I’m currently heading into my junior year, so I decided now would be a good time to start some ACT/SAT classes. I took a two week program from Method Test Prep to help boost my score. Once we started going over questions from both the books we were provided, I was noticing that I was getting many wrong. For example, on the ACT, we did half a reading section and I got 6 wrong. Not to mention my math isn’t strong either, and I frequently don’t know what I’m doing on those questions. I have a 4.4 weighted and a 3.9 unweighted GPA, so this subject concerns me. Is there something I’m just not getting here and does anyone have any suggestions for me before I start to take both tests?
The thing most people forget is that the SAT actually doesn’t test you on pure knowledge of math, rather the application of it (as you may have noticed by the many word problems). To get better, most people need to practice those types of problems, especially if their school focuses more on knowledge than application when teaching. It seems like you are willing to put work in to improve so I would recommend practicing about 10 problems a day for about 2 weeks until you start picking up the types of questions the SAT is asking. The key here is that it is perfectly ok to get alot wrong the first few times, but you must go back and understand how to solve the problems you missed. ACT math is more knowledge based, I would just focus on timing issues as that is what bothers most people. Good luck, and hope you get your desired score!
Thank you very much. I will try this method and see if that helps me out, However, I still don’t feel comfortable because my classmates seem to do much better than me, with the same or less practice.
@Xasprit It’s still early regarding the testing. Keep up with the practice tests. But there are a growing number of colleges, mostly LACs but also universities like Wake Forest and Brandies, that are test-optional. GPA is generally a better gauge of college performance than test scores, as long as you are taking a rigorous load. You have a great GPA so far. Keep that up and you will be okay.
Thank you so much! I’d love to go to a prestigious school that does require testing, that’s why I’m so concerned about it. I was thinking of Carnegie Mellon to pursue my interest in robotics, but that would be a great stretch for me.
You might consider choosing one test and sticking with it till you learn it well. The SAT is very much like the ACT now but isn’t time pressured. If you know your grade-level content, you should do well.
Here is one possible course of action:
The PSAT is Wed. Oct. 19th (some schools will offer a Saturday test date so check with your school for scheduling this test). So that is one really good opportunity for prep, especially give that it’s so well aligned with SAT now!
Use the Kahn Academy free online prep course available (check out the College Board website or Kahn Academy to access). Take the practice PSAT and a couple of the practice SAT tests and time yourself as if you are really at the test (bring pencils, calculator, snack and water, and a watch plus a timer so you can time yourself accurately for each section). There are currently 6 SAT practice tests and one PSAT practice test so plenty of material to practice on (don’t forget to leave a few of those SAT practice tests for SAT practice later on!).
Once you see your PSAT score you will know whether to continue with the SAT for Fall/Winter/Spring or switch to a Spring ACT. You will also know at that point whether you should invest in an intense one-on-one tutor for the next step. Since you didn’t have much luck in a classroom environment, that might not be the best forum for learning these tests (the one-on-one is more expensive but, hey - you just saved a bundle by using Kahn!).
A good prep course will allow you to target areas of weakness and work to improve those. That’s how you raise your score.
Be patient with yourself and allow time to learn and improve. You may not be the strongest tester off the bat but that doesn’t mean you won’t do very well if you give yourself enough time and keep at it. It’s not unusual to spend a good chunk of Junior year prepping for one test or another, esp. if you are looking to apply to top schools. Get those prep sessions on your calendar right away and stick to that schedule. For example, two 2-hour sessions per week with the practice PSAT on the last Saturday before the real test. My D3 used SAT practice tests 1 and 2 as well for PSAT prep and took those something like the 1st and 4th weekend in September to gauge her progress. Once she had her PSAT results she loaded that into Kahn’s program to update her targeted practice for the SAT. We scored all practice tests and she went over what she missed and worked on those areas specifically in the following prep session. Kahn might also score your practice tests and give you targeted feedback (not sure exactly about that but guessing something like that goes on).
Check out all the ACT and SAT dates for 2016 and 2017 - they should be available very soon if not already. If you do a spring test make sure you schedule in the possibility of a retake (early May or June or, if the SAT, there is supposed to be an Aug. date in 2017). If you are doing STEM and thinking of CMU you’ll need to take two subjects tests in Math and Science so be sure to figure out the timing of that as well (esp. if May is chock-full of AP tests for you). The earlier you plan all this out the more likely you will be able to accomplish it all.
Keep in mind, too, that CMU and other top schools may want all your test scores. Don’t use the real test for your learning (although that’s unavoidable to an extent just because it’s the “real deal” and not practice!). Use practice tests for practice so you go into the real test confident and prepared.
You’ve got 7-8 weeks till the PSAT so use the next few days to read up on that test and begin your prep Monday of next week.
Good luck to you!
When you take practice tests, you need to go back through a second time after you’ve scored the test, and take another look at the questions you missed, and even the ones you got right but weren’t sure about. Make sure you understand why the correct answer is correct. My daughter did this, and discovered she was missing many of the questions that involved sentence punctuation. She reviewed rules about commas and began to get those questions correct. She figured out why she was making the mistakes, and was able to avoid repeating them. She spent a week with the Red Book and another week with the Blue Book. She raised her ACT score by five points. She only took the SAT once and got a great score on that too. Study smart.