<p>Hi everyone,
I'm from Sydney and I'm trying to get into an American uni for autumn (or fall :S) 2009 so I'm getting all ready to set the SAT's in May. It took me ages to actually figure out the whole system concerning the SAT's since the American system is 'heaps' different compared to oz. We don't have anything similar to the GPA and at my school there's no such thing as a rank in your year so I'm a bit :| with everything i've been reading on these forums. However, i then went and visited the consulate in the city and after some research i came across the issue of the whole SAT II exam.</p>
<p>That's where I've hit a problem. </p>
<p>Half of the subjects tests involve languages...none which my school offers. I mean, we do Indonesian! and thats definitely not on there. Im Yugoslavian and even that hasn't helped for anything. So i guess i had to eliminate all the language tests already. So I'm left with US History; another setback since we only covered the Civil War in Modern History. There's World History and i did some practice exams only to find out that our history syllabus and course is 'way' different to the American one. I only did Bio in Year 11 because Science has never been my 'passion' and it is not compulsory [English is the only subject which is mandatory]. The Maths includes curriculums which have been left out of our course for nearly 20 years......
So I was wondering...is it possible to do a whole crash course in subjects such as WH or even Bio? I've checked if they do courses in Sydney but unfortunately they dont...so I'm now left in a situation where i have no idea what to do? Please tell me they have some booklets which they sell internationally which include all the info...?</p>
<p>try sparknotes. it's free, online.. can get you ready for US History, Math, Bio.. You just need 2 except at Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown.. you may not get 800 overnight.. but why not, it's free.. you still have time</p>
<p>Expensive courses may not be as good as they say, so don't worry, you're not losing anything. Buy a good prep book via Amazon (read the comments on their site to see which ones to buy), and study by yourself. Study, study, and study. No secrets here.
Good luck!</p>
<p>(also, I had to study only by sparknotes for US History (looong story - couldn't get a book in time), and I did poorly on the test (I was in the same situation as you - I didn't know what to do, because my school didn't cover US History)</p>
<p>but maybe their Practice tests are good enough (I took only 2 before the test), so who knows?)</p>
<p>yeah I've already done most of the questions on sparknotes and they've been alright so far.
Oh the joys of studying! :P
oh and I was also wondering about majors... I want to work for the UN. So what would be the best major which would allow me to go for that pathway-international relations? Do you know if any Uni's have good reputations or programs with the UN or which colleges offer the best majors in that area?</p>
<p>Oh and thank you heaps for the info, you guys are awesome!</p>
<p>I would say.. get into a college that you like.. keep an open mind.. you may want to work to Goldman Sachs in 5 years' time.. or maybe teach in China.. you never know.. just my 2 cents..</p>
<p>Yeah, literature is my safest bet at the moment and i probably am going to do the Maths1c but i've heard some uni's dont accept them. Is that true?
If I did Bio E and M do they count that as two separate tests or do they just not count one of them since theyre the same subject?
And whats the whole deal with the ACT?</p>
<p>
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i've heard some uni's dont accept them. Is that true?
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Uhm, check it on their websites. I really don't know if this is true.
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If I did Bio E and M do they count that as two separate tests or do they just not count one of them since theyre the same subject?
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Even if they do count them as two separate tests, I'd say plan to take only one of them. Better to show the schools that you can deal with a long range of subjects (which student looks better: the one who took only Math, Physics and Chemistry, or the one who took Math, History, and one language?).</p>
<p>I would recommend you to buy study guides and american textbooks on the internet. And just keep pushing yourself to study it! Because I'm in the same situation as you, so I'm just self-studying mostly :/ </p>
<p>Since you're interested in UN, you might like Columbia since some students from there get interships at the UN headquarters in NYC. </p>
<p>Just a question of interest, are you involved in any model UN activities in Sydney/Australia?</p>
<p>Definitely look into the ACT. A lot of schools let you submit the ACT in place of both the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests. You'll be killing 2 birds with 1 stone by taking (and doing well on) the ACT!</p>
<p>Hmm I really am considering the ACT but some teachers from the US told me that it was more science based so I'm a bit iffy about it since i absolutely detest science =D.
Replying to Aininor, I'm part of the UN Youth Association in Australia which has been awesome as well as going to a couple of meetings with international ambassadors concerning education and all that. A lot of my family is also involved in the UN with peace-keeping missions in the Balkans and all that so i guess thats were i got all the interest from :S lol
Oh i can sympathise with all the self-studying but i guess you got to do what you got to do.
However at least i have a back up over here. I can always do the international studies course over here where it is compulsory to study overseas for at least a semester so if i chose that option i could say goodbye to the SAT's =D but i think that's just the easy way out....</p>
<p>Take whichever subjects you feel most comfortable with. Breadth vs. focus doesn't matter - after all, not too many people major in, say, political science AND chemistry now, do they? If you haven't taken Biology, Chemistry, or Physics or any of the sciences in any great depth, it's best to start studying at least three months in advance, and be really intensive about it. Studying for science without a great deal of passion will be hard on the motivation.</p>
<p>For study guides - the official 'blue book' is not too bad, but Sparknotes can help a great deal - and start early! I studied three days before my SAT II's and just got over the ''wholistic/rejected'' line of 700+ with them (this is for HYP by the way).</p>
<p>For your international relations - Political Science would be the best, as their are a lot of 'international relations' courses in that field. If you study here, and get a really good GPA, you could even transfer to a uni over there, although I believe you still have to take the SAT's (someone correct me if I'm wrong here).</p>
<p>Have you taken the SAT Reasoning? I found the official 'blue book' to be an excellent guide, although I did take the test twice, six months apart - meaning I'm not sure if it was intellectual growth or the study actually helped.</p>
<p>You don't need any scientific knowledge per se for the science section on the ACT - trust me, I've taken it. The science section just requires an understanding and interpretation of graphs and data which you will be provided. And let me make this clear - all the answers can be found in the information they provide you. Why don't you take a practice test and see if you'd do well?</p>
<p>Thanks Poh. NO i havent started to take any of the reasoning tests or anything yet, im taking my first SAT in May so that it doesnt interfere with any of my assessments and i think im taking the SAT II's in November after the HSC? I've been going through those official blue books and they've been awesome but i havent tried out sparknotes yet, so thanks for that tip since i only use that site to fiil me in on modules i should have to read for english :P
i've got this whole internal debate going on. I want to combine my international relations/studies degree with law over here which would take me 5 years to complete. But if i went to the US; i'd have to do a four year bachelor degree, followed by a three year graduate degree where i wouldn't even specialise in Australian law- something which i've been studying since Year 9 :S. That's why i've also started to consider transferring instead of completing my whole education there...but i'll still the do the SAT's because i still haven't decided on anything.</p>
<p>Oh and thats great news about the ACT. I'm seriously not a fan of science- i used to love it two years ago but a bad teacher and the periodic table have turned me off for a lifetime. That's a relief then because some advisors in the American consulate advised me not to do it, since it apparently wasnt in my forte? ... ah well
ive tried looking for practice ACT exams but i cant find them anywhere, just those question of the day things? Do i order it of somewhere, or are there sites?
thanks...=D</p>
<p>ACT has 4 sections - math (60 min - 60 questions; very straight-forward questions, topics up till trigonometry are covered, trig included. No tricky wording, unlike the SAT - if you know your stuff, you're golden), english (45 min - 75 questions; all are grammar-based though), reading (35 min - 40 questions; easier than SAT reading IMO) and science (35 min - 40 questions; already explained this section). Each section is scored out of 36 points. There is no negative marking for a wrong answer - so you can guess without the guilt! And about sending the scores, YOU choose which score/s get sent - isn't that cool! :)</p>
<p>The best way to increase your SAT score is by Practicing lots of SAT questions and more practicing..."Practice makes a man perfect"...as this saying goes, you'll get high scores if u put in effort in taking more SAT tests...remember, timed practice makes u more confident...</p>
<p>Some of the guys I know took around 40-60 SAT tests before the actual SAT and their scores have done justice...I was more hesitant so I scored less...that's simple as it gets...when I took my second SAT I raised my CR score frm 500 to 620...i had only about 8-9 days...my SAT score came on Oct 24 and my other SAT was on Nov.3...</p>