<p>As a rising senior, I've had my fair share of tests from Collegeboard. This past year as a Junior, I took the SAT - and I've learned now as I look back on my score and say -- Thank G-d I don't have to take that &$*&^$@ again - the BEST ADVICE I can give anyone taking the SAT this year, next year, or for years to come is:</p>
<p>1 - Get the BLUE Collegeboard Book. No matter what anyone else tells you, the official collegeboard blue book with the REAL SATs in it are the best tools you can use to prepare. Forget Barrons, Kaplan, Princeton Review - they don't make the test - don't waste your time and money. Only Collegeboard's book will prepare you.</p>
<p>2 - Learn new words - in other words, SAT words that you will never use in your life. Don't be a moron and read the dictionary - that will never help and you'll only end up getting every vocabulary question right with words ranging from A-D. Shoot for about 25-30 words a week. Make index cards. Do whatever you have to do to learn words. Go through the collegeboard book of tests and circle the words in the passages and the sentence completions that you have no idea what they mean - Look them up. This will help for CR. </p>
<p>3 - For the writing section... there's something called Common Sense that you know you have. I'm not trying to be arrogant or blatant, but sometimes when I would be taking tests - I'd kick myself for getting some writing questions wrong. JUST READ!! That's really all there is to it. If a word or phrase doesn't sound like normal english, that's probably the answer. I know it's harder than what I just said, but I personally feel that the writing section is the easiest to get an 800 out of the other three sections.</p>
<p>4 - MOST IMPORTANTLY ---> LEARN TO MAINTAIN STAMINA! Endurance, endurance, endurance. This is probably the best advice I can give to you. Remember how long this test is... For me, it turned out to be about a 4 and a half hour test. When you think about it, that's LONG. And you don't get many breaks -- maybe one or two for the bathroom and a quick "stretch" break which last a minute. Do yourself a favor and learn how to maintain stamina. Read a book for 4 hours straight in a chair with a few breaks. Keep your mind focused for a long time - The majority of the questions people get wrong occur on the last few sections. Is it because the test got harder? No - it's because after 3 hours of reading and writing, you're brain gets bored and fatigued, and the last thing you want to be doing is reading another double-passage on the history of chimpanzees or whatever it may be.... Get a small candy bar or something that you can quickly munch on during the breaks. I had a packet of lifesavers in my pocket that, even during the test or during the breaks, I quickly popped into my mouth for a quick sugar rush. You won't believe how hungry and tired you will be after the test!!! LEARN TO MAINTAIN STAMINA!!</p>
<p>That's my advice... do what you want with it. There's definitely more, but I just can't think of them right now. Hope this helps...</p>
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<li>Matt</li>
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