<p>I have taken the SATs before and know what to expect however I was wondering if there's a way to fully absorb the information as much as possible to be ready for anything thrown at me on the SATs. I have SATs prep books and I practice and study vocabulary. But this sometimes makes me feel like I'm just memorizing stuff to pass a test...anyone have any suggestions of ways to study or techniques to fully understand and grasp the information(not just reciting and memorizing) to be ready for any questions???</p>
<p>For vocab, there really isn’t any other way to get better than to memorize them. I suggest that you carefully read over your vocab EVERY day. Repetition is so crucial for memorization. 30 min of vocab a day is much better than studying for 3 hrs twice a week.</p>
<p>Writing is also memorization, but you really need to look out for patterns in grammatical structure. Write down every question you got wrong in a notebook and learn WHY you got it wrong. Soon, you’ll start seeing patterns, and that’ll help you memorize them quickly.</p>
<p>For math, I suggest you read math preparation books and go over the basic concepts BEFORE solving problems. Many times you get math questions wrong bc your fundamentals are not perfect. Write down math problems you got wrong in your notebook as well. You’ll start seeing patterns just like in writing, and you’ll be able to focus on your weaknesses. </p>
<p>Most importantly, you need to take A BUNCH of practice tests. There are many many tests online; I found almost 50. Do practice tests on saturdays and sundays and if you run out, do psat practice tests and released tests. They are the same kind of problems. I know tests take super long, but taking tests is the best way to improve and its not just memorization. If you’re wondering, I got 2370 (800 math 800 cr 770 writing) and 2400 superscore by self study, took a practice test 2 times a week and 7 the week before taking the test. So do those practice tests.</p>
<p>I totally agree with @skyisnotthelimit about his points about both math and writing but I disagree about Vocab.
Vocab is used in the context that you can use test taking strategies well enough to get the correct answer. Honestly, I barely studied vocab and just sharpened myself with test taking strategies that would help me more than just tediously and time-consumingly memorizing a thousand words. </p>
<p>As for writing, create a “topic bank” which is basically a compilation of different people, books, events, etc that are versatile enough to fit into more than one thesis so that you won’t blank on the essay (after all, you only have 25 minutes to think of and write down an entire essay).</p>
<p>Practice does make perfect. However, make sure that your practicing smartly and efficiently and not just blindly outputting scantron after scantron. Rather, you should look over your mistakes and shortly jot down why you got it wrong and what it should have been. </p>
<p>Good luck and remember to be completely confident in yourself and everything that you’re about to do! </p>
<p>If you’re wondering, I scored a 2280 in this year’s october’s test (780CR, 770M, 730W)</p>