<p>My D is a junior now and we have signed her up for the March SAT. We got all kind of books for her but she had hardly opened one yet.</p>
<p>I beg her to spend a little more time this month on SAT. I tried to reason with her that invest one month time could benefit her whole life. I want her to cut down piano and violin time, cut down AIM and phone conversations with BF etc. But D refuse to listen and refuse to study. </p>
<p>Have any of you faced the same issue? What were your solution?</p>
<p>Without motivation from within, it's a difficult task.</p>
<p>I'm hypocritical in that I dislike SAT prep on philosophical grounds yet signed D up so as not lose out in the "arms race." D was on board with that and the structure given by the Princeton Review tutor was sufficient to focus D on getting the necessary work done each week, if sometimes with underwhelming enthusiasm at the time allocation. Bottom line was that it paid off, though in her case this meant merit aid as opposed to getting into her HYS reaches, though her SAT scores were indisputably in range for the latter by the last time she took them.</p>
<p>IMO kids are good (or at least strive to be good) at what kids value. If she doesn't value studying for the standardized tests she probably won't be very good at studying for them. </p>
<p>My D didn't think she needed to study (and as far as difficulty of the material covered she didn't) but once she bombed the science section of the ACT (by getting bogged down on a graph she couldn't understand) she was at least willing to spend maybe 10 hours total on practice tests and review of her answers. </p>
<p>She became convinced a higher score , or in her mind an accurate score ;), would open scholarship and admissions doors. So, at least to that extent she "valued" prep. Worked for her.</p>
<p>My D did minimal preparation for the SATs. She was too busy with school, music, sports and other activities. She took the SATs once. Her score was a long way below the scores she had gotten on practice exams. She refused to consider studying and taking the exam again. I thought she made a big mistake and would lose out on admissions to her reach schools. I was wrong. It was her enthusiasm for learning and music and other activities which got noticed and lead to acceptances at her reach schools. Aside from the possibility of a few extra points, there is no fun excitment, learning or benefit associated with studying for the SAT exams.</p>
<p>My son studied for an hour a night (approx) one week prior to the test. He's a good test taker, so that was about right for him. Each kid is so different, even my two boys are different, so I'm sure you'll get answers all across the spectrum.</p>
<p>Just read curms last post (I guess we agree, it depends on the kid).</p>
<p>In our experience, the main reason to prepare for the SATs is to learn the FORMAT of the questions, not specific content. Once one figures out the types of questions and the tricks to solving them, there is not much else to be done. DS spent a half hour, three times a week, for about three weeks, going over CR and Writing questions to determine his strategies for the PSAT. No prep class, only one book for practice, and he didn't finish it. He did very, very well. DS will take the SAT in March for the first time.</p>
<p>For the SAT, I would make sure that your D can write a good essay in 25 minutes and doesn't get caught short on time.</p>
<p>No need to get tons of books and spend hours on this, esp if she is solid in her skills already.</p>
<p>The bigger concern (as we have found out) is to keep the grades consistent in junior year. This is a bad time to drop ECs, as all the hard work these kids have put in on them for the past three years is going to start paying off in terms of awards, leadership positions, internship opportunities, etc. ECs that kids love are also a GREAT stress reliever and help them to be interesting, well-rounded folks.</p>
<p>laserbrother, can't help you. I have 3 kids. The oldest one established the personal philosophy that the SAT was a reasoning test--if one studied for it, you were defeating the purpose of seeing where you actually fell and he didn't want to get in a school where he would be "over his head". The younger two enthusiastically fell in line with his philosophy--so none of mine did any prep whatsoever. All ended up going to their first choice school (of course didn't apply to schools out of reach).</p>
<p>I'm not saying I bought the line, but I figured I offered to purchase study materials or pay for prep course ...you can lead a horse to water....</p>
<p>No solutions here. Three kids who have not studied for the SAT so far . . . and have only taken it one time. The first two, though were before CC, so I didn't know you were supposed to study for it. I guess I knew that some kids prepped for it, but I didn't really understand why. The third one just wouldn't do it, though I suggested it before the PSAT. She most likely would have benefited from PSAT prep, but refused to do it. She was close to the cut off for National Merit. I'm convinced that some prep would have paid off for her. </p>
<p>However, none of my kids have really set their sights on going to an ultra-selective school, so the motivation just isn't there. My third child after getting what was an unexpectedly low score (for her) on the math portion of the SAT thought about taking it again, but then decided it probably wouldn't matter to the schools she is applying to. I guess we'll know in about six weeks . . . </p>
<p>But that is always an option, taking the SAT again if the scores are not where they need to be.</p>
<p>D took the SAT and scored <em>very well</em>. Took the ACT and scored <em>very well</em>. I'm sure she would have stopped at that point but in reviewing the science section scoring we noticed that she had missed 4-5 in a row and then missed more in the next ten then she had in the whole test to that point :eek:. That's when the info came out about the graph and the bogging down . </p>
<p>Had it not been for that aberration in her chosen field of science (or what she felt was an aberration) she'd have never taken any tests again. LOL. She refused to take SAT Subject Tests even when it meant giving up schools that looked perfect for her. As long as they are informed and are willing to face the consequences of their action or inaction - so be it. It's their life.</p>
<p>(Oh, her composite ACT went up 3 and her Science went up 9. I think she made the right choice.)</p>
<p>Given your daughter's PSAT scores (as you reported in an earlier post, she got 222), she probably doesn't need to study. Even if her scores drop a bit on the SAT, she will be fine.</p>
<p>I never really studied for the SAT when I took it. My school ran this program where you did a 6-week SAT prep course, like 2 hours per week taught by one of the teachers, and then you got to go and take the actual test but your scores didn't count for anything. The only "studying" I ever did was a half-hearted attempt at those sessions (we were supposed to work on stuff at home but I never did). I did that three times, the last one was in 9th grade, and after that I didn't bother with anything until I went and took the actual test. </p>
<p>I had a friend whose parents made her spend all summer doing practice tests and reading vocab lists and so on, since she was in about 7th grade. In the end, my score was higher than hers by 10 points. Not real convinced it makes a whole lot of difference to study, so long as you are familiar with the test and what's going to be on it.</p>
<p>My son's PSAT was similar to op's daughter. He did no prep (maybe ran through a few sample questions from each section and reminded himself about "guessing" strategies. He did great on the first time, both for ACT and SAT and didn't retake. Had I known that SAT II's should be studied for I'd have encouraged that, but I doubt he'd have done it.</p>
<p>Since I knew my son was a great test-taker (as laserbrother's daughter seems to be too) I thought his time would be better spent reading books, doing ECs or even sleeping. Kids for whom testing doesn't come naturally are a different story, but I doubt that pushing works very well.</p>
<p>I do agree though that practice on a timed essay is a good idea.</p>
<p>curm - that science section killed my d too! And she loves science and does well in science class. I think she just had no idea what the ACT format was and was lost with the graphs..She's done with the ACT now and has taken SAT once. She has agreed to take it once more to appease me but has very little interest. Like the others above she says it's "good enough".
Note : The only reason I am pushing for one more take is because she is currently taking algebra 2, and I would like her to take the test once she completes that class to give herself a fair shot at the math ( her weak point)</p>
<p>Definitely depends on your individual kid: have 4 kids, all 4 were NMSF (i.e., high PSAT scores Fall of Junior year.) All 4 went on to be NM Finalists (i.e., high enough SAT scores Senior year.) But, first 3 kids (all boys) were super-test takers (acted like all standardized tests were games to beat...and they did.) 4th kid (girl) was also a super test-taker, until Junior year. She did the best of all four on the PSAT (selection index 219--way over the threshold for National Merit in Nebraska.) She did a 32 composite on ACT in Sophomore year...so obviously, she has the necessary brain power to score high on these tests. However, she decided to retake the ACT Junior year, trying to beat one of her sibling's 34 composite--but her composite went down to a 31. So, we looked at what was going on with her 2nd test...turns out she tended to over-analyze all reading passages, and ended up running out of time several times on the test. It's just a habit she's picked up over the years. On the quickie practice tests, she scores extremely well, but on a full-time practice test, she gets in the over-analyzing mode, doesn't watch the time, and doesn't finish. For the schools she wanted, it was very important to reach NM Finalist status--huge merit scholarship $$ riding on it, so she did decide to take a $300 SAT prep class. Her SAT scores did end up matching well with her PSAT scores (2210 composite, one sitting) and she did make the Finalist standing, and she has been awarded the top $$ scholarship from her first choice small LAC. So, in her case, I'd have to guess that the SAT prep was well worth the $300--maybe she would have managed her time well enough without it, or maybe the prep class helped her learn to quit over-analyzing & manage test time better...who knows. I'm glad we rised the $300, though--turned $40,000 scholarship into an $80,000 scholarship.</p>
<p>My son did well on the PSAT and was familiar with the old SAT format from talent searches so he didn't study much at all except for practicing the essay. (I think he ended up writing about six practice essays.) The writing was still his lowest score and he only got a 7 on his first essay May of junior year. (Which I think was underscored.) In the fall he took the SAT again with the hope of improving the writing - but this time he didn't practice one essay. :rolleyes: Well the writing score remained exactly the same though the essay went up. Oh well. If it's not good enough, he made his bed.</p>
<p>D's reasons for not want to study are that 1) she has taken SAT and PSAT so she knows the format; 2) she has been doing the "question of the day" since a month ago. </p>
<p>My reason for her to study are that: 1) they recycle problem in these test so the more she reads the higher the chance she could get to 2400; 2) we already paid for the books and she better read them, and 3) she only got 222 in PSAT not 235. </p>
<p>From all you kind people, I learnt that 1) since it is a reasoning test, not much study is needed and 2) better focus on writting within a short period of time.</p>
<p>Plan: Get D to take a timed test. If she gets about 1500 (V and M), we will let her go her way. If not, we will show her the desk and set the timer.</p>
<p>S took the SAT twice with no prep. either time. He knew his first score (jr. year) was good enough to get in the state u. he planned to attend. Took it a second time to increase his scholarship chances (and to beat his gf who had scored the same as he on the first go-round). Score went up 40 points. Not a huge amt. but enough to break 1400 which was the cut off for some scholarships. He got 3 scholarships and is now attending state u. on a full ride...with zero test prep. I'm sure this wuld not be the case if he had aspired to a more elite college but he knew what he wanted and it worked for him.</p>
<p>My son studied not at all. Fortunately he got a score that was higher than expected, so he did not repeat. But, if your D gets a score that is below her potential, it might wake her up and she can retake, hopefully after some help.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that - except at the top schools that are stingy with aid - merit scholarships are very dependent on SAT or ACT scores.</p>
<p>My D (junior as well) is familiar with the format of old SAT 1 (from CTY talent search - had 1450 in 8th grade without any prep), does "SAT question a day" on-line, and got PSAT score 232(or 233, don't remember). She is too busy with daily homework and music for any more of the test prep; so, she hardly opens her prep books, too. </p>
<p>I hope, she will do OK (always been a strong test-taker), but I'm worried about essay part - who ever knows what's expected of it, what are evaluation criteria? And D is kind of a slow writer, even though a strong one ... I try to persuade her to read more of essay-prep books (to figure out the expectations and criteria of the quality), but, mostly, in vain. ;-)</p>