<p>This isn't related, but my parents are friends with a man on the Board of Regents at Mercersburg. Best of luck! It's a great school.</p>
<p>Now, back to business.</p>
<p>If she's taking geometry and is an A student, I woudn't be worrying about the math right now. The math in the official SSAT Practice Book is pretty easy already, and for me, the math on the actual SSAT was even easier. I scored a 99%, and keeping in mind that I'm only in Algebra I, your daughter should do spectacular on the math. No worries there. Before I forget, have her do all of the practice math sections, especially the ones in Princeton. I did one every night for three weeks; hence, I wasn't freaked out about test formating or question types the day of the test.
Regarding cramming, do so for vocabulary. Seriously. Although I found that section of the test quite easy, I've heard that it was difficult for others. I imagine that I lucked out and got an easy test. Not only is knowing the vocabulary important, but knowing how to use that knowledge is important, too. If I were your daughter, I would be doing all of the Princeton synonyms and analogies (in the practice tests). Forget about doing them in order, but do time her. If your daughter has trouble making "bridges" in analogies, read the analogy section in Kaplan (teaches analogies, not the practice). Also, there are several hundred, if not thousands, of SSAT vocabulary words that can be found on the internet. Most of these lists are very reliable.<br>
In the event that there are foreign words on the SSAT, help her learn to break down these words. It’s too late to start memorizing roots, prefixes, and suffixes at this point, but if she can make connections between parts of the foreign word and parts of words that she knows (Princeton and its word webs help a ton with these), it will help her a lot. I do believe that I got through about four questions in this way. I got these four questions right and that the method is reliable when used correctly. Finally, try doing the SSAT questions of the day (they are repetitive, but only about every three months or so).
For reading, there is nothing to be done. Because your daughter has a strong academic background, I will assume that she has always been an avid reader, which should be enough to get her through this section of the SSAT. The reading list in the Princeton is very helpful, particularly I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (umm…I could be a bit biased since this book was written in my state and because I enjoyed this book the most). I’m not certain if this was mentioned in any of the practice books that you have (I had a few other prep books), but while she’s reading, she should try to stop every page or so. Then, she should ask herself: a) what was the author’s main purpose b) what was the author’s tone and c) how does the author feel toward his or her subject
Do exactly as the Princeton says concerning the essay. There simply is not a better way to handle it.
As I mentioned before, I had several prep books (I did self prep). The most helpful one was the Princeton, in referral to its methods. The one with the best practice tests though, was Barron’s. They were about twice as hard as the real thing’s and covered everything on the SSAT very thoroughly.
I’m certain I have gotten this point across already, but in case, I repeat that I feel the best way to a high test score is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and guess what…MORE PRACTICE. Nothing can calm test day nerves like knowing that you’ve done twenty practice SSAT tests before. </p>
<p>She should try to get at least eight hours of sleep for three nights before the test, waking at around or before 7:15 a.m., since the SSAT begins at 9:00 (I think).</p>