How did you 2200's prepare for the SATs?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I see a lot of people on the "What are my chances?" board and other college admission boards on here boasting their 2200+ scores, and for those people, and exclusively those people, I have a question.</p>

<p>What did you do? I mean, I can read as many lame WikiHow articles on preparing for the SATs as I want, but out of curiosity, how did YOU prepare? What did you do the night before/what strategies do you have on the test?</p>

<p>i.e. You slept for 9 hours, didn't bother with a breakfast. During testing, you skipped any difficult ones and returned to them or just chugged through. </p>

<p>Did you omit, or answer every question? etc. etc.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Oh, I how loveee this thread!!! Really curious to know!!
And also how many full practice tests do you take( if any) and how early before the test do you start to prepare?</p>

3

<p>Ahhh the SAT. I’ve only taken it once so far and I got a 2230 (730 CR/740 M/760 W) and I’m debating on whether or not I’ll take it again the fall.</p>

<p>As to how I prepared for it…I took the PSAT twice, once in sophomore year and then junior year, so I was already pretty familiar with the format. I did not buy any review books, I didn’t want to waste my money when there are practice tests and practice questions online. I started an account on I Need A Pencil (google it because CC won’t let my post the website name?) and on Sparknotes. I usually did about 20 practice questions a day (in the week before the test). I also read silverturtle’s guide to the SAT, which offers a lot of different test taking strategies. I suggest you go read that if you haven’t already. It’s long, but there’s a lot of useful information. Critical reading has always been my weak point so I had to work on strategies for that. The one I ended up using was reading through the questions first and looking for questions that indicated line or section, then I’d bracket or underline those lines in the passage so that I knew to pay closer attention to it during my reading. This process should take no longer than ~45 seconds!</p>

<p>I didn’t bother to memorize any vocabulary. There’s just too many possible words that the College Board could use and I didn’t want to overwhelm my brain. If you’re going to try to memorize anything, I would suggest Latin and Greek roots. But then again, there’s a lot of those to remember too.</p>

<p>Math was pretty straightforward, nothing too complicated, though there are always some tricky questions. Don’t forget your calculator!</p>

<p>The essay writing portion of the test always makes me nervous. I have difficulty writing a complete essay in 25 minutes. I didn’t have the opportunity to finish and I only got an 8 on my essay. I suggest that you should practice writing an SAT essay with those time constraints. A good general rule about the essay is write five paragraphs (intro w/thesis, strongest point, 2nd strongest point, 3rd strongest point, conclusion), but, of course, this is just a guideline. Also, the essay readers like references to history and literature. :)</p>

<p>The day before the test, I didn’t do any studying and practicing, but rather I watched a couple of movies so that I could keep my mind off the test. I also put my picture ID, calculator, admission ticket, several sharpened pencils and an eraser into my bag so that I wouldn’t forget them in the morning. I went to bed pretty early and got 8 hours of sleep. Don’t skip breakfast! Eat some fruit or something if you don’t have time.</p>

<p>As for the actual testing, I didn’t omit any questions. My strategy was that if I could eliminate at least two of the choices, I would answer the question. I don’t know why, but I feel weird when I leave questions blank. Obviously though, if you have absolutely no clue as to what the answer is, don’t just bubble a random answer. The odds are against you. I didn’t skip the difficult ones and come back to them. I figured that if I didn’t know the answer or some kind of semblance of an answer as soon as read and thought about the question, I wouldn’t know it later on.</p>

<p>But remember, the SAT is just a test. Don’t worry about it too much. It is not a indicator of your intelligence or of your potential in college. :slight_smile: That said, good luck!</p>

4

<p>Wow, that was a long post.
Hopefully that helped you a little bit. Are you a junior taking the SAT for the first time?</p>

5

<p>^^Just adding on, for critical reading, definitely don’t waste your time on vocab if you already have a relatively large vocabulary. If your vocab is lacking, my suggestion is to pick one good SAT word each day and try to use it 5 times throughout the day. Otherwise, just look at prefixes and suffixes and use common sense. For example, you don’t need to know the exact definition of the word “malevolent” or “circumlocution” if you know that “mal” generally means “bad” and “circum” means “around”.</p>

6

<p>I took the PSAT in tenth grade and used a prep course, which didn’t help that much. The reason for my high SAT score was that during the summer before junior year, I completed two sections a day using a prep book (either kaplan’s or princeton). I used a timer for each section so that I would be well paced. Essays don’t help or hurt that much, so I only practiced those a few times before the test. The environment in which you take the test is really important. In general, I find that high school test centers are too crowded/cramped, so I try to sign up for the test at a community college or nice private school.</p>

<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC App</p>

7

<p>If I wrote an Honors American Lit essay in which I used all of the following words: desideratum, alacrity, opprobrium, and cleavage, in one paragraph (thesis), then SAT prep that concerns vocabulary won’t really benefit me much? Dang. Just wondering, I’m a sophomore with a study free mid 180s on the PSAT, and while that score is in the top 5 for my school, it’s trash for CC, so I’m starting to study for the SAT over the summer. Math is my weak point (54, 84th percentile), while critical reading is my strongest point (67, 98th percentile), while my writing skills was fair. Do I work more on getting a basic grasp of math, or on honing my reading and writing skills? I’d like to do both of course, but which is more important? Also, I only have older prep books that I recieved for free (1983-2005), will they still be of assistance? And any other type of suggestions, advice, or aid will definitely be welcome. Thanks, best of luck!</p>

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<p>Oh, also, the night before the test I only went over stuff for thirty minutes and watched television or something. But go to sleep relatively early, at least get eight hours of sleep. If you’re shooting for 2200 plus, answer every question on the test if you can eliminate at least one answer. Take every single stretch break they give you during the test, as in leave the test room for the whole allotted time and have a snack (granola or fruit) for each break while walking around. I made twenty points short of a perfect score (just as a credential…:slight_smile: </p>

<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC App</p>

9

<p>Sleep well, eat well, and do not masturbate the day before. Personal experience. Too much detail? Don’t care.</p>

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<p>Hey there, the last time I took it I got 2290/ 720 Math, 790 CR, 780 Writing, I just took it again today cuz I wanted to get my math up. Might as well right?</p>

<p>What I do to prepare:
Essay: I prepared an essay bank if you would, with all my examples. I wrote down some of the novels I did in English class and their themes, as well as some of the events in history. Also, I wrote down some influential figures I was fimiliar with. On the day of the test, I just took this out and looked at it heading into the exam. Since the essay is the first thing, this will help you a lot. Basically, ive stuck to 2 examples, an intro, and a conclusion. Try to fill the entire two pages as much as you can. Also, I find explaining your reasoning to be helpful for a good score. Dont just list the examples, state the reason why you take a certain side, and link the example to the reason. The topic sentence of the body paragraphs should regard the reason, rather than the example. </p>

<p>Writing: I just looked over some of the things they test for on the writing sections. I bought a Princeton Review book and read their section on writing. Misplaced Modifiers, parallelism, etcetc.</p>

<p>Reading(sentence completion): I have quite a broad vocabulary, so I didnt really prepare that much for this one. Though I’ve seen some of my friends with SAT vocab for their iphones/ipods. It’s like a sound file that you can listen to. That may be helpful. Cant say too much on this one.</p>

<p>Reading (passages): I never actually read any of the passages. Use the line references to your advantage. Before u start reading, go through all the questions and underline parts of the passage where they mention. Next, skim over the passage so u get the gist of it. Now answer the questions, by going back to the passage. Use your gist read to answer the big questions. This strategy only works for some, see if it works for you. </p>

<p>Math:Math is pretty easy, just try and avoid careless errors. </p>

<p>As for strategy, definitely circle in your book first and then fill in answer sheet in chunks. Saves a lot of time. I dont omit anything, because if you can eliminate 1 answer (you should always be able to), your chances are so much higher. </p>

<p>Eat a good breakfast too</p>

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<p>SIlverturtle’s guide is very helpful. In short, get the Blue Book, take a practice test, correct what you do badly, rinse and repeat. My prep has consisted of a good Lit class (probably gave me a perfect score in critical reading), looking at some editing stuff online for the writing section, and focusing on improving my math speed. Get to the point where you can check everything on the test, and you cut down on stupid mistakes tremendously. Math benefits from this speed increase a lot, because arithmetic errors are pretty common.</p>

12

<p>I did a lot of prep for the PSAT, so when it was time to take the SAT, I was able to focus more on the difficult questions and try for a perfect score. During my studies for the PSAT, I took practice tests out of maybe 7 different PSAT workbooks out there. For the SAT, I did the practice tests in the blue book and wrote essays and had a college friend score those. I didn’t omit any questions. My advice would be to REALLY REALLY solve a lot of practice problems - you won’t know what your strengths and weaknesses are until you do. Like gardenofpotter says, having time to check your answers is helpful, but also try to go slow enough that you can check them as you go along. Make sure to read carefully in math - I’ve made stupid mistakes that way - and be sure that you know enough vocabulary for the reading. I personally don’t think it’s necessary to memorize a billion words before the SAT, but make sure that you’re doing a lot of good reading and maybe the Hit Parade before you take it so that you’ll be familiar with most of the vocabulary on the test. Good luck!</p>

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<p>I didn’t study but still made a 2200 (thanks to an 800 in math). I would definitely recommend doing some practice essays…I only got a 9/12 on mine, and could have used the practice.</p>

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<p>To each his own, but I find memorizing vocab. words time-consuming. Reading good and adult books improves vocab and comprehension tremendously, while still being entertaining.
I do agree with an approach focused on caution on math, but imo, its easier to notice mistakes after a few minutes have passed since you’ve done the problem; when you’re checking over your answers.</p>

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<p>Academic Hacker’s guide to the essay is excellent; follow it to the letter. Silverturtle’s guide is pretty good too.</p>

<p>I started preparing maybe 2 weeks before the test? Just took several practice tests (and did the whole thing in one sitting, since one of the hardest parts of the SAT is developing the endurance and mental stamina to retain concentration by the last section). Reviewed idioms. Made an “example bank” of novels, movies, and historical figures with which I was familiar. I then looked them up on Wiki and reminded myself more about them. Night before I would try to go to bed early but not be able to sleep. I recommend you get at least 8 hours of sleep; try to go to bed by 10 or at least 10:30 if you can. For breakfast I would have a little something, not much; I don’t normally eat a very big breakfast though. I brought nuts and other stuff that stays with you for the snack breaks, and I walked around during each break a lot so I didn’t get tired from sitting in a chair. Go to the bathroom before you start and don’t drink a lot; it’s terrible to really have to pee but also to be running out of time.</p>

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<p>2340 last time ( I forgot the final 4 questions on the writing section as they were on another page, so I took it again just in may here)</p>

<p>I did no traditional studying, but I did:</p>

<p>Take Nyquil the night before so as to sleep well (under normal circumstances I don’t condone such things, but for the SAT it’s worth it).</p>

<p>Drink 4 shots of espresso right before the test and 2 cans of red bull during breaks to keep my energy up; the SAT is LOOOOOOONG.</p>

<p>Follow MIT professor Les Perelman’s guidelines for the essay; he worked out that scoring for the essay is predictable and based upon a handful of factors which can easily be incorporated into the piece.</p>

<p>This little program ultimately yielded 800CR, 800M, 740 W (12 essay). I missed 1 CR, 0 M, and had 4 omitted for writing.</p>

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<p>CR:
I underline and write notes on the question sheet as I read the passages. Pretend you are studying for an exam. Don’t just skim through them. For the vocabulary, I used process of elimination since there will always be words you know and words you don’t know. For some people memorizing words is easier but for me, I just practice from old SAT exams.</p>

<p>Math:
I didn’t find this section that hard but I would practice since no formula memorization is involved.</p>

<p>Writing:
I kept doing the find-the-error problems. There are only a dozen of grammar mistakes they use. </p>

<p>Essay:
Use all the space they give you. Use some SAT vocabulary. It is vital for your intro and conclusion to be direct and effective. Have great topic sentences as well. 4-5 paragraphs are enough.</p>

<p>During your breaks, bring something sweet to drink. Use all the time they give you.</p>

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<p>CR (780 | 2 wrong): I did a couple of practice tests, but I didn’t really prepare. No vocabulary drills or anything like that.</p>

<p>M (770 | 1 wrong): I went over Barron’s math textbook the week leading up to the test, and raised my score from 680 to 770.</p>

<p>W (800 | MC 80 E 10): I didn’t prepare for the multiple choice portion at all. I read a couple of sample essays and timed myself writing one.</p>

<p>I answered every question. I didn’t drink six shots of coffee beforehand or take Adderall or anything of the sort (I don’t drink coffee and nootropics are not my thing). In fact, if I remember correctly, I’d stayed up late the night before, so I was really sleepy during the test and went right back to bed when I got home.</p>

<p>Oh, and I recommend signing up for the SAT Question of the Day. It’s a fun way to get accustomed to the format of the test and to keep your mind active. I’m still a subscriber to this day.</p>

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<p>Practice, practice, practice. For me, taking old (real) SAT practice tests was BY FAR the most helpful strategy for the actual test- but then again, I didn’t really struggle with the concepts that much, I just needed to get practice with the format. There really isn’t any one best strategy, but buying the blue book and taking a prep class (if you can) go a long way to becoming accustomed to the test format and the basic types of questions on the test. Also, be sure to time your practice tests; try to finish as early as possible so you can be prepared for whatever collegeboard decides to throw at you on test day. </p>

<p>Using these strategies, I got a 2320 with 780 CR (2 wrong), 740 M (3 wrong), and 800 W (1 mc wrong with 11 essay).</p>

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<p>Hahah I actually stayed up till 2 the night before at a cast party. In order to prepare for the exam I just memorized 200 vocab words in the back of a book i got to “prepare” for the exam in 8th grade. I was already good with the math, so I really jsut worked on reading and writing.</p>

<p>The vocab words and silverturtle’s SAT guide really did it for me</p>