Completely confused sophomore

Test Preparation
1

<p>Hi, I'm a sophomore at a public high school in CT (about 2,500 students)...
I'm really stressed out and confused about ACT, SAT, etc. Could anyone give me some good advice on how to study, what to study, what not to do, what I should definitely do, etc? Thanks so much</p>

2

<p>Take a practice test and find out what you need to improve upon.</p>

3

<p>Specific advice also depends on which of the tests you’re taking, unless you’re taking both. I would take 1 practice test of each, convert scores among them and see which test I would do better at.</p>

4

<p>(My school has almost that many people too!)</p>

<p>Hope this helps:</p>

<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;

<p>Also, just browse all the CC forums. You’ll find a lot of useful information scattered around.</p>

5

<p>I’m a junior and am in the midst of this. If you think you might want to apply to any schools that require SAT Subject tests, all or almost all of the ivy leagues and a good many of the competitive schools right below the ivy leagues, you might want to think about what you want to take. I took the Bio one right after 9th grade when I took Bio and am so glad I did because now I only need to take one more SAT subject test. If you are taking the ACT you may not need to take subject tests, not sure on that one. </p>

<p>A general recommendation for SATs is to read books that you’re interested in so you can absorb some of the vocabulary. </p>

<p>Also, when you take the PSAT I think it’s worth studying at least some so you can guage how much studying got you the score you got. Also, getting a good PSAT score can win you scholarships and get you into competitive programs.</p>

6

<p>^I agree with all the above, practice test are probably your best bet to gauge where you are. If you are really that confused, I would recommend scheduling a meeting with your counselor to discuss it</p>

7

<p>Thanks everyone! My plan right now is to get a bunch of CollegeBoard books with practice tests for both the SAT I & ACT, take them, see how I’m doing and get a tutor just to learn the ins and outs of the tests</p>

8

<p>One book I recommend for the ACT is a book by Chad Cargill. He’s a guy from my state that travels a lot and does workshops about the ACT and sells books and calculators. He took the test 18 times in high school, raising his score from 19 to 32. His books are very helpful and I do recommend them.
[Chad</a> Cargill.com](<a href=“http://www.chadcargill.com%5DChad”>http://www.chadcargill.com)</p>

9

<p>Why would you want to buy an ACT prep book from a guy who got a 32?</p>

10

<p>He took the test 18 times and has a strong understanding of it. And the book has a lot of useful information in it.</p>

<p>That question came across as pretty snobby and rude to me jgraider. You seem like the kind of person I would have a strong hatred for. Just saying. :)</p>

11

<p>haha - no hostility, guys!</p>

12

<p>My recommendation is take the PSAT in October and/or the PLAN and see how you manage the questions. This will help you determine whether the SAT or ACT is better for you. Take the SAT and/or ACT in the spring of junior year. I studied for the March SAT only using the official SAT guide (the blue book), and fared well. Also, if you have even a vague idea of what schools you’re interested in during junior year, see if any of them require SAT subject tests (one hour tests in specific subjects). If so, it’s best to do these at the end of junior year.</p>