I already purchased the online course and the blue book for my D, but she won’t have time for both before the January test. Which should she focus her time on? Is the online course really personalized? Does it do anything to narrow the focus to your weaknesses? She studied a lot for the new PSAT/NMSQT but has just started studying for the old SAT. So, we’ d love to hear any and all suggestions for last minute prep/cramming. Any resources besides College Board stuff? Thanks.
I have been waiting quite long to post this. But couldn’t find the time to, so i thought I would put this out there so that people benefit before the format for the test changes.
So i took the SAT 3 times and scored in the low 2000s; I could have gotten more but i can assure you that it was only because I prepared only for one day before each test.
But here’s what I do:
- Do not rely on any other books by publishers such as (Barrons,Princeton or McgrawHill). trust me when I say that. Cuz i have looked at all three and I can assure you that will not be any help. They keep repeating the same things and make it redundant. Probably just use Barrons flash cards for Vocab, but DO NOT BUY BOOKS. They are such a RIP OFF.
- Buy the blue book and treat them as real SAT Tests. DO NOT RACE THROUGH THEM. Use them wisely to test where you stand. Use them one by one and correct your mistakes before you take them.
- To learn from mistakes, USE ONLINE RESOURCES. I might recommend you to take the PrepScholar course as it seems quite good, but even if you don't take the course, their blog posts are really helpful.
- FOR CR: Google 'Grammatix' and download the book for free.READ THROUGH IT and USE THEIR TIPS.(really helps) I have a friend who got a 780 in CR after using it. I highly recommend it.
- FOR WRITING: Google 'SAT Grammar Rules' and find the link to the grammar rules and memorise them. USE them constantly during the test. If you have the time, take out a novel and read it aloud(HELPS YOU REALSIE GRAMMAR RULES AS YOU READ). But READ IT ALOUD, it works best.
- MATH: Trust me, I top my math class in school in ever exam when it comes to calculus and Statistics but i have never topped 750 in Math. The main Reason: I think the test is too easy for me and blaze through it. So to do better, go slow and look at the tricks in the questions. A few common tricks to look out for:
- Properties of 0
- Properties of 1
- Prime numbers etc.
Although Everything I say might sound easy, do it. It really helps.
Don’t hesitate to PM for any help.
Kudos
Collegeboard’s online course is not really a course, it is more like a repository of practice tests similar to the Blue Book. So in that sense they are not that different. The content review in the Blue book is what is repeated in the online course as well. Here is what I would recommend: the first three tests in the blue book along with the one on DVD are all real SATs administered in the past and they will give you an actual SAT score, use these. The other 7 are not SAT tests that were administered as actual exams. You can use these tests for practice where you can do one section at a time and review your mistakes.
As for the Online course, it comes with 10 practice tests, again use them to gauge where you stand. The part I do like about the online course are the subject quizzes, these are good and can be used to assess where a student might be weak in.
If you combine these two resources then you have plenty of official material to practice with. I would say just focus on these unless you exhaust them.
Good answer. Thanks. So, do the subject quizzes direct you to questions related to that specific subject? or do you still have to go through the entire test?
The subject quizzes are separate from the practice tests. There are four subtopics(Number and Operations, Algebra, etc.) and for each subtopic there are three quizzes, 20 questions each. I like to assign these to students where I need them to focus on specific areas.
Are the quiz questions like SAT questions?
Yes, they closely follow the pattern of the official SAT.