<p>I know alot of it is based on foundation, my only problem really is the verbal, I'm strong in mathematics and have a good basis of english and comprehension, I'm taking my SSAT in January and still have 2-3 months of complete free time since I will be on holidays. Is hard-core studying on Vocab. for 60+ days enough to raise my Vocab., or my overall score, to a higher percentile? (my most recent practice test was a 2120+, my weakest department being verbal which I scored like a 680 on).</p>
<p>I just started doing the vocab and it’s taking me forever (I have like 300 flash cards :()
Math isn’t gonna take long since it’s pretty easy for me. I would say it depends on what you already know, I mean if you can’t do anything in the book than it will probably take longer, but the more you know the less time it will take.</p>
<p>The ssat is an ability test, not an achievement test. That doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare for it, though. Just keep in mind that knowing the vocab words doesn’t help you unless you can also build relationships with them and recognize shades of meaning. The math section can be tricky in that the test writers appear to anticipate flaws in thinking and give answer choices that would follow from those flaws. Reading comp is all about getting into the writer’s mind without inserting your own opinions into the passage.</p>
<p>My best advice is to do all the practise tests you can get your hands on. There are tons available for the upper level - some even online. So do a practise test, set a target, and isolate your weakness. How long it takes depends on your target and how far away from it you actually are. The Princeton book has charts with percentiles and the book from the SSAT people has raw to scaled conversion charts. With those two sources, you should be able to get a reasonably accurate idea of how you’ll do on the real test.</p>
<p>My son took the SSAT under very adverse circumstances with no prep at all and got 92%. He is NOT a particularly strong standardized tester, so go figure. My point here is- don’t over-think this thing.</p>
<p>yeah don’t pressure yourself. relax the day before the test, i heard it tends to help</p>
<p>I think the SSAT doesn’t make a difference unless you score abysmally high or abysmally low. Somewhere above 90 is good, though I would aim for a perfect 2400 score simply because I have the time, resources and because I believe that it makes a difference since I can’t cram and get good teacher recommendations, grades, ECs, etc, while I can study hard and actually get a good result for the SSAT.</p>
<p>I sure hope you’re not wasting a lot of time trying to master a standardized test. What a huge waste of youth. You’d be better off devoting that time to a real interest or project that would make you stand out.</p>
<p>abysmally high?</p>
<p>The keys to the SSAT are to be familiar with the type of questions answered & to answer as many questions as possible. Excessive preparation can harm your score. If you insist on daily preparation, try to limit yourself to 45 minutes a day for a week or two. For some students it is better to be relaxed than to be prepared.</p>