I learn vocabularies from SAT, will it help me work well on this part?
+ Analogies: I am really bad at this. Should I much focus on methods or vocabularies? And I don't know where to learn these new words. Can you suggest me some (kinds of words and where to learn it)
- Reading: Is that quite identical to SAT reading? (of course not as hard as that) and also how can I improve my poem? :((
- Math: Is there any good books for this section?
Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Familiarize yourself with the test by purchasing a test prep book that is written specifically for the SSAT (not the SAT - that is a different test). You can find these books at most large bookstores; they’re also available on Amazon. </p>
<p>Different people have their preferences as to which publisher they like best. Some options include (in no particular order):
- the official SSAT Study Guide, published by SSAT
- Kaplan’s SSAT/ISEE
- Barron’s SSAT/ISEE
- Cracking the SSAT (Princeton Review)
- Peterson’s SSAT/ISEE
- McGraw-Hill’s SSAT/ISEE</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that it is a good idea to be familiar with what to expect on test day, and these books help you understand what will be on the test. Take a practice test, and do it under “test-day conditions”: complete all the sections at one sitting, take the test in a quiet place with few distractions, have one of your parents’ proctor the test and time the different sections. After you take a practice test, you’ll have a better idea of your strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>Here’s some tips for analogies:
- Identify the relationship and WRITE IT DOWN (This way, you can think and not waste valuable time trying to remember.)
- Identify if there’s an AB CD pattern such as Cat is to Mammal as Frog is to Amphibian.
- Or there could possibly be a AC BD pattern. </p>
<p>Here’s some of my advice:
If you’re sick, reschedule! (I’ve taken this test sick and believe me, it is not fun.)
Get a good nights sleep
Have a Good breakfast
If you get nervous and can’t focus with other people around you, i believe that you can have a private SSAT instructor. [Additional fee required i think]</p>
<p>If you got anymore questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>My (random) tips:
I got 99th percentile after studying like crazy, so here’s my tips
-I studied SAT words from a pack a bought at a bookstore. I also studied roots that I think I got from from online that I wrote on notecards. It did help. My first verbal score was around 60th percentiles, and on my last practice test it was 89th, and on the real thing I got 98th.
-When I did a math problem I would put down the answer that I got if it was a choice and then if I wasn’t sure (if it was tedious or I just ‘had a feeling’ that it might be wrong) I would put a C (for check) next to the question. If I didn’t know or thought it would take to long I would put an O around the number. I would always have a lot of time at the end and would go to the O’s first (there were usually 1 or 2) and then the C’s (usually between 4-8). This worked well for me on the SSAT but I quickly realized that it didn’t work at all for me on the SAT II since I was way more pressed for time. For the SSAT I consistently scored 98th and 99th percentile scores on math practice tests throughout the year of preparation, and I got all the questions right on the actual test.
-For the math test the #1 thing you can do to prepare is get the Barron’s book and work straight through the math section start to finish. I got the Barron’s book and the official SSAT book.
-The reading comp. was the hardest section and it was way harder than in the practice tests. I took the test two years ago so I don’t know if it’s still the same, but I scored 99th percentile for reading comp. on every practice test and got 96th on the real thing, and it was hard. It was longer than I expected too so learn to read quickly.</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>Oh and one more thing: Don’t be afraid to omit questions on the verbal section! I omitted something like 6 or 7 and still got 98th percentile. I was in the youngest age group of the harder test, but still, don’t be afraid to omit!</p>
<p>Although I did not take latin (which helps a lot with standardized tests) my school did offer up a program called Word within the word. Word within the word contains a bunch of root words (greek, latin…)
If you go through a few of the lists you can start to see how certain roots (such as “bi” meaning two and “cycle” meaning circle or circular) come together in order to make words like “bicycle” and of course much harder vocabulary words as well.
I know that it may seem like there are tons of lists and an endless amount of roots but when I was studying for the SSAT I found it more helpful to study these roots and ultimately understand new words that I encountered instead of attempting to study several vocabulary words and then forget them after the test.
Here’s the link…happy studying! I hope you find it useful.
[Word</a> within the word flashcard sets and study tools | Quizlet](<a href=“http://quizlet.com/subject/word-within-the-word/]Word”>http://quizlet.com/subject/word-within-the-word/)</p>
<p>Thanks everybody’s advice very much. My last SSAT result is not really high, but it helps me to be admitted by the school I like. So I am happy with it :)</p>
<p>Congratulations, daophuonglien!!!</p>
<p>And thanks for reviving your thread with this news - it’s always nice to hear about a happy ending!</p>
<p>I recommend this book: [Cracking</a> the SSAT & ISEE, 2012 Edition (Private Test Preparation): Princeton Review: 9780375427138: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-SSAT-Edition-Private-Preparation/dp/0375427139]Cracking”>http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-SSAT-Edition-Private-Preparation/dp/0375427139)</p>
<p>However look to see if they 2013 edition.</p>
<p>GL.</p>
<p>I memorized 800+ words for the test. Memorize every single freaking word that you don’t know.</p>
<p>I really like Barron’s ssat book , the vocab words in there are really useful in the test. The Princeton review book is also good.</p>
<p>Here’s a 732 word vocab list I found from someone on CC…it combined words from Princeton Review, Barron’s, and I think Kaplan’s. [Ultimate</a> SSAT Vocabulary List flashcards | Quizlet](<a href=“http://quizlet.com/13449565/ultimate-ssat-vocabulary-list-flash-cards/]Ultimate”>http://quizlet.com/13449565/ultimate-ssat-vocabulary-list-flash-cards/)</p>
<p>I also found a prefixes and roots one, which helped a lot for words I didn’t know. Only got me a 2 or 3 more answers right on the test, but that can be a difference maker!! [SSAT</a> Prefixes and Roots flashcards | Quizlet](<a href=“http://quizlet.com/13427732/ssat-prefixes-and-roots-flash-cards/]SSAT”>http://quizlet.com/13427732/ssat-prefixes-and-roots-flash-cards/)</p>
<p>Hope this helps!!</p>
<p>Make games to learn vocab. We would do a betting game-- one M&M etc-- if mom/dad knew the word but S didn’t then one of his M&M’s came our way, if it was the other way around then it went to him-- if both knew or didn’t know then the M&M stayed in the center.</p>
<p>It made it fun.</p>
<p>[SAT</a> Vocabulary on Vocab Test.com - Free Vocabulary Tests](<a href=“http://www.vocabtest.com/]SAT”>http://www.vocabtest.com/) helped us a great deal. I Like that it goes by grade level.</p>