So it’s my junior year here in high school and I’m being bombard with homework and unit readings from my AP teachers. I take 6 classes a day which includes 3 AP classes, 1 pre-ap, and two electives. I also do extra-curricular activities and I don’t know if I should do sports this year or not. I know that there are other juniors taking way more AP classes than me at the moment, however I already feel the pressure since this is my first time handling so many AP classes. The bad news is that I have less time to prep for the upcoming October SAT and I’m trying to squeeze in some time to look over some SAT prep but I feel that the “five to ten” minutes I devote myself to prep is not enough.
On my last SAT from May, I scored an 1890…however this time I want to pass over the 1950 mark and try to get as close as to a 2000+ score as possible. So I want to hear some advice on how I can keep a 4.0 GPA at school while getting some quality time into SAT prep. Is there a good way to balance out school work and SAT prep? Any guidance is much appreciated! Thanks!
I took 4 APs junior year,was able to retain a 4,0 GPA, and still got a 2400 on the SAT. I think it all depends on work ethic–there are definitely enough hours in the day for you to study for the SAT and do all your homework. It’s just a matter of how much effort you’re willing to spend on doing practice test after practice test.
Leave time in the weekends to do some vocab studying, practice math/English problems, and maybe take a practice test (only if you feel it’s necessary–the new SAT has a precious few official practice tests available. The month before the SAT, do some hardcore studying, one or two practice tests every week, and MAKE SURE YOU TAKE TIMED TESTS! I cannot stress that enough. Test day conditions, no music playing in the background or mom pestering you to do chores. Lock yourself in a room for 3 hours if that’s what it takes.
Junior year is harder and much more jam-packed than sophomore year, but millions of others have survived and you can too Good luck!
They are not offering the new SAT in October - only the old. So perhaps you should skip that, and focus on studying for the ACT OR the new SAT that is only offered after January. You can focus on it 100% over Christmas break, for example and keep your fall focus on your grades.
Good luck!