How can a Chinese student prepare for the sat?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I am a Chinese senior high school student and I will take the sat1 test in March 2012,but how shuold I prepare for it?Especially critical reading and writing.
My averages(Offical Guide practice tests):</p>

<pre><code> Critical Reading:550
Writing:550
Math:800
</code></pre>

<p>Because I want to go to the Ivys,so I think at least I should get a 2100 in sat1,how shuold I do? Please help me,thx!</p>

2

<p>i tutor students all over the world, as well as having been a reader/scorer and an admissions officer at an ivy league school.</p>

<p>first, get set in your mind WHY you want to go to and ivy, and what you will bring to the population that other students won’t…especially Asian students.</p>

<p>secondly, read. read, and when you think you have read ,read some more.</p>

<p>always be asking yourself, why did you write this? what do you want me to know? what is this paragraph here for?</p>

<p>can i tell someone the main idea in 15 seconds or less?</p>

<p>vocab is likely to be tougher…if you don’t have a great vocab, yeah, you can look at things like direct hits to see if you can improve it, but simply reading and ensuring that you know what every word you read means, is the biggest help…use a dictionary.</p>

<p>lisa kay</p>

3

<p>Maybe I should think about what I gonna do and read more books before I take the test.Thank you.</p>

4

<p>And by the way,which type of younger do the Ivys need? Who can tell me? THx</p>

5

<p>You need much motivation in order to self-study SATs. I didn’t, so I chose to enroll in prep classes (in my case, Pton Review). The classes help do help. Best of luck.</p>

6

<p>There is no Pton in China now…Can I read some English novels to improve my reading skill?</p>

7

<p>Well, reading only really helps you if you’ve been reading since you were young. It doesn’t hurt to read, but one year of reading just isn’t enough of a prep. I’d start compiling vocabulary lists and memorize them. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>to#7:Thank you,and have you completed the Offical Guide? Is it a better choice to work on the Barron’s or the Pton Review after memorizing all the sat words?</p>

9

<p>I finished one Pton Review prep book, and did about 5 practices on the official guide.</p>

10

<p>I agree with geniustai, you do need a lot of self motivation to self study. I tried to self-study, and i never really got the score I wanted. I’m sure there are SAT classes in China, go take them. And if you have time, you should do both Barron’s and Princeton. You can never be over-prepared for these tests.</p>

11

<p>All you need is DH1+2, Silverturtle’s guide (found on the SAT forum), Xiggi’s/Noitaraprep’s guide for CR, and some motivation.</p>

<p>Oh, also buy the Blue Book.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

12

<p>I’m not so sure. I think that’s all a Chinese-AMERICAN (or Hong Kong resident) would need. Mainland Chinese students usually only get a couple hours of English class per day – and that’s with a teacher who’s (a) not a native speaker and (b) never had a native speaker for a teacher. As a result, they teach students to directly transpose Chinese into English. (By contrast, American ESL teachers try to teach non-native speakers to think in English.) </p>

<p>I’m in China right now, and I can assure you that she’s right: outside of Beijing and Shanghai, there’s no Pton Review or Kaplan. Actually, I’m not even sure there’s a Pton Review/Kaplan in those cities. </p>

<p>That said, I doubt motivation’s a problem. Parental pressure is far more intense here than the American media makes it seem. (It’s so bad kids “sleepwalk” out of windows if they get bad test scores.) It allows for far more effective “self-study” than in the states. </p>

<p>1) WongTongTong’s right about the books. Just buy ones focused on the test’s reading and writing. Don’t read a novel just to read a novel.</p>

<p>2) Your best bet would be to find an American teacher who’s willing to work via Skype. It will probably start at 150 kuai an hour, so you may need to get two or three friends in on the tutoring.</p>

<p>3) SAT =/= Gao Kao. In a lot of ways, it’s less important. A good score is “necessary but not sufficient” for the Ivy League. In other words, it is a prerequisite, but other things are equally important. </p>

<p>4) You may want to consider whether a gap year after high school will help you. A gap year is a year off between high school and college to do volunteer work and/or improve test scores. </p>

<p>5) You may want to consider enrolling in a Chinese university and transferring to a lower Ivy (e.g., Cornell or the University of Pennsylvania).</p>

<p>6) These articles may be helpful. I’ve noticed they don’t come up on Baidu’s first page. I think the author is also a consultant, so if you can afford her fees, she might be able to provide better advice for your situation.</p>

<p>[How</a> Chinese Students Struggle to Apply to U.S. Colleges - James Fallows - International - The Atlantic](<a href=“How Chinese Students Struggle to Apply to U.S. Colleges - The Atlantic”>How Chinese Students Struggle to Apply to U.S. Colleges - The Atlantic)</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/education/12college.html[/url]”>https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/education/12college.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[China’s</a> College Applicants: What Defines ‘Cheating’? - James Fallows - International - The Atlantic](<a href=“China's College Applicants: What Defines 'Cheating'? - The Atlantic”>China's College Applicants: What Defines 'Cheating'? - The Atlantic)</p>

<p>[‘Hi</a> Professors!’ Chinese Applicants Flood American Colleges - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/china/]'Hi”>'Hi Professors!' Chinese Applicants Flood American Colleges - The New York Times)</p>

<p>[For</a> Chinese Students in America, It’s Hard to Make Friends - James Fallows - International - The Atlantic](<a href=“For Chinese Students in America, It's Hard to Make Friends - The Atlantic”>For Chinese Students in America, It's Hard to Make Friends - The Atlantic)</p>

13

<p>To#7:Thank you for your answer.And do all the Ivys admit the “transfer one”? </p>

<pre><code> Btw,I cannot understand the grammars at all,but with my sense of language,I can usually get a high enough(not the highest) score in all the High school’s English tests(Made by the best Highschool in Tianjin).So for the sat1 CR and Writing,should I read more or learn the grammars?

    In fact when I was nine a Canadian has tutored me for a year,that is why I have the strong sense of language.

                                             Thank you!

</code></pre>

14

<p>Sorry that #13 is to idiotfish…I’ve made a mistake</p>

15

<p>TO#15:Keep holding on,dude! You can be great!</p>

16

<p>Don’t take English tips from poster #2.</p>

17

<p>Sorry I wrote it again…
To idiotfish:Thank you for your answer.And do all the Ivys admit the “transfer one”?</p>

<p>Btw,I cannot understand the grammars at all,but with my sense of language,I can usually get a high enough(not the highest) score in all the High school’s English tests(Made by the best Highschool in Tianjin).So for the sat1 CR and Writing,should I read more or learn the grammars?</p>

<p>In fact when I was nine a Canadian has tutored me for a year,that is why I have the strong sense of language.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

18

<p>And…Anyone can tell me how to work on my ec?
Sorry,maybe I should not have this topic here…Just talk about it…Thx.</p>

19

<p>As a general guideline, fewer ECs>laundry list of ECs. Though it may seem counter-intuitive at first, fewer ECs have several advantages: you can focus on ones you are passionate about, you will have less pressure and more fun, and finally you can have mor chance of obtaining leadership experiences.</p>

20

<p>Thank you.</p>