<p>So this summer I am planning to write four long (about 500 word) essays, rewrite the SAT Reasoning Test, and write SAT Chem Subject test (if I have time, also the SAT Physics test). Then I need to complete the rest of my application (I am assuming that it does not take very long).</p>
<p>I am planning to apply to Cornell, UPenn, and MIT.</p>
<p>ESSAYS
I am most worried about my essays. I have a few ideas, but in my opinion none of them are good...and none of them are 500 words yet. It has been a few weeks since I touched them, and I still cannot think of any ideas.</p>
<p>SAT REASONING
I got a 1980 on the SAT Reasoning in May 2009; 800M, 590W (8 essay), 590 CR. Before the test I tried memorizing a few examples for the essay, and memorizing a lot of words...I think I got the words from SparkNotes. I just got a BB, and my goal is about 2200.</p>
<p>SAT SUBJECT
I got 98% in grade 11 Chemistry (this is Canadian curriculum, and we do not have AP), and I have already started going over some grade 12 stuff; the only thing I need to cover now is Thermochemistry...I plan to look at SparkNotes afterward.
I got 97% in grade 11 Physics, but I am not as good at it as chem, so I am saving it for later.</p>
<p>How should I schedule my time for the summer?</p>
<p>For the essay, I found it helpful to think of something and make up some kind of story about it. The idea for my essay came when I made up a story about me going to a store to buy a desk. At the store there were all sorts of made-up, fanciful desks, but I chose the traditional brown wooden one. Then I went into a kind of reflection about why I chose that one, when there were so many choices. It was an interesting topic for me, and I enjoyed writing it.</p>
<p>For writing, I think you need to work on improving grammar and on building an argument quickly, because that will help your score more than using a bunch of big words on your essay. Take a practice test and find out what kinds of grammar questions you have trouble with. </p>
<p>Because you are better at physics than chemistry, why not take the physics SAT first?</p>
<p>So some advice from a fellow canadian who got into penn (I started out as a math/phys buff in hs even though I applied to wharton)</p>
<p>first off, 500 words isn’t long, even for an application essay. Feel free to go over if you have alot of MEANINGFUL things to write about. For the essay, a story or some kind of narrative (even with no plotline and if it just explores who you are) is good. Its much easier to write anyway. Hard to do anything else and show personality unless its satire. Force yourself to write them. You won’t feel inspired immediately but somewhere along the way you’ll get spark since you’re thinking of them all the time. THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.</p>
<p>I found the SAT physics test to be ridiculously easy. Your physics 12 curriculum should cover most of the material. Try it out and see what you think. Personally, I didn’t study much for it since my physics teacher was really strict and got an easy 800. I think the boundary for 800 was like 10+ questions wrong (check to be sure).</p>
<p>As for SATs, I think I have pretty good handle on them (I got 2400 first sitting, not to brag :P).</p>
<p>For the essay part of SATs, don’t go for anything complex. Think of something that works and try to write it out properly in the time allotted. Its a reasoning test and its supposed to measure your writing ability. As long as it makes logical sense, they probably won’t dock you for being not so creative. The quality of your ideas matters less than how well you write about them (make sure its coherent though).</p>
<p>I’d still say the multiple choice grammar sections are where you can improve your score most easily though. Don’t lose points here, theres no reason to.</p>
<p>For CR, I find reading the questions then reading the article up to that point helps clear up confusion about the author’s meaning, etc. Sometimes later parts that develop a train of thought might confuse you. Also, the context of a word is more important than its definition. If you do go with intuition scrap your thoughts about what its definition is for the vocab parts. Learning some common roots/prefixes/suffixes can help as well.</p>
<p>although i know you are trying to be helpful, a person who pretty much aces all tests without studying can’t really understand that 99.99% of other students aren’t as brilliant test-takers as you are XD</p>
<p>so maybe I worded my question a bit weird, cuz it keeps of being misunderstood; not that I am complaining, I am still grateful for all the suggestions people are giving.</p>
<p>So reworded, my question goes:
When should I start and finish, and how long should I spend each day on the application essays and SAT Reasoning and Subject tests?</p>
<p>For the SAT reasoning test I would do one essay prompt a day, or at least every other day. Give yourself an hour, and try to come up with a good outline.</p>
<p>I found that there were several different basic outlines that could fit almost any situation. One I have used was based on the premise of individual versus society. I would come up with general ideas like that, where you can pull 4 or 5 sources for each and pick the best 2 or 3 that fit the situation.</p>
<p>For the rest of the SAT, take practice tests, and create a formulaic approach to answer each problem (referring to English problems, always look for subjects, SV agreement, etc…). once you get a routine that works you should be able to answer more problems correctly.</p>
<p>As for the breakdown of how much time you should spend a day. I would take a practice test, do the essay (but take more than the allotted time, and practice good writing), then do the test. Correct all of your problems, and as you see what you did wrong, check to see if checking that is part of your approach, if not make it a part of it.</p>
<p>So 4 or 5 hours doing that a day. As for reasoning tests, I find you need to scale your studying based on how much time is left (but without cramming). Start with an hour or 2 a day, and work your way up to 4 hours before the test. You should be able to get an 800 at least 2 weeks out, then after that you should keep up your studying.</p>
<p>“So 4 or 5 hours doing that a day. As for reasoning tests, I find you need to scale your studying based on how much time is left (but without cramming). Start with an hour or 2 a day, and work your way up to 4 hours before the test. You should be able to get an 800 at least 2 weeks out, then after that you should keep up your studying.”</p>
<p>You’re right in questioning this, OP. Since 4 hours is a ridiculous amount of time to spend each day. But to this poster’s defense, we have no idea what you are willing to put in and what your plans are for the summer.</p>
<p>Realistically, I think you should sit down for the 3 hour-long test every third day or something reasonable like that. I would recommend sitting for the entire 10 sections (IIRC) rather than doing some one day and others a next because of the mental “endurance” you build. Though, It really is up to YOU how much time should be put in.</p>
<p>I only just got the BB a few weeks ago, but if i start taking a full test every 3 days, I will be finished of it in less than a month.
Whats worse is that I already took every SAT Reasoning test there is on the internet, before I got the BB. I will not have anything to do after.</p>
<p>As for the SAT essay, I think that what Ramblinman is saying (or at least, what I would recommend that bears some relation to what he’s saying) is that you should pick a few examples that you would know very well - periods in history you know a great deal about, books you spent a long time on in English, that sort of thing - that you think you could not only use as a very strong example but that would be applicable to many different essays. Of course, I did this (I picked the Great Depression, Catch-22, Macbeth, basically all art history, and I forget what else), and still ended up making up one personal example for my essay (not recommended without significant writing experience), so take my advice with a grain of salt. Just practice writing to your strengths. Not to pigeonhole you, but you seem like a math kind of person, so focus on logic and reason - don’t try to be funny or creative if you really aren’t, just make a coherent argument with excellent grammar and diction.</p>
<p>I agree with Prep 8 that you shouldn’t spend too much time studying. I think you should spend more time building up ECs in your areas of strength, or getting a job, or enjoying your summer. I would say a full SAT Reasoning test every four days is plenty. (You can write several essays on the same topic with different examples - just practice thinking up examples and constructing your argument). You haven’t mentioned taking an initial practice test for the SAT2s; I’d recommend seeing what kind of score you can expect on that before committing to rigorous studying. </p>
<p>I’m sorry I don’t know a set number of hours you should spend on application essays, but I’d recommend taking your time over those. The point of overperfection at which all originality is lost is an important consideration, but it is certainly very far away from where I think you are now. Which is to say, spend time editing and write several drafts.</p>
<p>I think you are right about the SAT Reasoning Essay; I should try to get a few examples of things that I am familiar about. For the last essay, I did not really prepare any examples very well. In the end I felt my thesis was not very well supported.</p>
<p>Right now I am volunteering for a local hospital (the biggest in my province) and for the upcoming Canada Games in August. I also play the violin pretty well and practice karate three times a week.
However what I am concerned about is the fact that none of my extracurriculars or volunteering show a particular interest in a specific area. I am looking at going into engineering.</p>