<p>I know that earlier is better, but how early or late did you start? Are you glad you started early or do you regret starting late?</p>
<p>I started studying a week before taking the SAT, as in, I took a grand total of two practice tests before the real one. Obviously I regret doing this as with proper studying I could have most likely gotten 100 points (or more) better.
However, I don’t think that standardized testing is something that can be completely studied for. There is a certain level of comfort you can attain (there are apparently only 7 different types of sentence completion questions that are asked; their math problems may be phrased/organized differently than you would see on a school test; ect). But once you have become acquainted with the style of questions you will be asked, studies show that you scores won’t improve significantly with studying.
Also I wouldn’t study a lot with the ACT. I went into that test having not done a single practice question and scored a 35. Especially in the science section, the test places a lot of emphasis on critical thinking, a skill that cannot be learned through doing practice questions.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion based on personal experience though. </p>
<p>I started studying 1-2 months before my first SAT last January. When I took it again in May, I briefly viewed some khanacademy videos (that he has taken down from his website since), but didn’t take any more practice tests.
I think how much time you spend on “studying” depends a lot on how well you do on your first actual practice test. Some people have more weaknesses to assess than others. Some others might have problems with focusing for a long amount of time and will need to get used to testing without becoming distracted.
If you are taking either the SAT or the ACT soon, then best of luck! </p>
<p>Interesting… there seems to be a sweet spot for studying. I know some people start in grade 9 and other start a week before. Maybe it’s different for everyone.</p>
<p>There’s definitely a balance between what you need to know from school and what you can study for. </p>
<p>I started studying legit at the beginning of summer until school started. I will admit I learned sat words at school, but it wasn’t exactly taking practice tests or anything (in a way, we can argue we have been “studying” since birth). Somehow, I have been able to retain my knowledge. I also will study the next 4 days before the psat, but it’s mainly just confirmation and review of techniques </p>
<p>I started studying yesterday morning… honestly, I don’t think it hurt me all that much, as the only section I had trouble in (as I knew I would regardless of studying) was math, and even that wasn’t too bad. I say this with the qualification that I have always done really well on standardized tests (and not so well on regular tests, but that’s a different story), so YMMV.</p>
<p>I started last week of December of my junior year. I basically memorized tons of vocab and did math and writing practice tests. 6 months of prep with tons of distractions and shirking, I only got a 1930 on my June SAT. As October would be my last SAT, I started to hit the books, take tons of practice tests, read newspapers, and memorize a lot of vocab for the next 3.5 months. Awaiting results for Saturday’s SAT now to see if 2-3 hours a day practice was worth it :D!</p>