<p>I was wondering if YOU had any advise in first starting to prep. for the SATs. I'm in 8th grade, and some of my friend, stare at me and ask, why so early? People think I'm a psycho, but, I feel if I want to be ahead of the pack when time comes to sitting at a desk, and working on my SAT, I've got to start NOW.<br>
I've already mastered a few subject SAT topics like Spanish w/ listening, US history, world history, and Korean w/ listening. &&& When I say "mastered" I mean I've gone through at least 5 SAT workbooks, and I know what I need :D.
But, the hardest thing for me is studying for the SAT1. Im no good at math, and I need to brush up on my grammar. I've taken about 3 fake SATs, and I know how confusing some questions are. </p>
<p>So, basically, I was wondering if any recent SAT takers, or people preparing like me, could take a moment of their lives to give me a few suggestions and/or comments. And, if anyone knows of a SAT prep. workbook that has helped greatly, could you MAYBE, write down the title? :O?
Thank You so much... </p>
<p>Wow, so this is what getting into colleges is gonna look like in 5 years...
This is just getting a little ridiculous >_></p>
<p>Anyway, I studied for SATs by myself, the books that I liked best were Gruber's and the Office Collegeboard (big blue book) one for the tests. </p>
<p>Good luck, and don't forget to have some fun during high school too!
SATs might matter a lot now, but who knows in 4 years, quite a bit can change.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the things you need to score high on the SAT come with age.. you don't necessarily need to start "studying" for it 4 years ahead of time. You'll be taking math classes, english classes, and your vocabulary and writing will naturally improve. If I were you I'd wait until atleast 10th grade.. the scores you're getting as an 8th grader aren't the scores you'll get as a junior or senior.</p>
<p>Don't be worried about how you're scoring now... you'll be getting 300+ points higher when you're older.</p>
<p>However, what you could do now is just read a lot of books (especially classics.. good vocab builders). </p>
<p>If you REALLY want to study though, stick to Blue Book tests- they're the most accurate. Peterson's and Barron's are pretty bad.. Kaplan is okay.. Princeton is also fine if you have exhausted all your collegeboard resources.</p>
<p>Lerm89 is right: you should be reading lots of books. </p>
<p>If you like, you can learn some words.</p>
<p>However, you should probably not be worrying too much about the SAT itself yet.</p>
<p>Now is the time to be reading a lot. </p>
<p>I am assuming you are Korean because most people who take the Korean SAT II are native speakers. Excuse me if I am wrong. I am a hakwon director, so I have some experience in helping Korean students do well; that's why I mention it.</p>
<p>I suggest that you stop worrying about practice tests and try to do as much outside reading as you can this year. Try to read one hour a day (in addition to school reading), and learn 10-20 new words a day. </p>
<p>Next year--sophomore spring--is the time to turn your attention to the test itself. Now is the time to build your skill and knowledge base. That's my opinion, anyway. :)</p>
<p>Starting way too early. I didn't even think about the SAT till my Jr. year and I have 99 percentile scores from studying over my Jr. year and some of my summer.</p>
<p>I commend you for your motivation as well as your foresight Jason! However, I also encourage you to maintain a healthy perspective on the college admissions requirements. While the SATs are an important component of the admissions package, having a balanced high school "portfolio," which includes extracurricular activities, volunteer work, hobbies, etc. is also important. As an 8th grader, I recommend building all areas of your academic, and non-academic "portfolio." </p>
<p>But that doesn’t answer your question and is not meant to discourage you from being as prepared as possible for the SATs. So, I can offer a few suggestions with regard to starting your prep now. First of all, I don’t think it is ever too early to start studying vocabulary, building your grammar skills, or improving your writing (essay writing for the SAT). Let’s hit these up one by one. 1. Vocabulary - there are two great vocabulary books that I recommend: “500 Key Words for the SAT, and How to Remember Them Forever!” by Charles Gulotta and “1100 Words You Need to Know” by Murray Bromberg and Melvin Gordon (both are available on amazon.com). 2. Grammar: to hone your grammar skills (specifically with regard to the SAT) we require our students to buy our book “How to Ace the SAT Without Losing Your Cool” (also available on amazon.com as well as lulu.com). This book reviews the grammar required on the SAT and includes a bunch of practice problems. This book is also really helpful for the essay writing portion of the SAT. There are some super exercises designed to improve your writing skills (develop a strong thesis and present it in a coherent and logical way, provide strong evidence to support your thesis). Also, I am in agreement with the other members who recommended reading; I always urge students to read, read, and read some more. But more specifically to read actively. When preparing for the SAT, we encourage students to ask themselves questions as they’re reading, questions such as “What is the author’s tone? What is the purpose or argument of the passage? Does the author use striking words or images? Why?...” </p>
<p>My last piece of advice: If you do decide that now really is the time to start taking practice tests, do not to get discouraged. There is going to be a lot of material on the SAT (especially in the math section) that you probably have not yet studied in school yet. Keep in mind that the content on the test is designed for students in 11th and 12th grade rather than those in 8th grade. Good luck!</p>
<p>Wow :D thanks for the replies!
Yes, I'm reading a lot of classics, and I'm almost through with my Les Miserables.<br>
&&& Yes, I have alot of extracurricular activities I do, like the drums, tae-kwon-do, debate, foreign languages, art, and water polo. ^^
I.. think Im doing ok for now :D
Thank you for the titles, and Ill be at the book store today looking for them.</p>