You've probably already seen this all the time but...

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I'm an upcoming high school junior planning to take the sat(duh) but I don't quite know when to. I have AP classes this year and would prefer it to not be near any of the testing dates. </p>

<p>Throughout my summer I've taken sat prep classes and it has helped alot 1550 to 1750(and we still have 2 more weeks). The prep classes are designed to prepare me for the oct sat but if I take it im not sure if I'll do as well as if I take it later on in the year. I predict like a 1700-1800 hopefully in oct, but I think I can get 1900-2000 later on in the year through studying and such. Should I take the oct sat anyways for experience? How many times should you take it so it doesn't look like you're overdoing it? If I get an 1800 in oct but a 1900-2000 later on in the year does it hurt my chances rather than just taking it later on in the year and getting that 1900-2000? </p>

<p>Also on another note, I'm planning on getting a lot of prep books such as The Blue Book and Black Book by Collegeboard, Barron's Sat 2014, Cracking the SAT 2015, Gruber's 2400, Gruber's SAT word master, McGraw's SAT 2013, SAT for dummies, SAT premier 2014.
Are there any books that I should focus my attention on and others that I shouldn't spend as much time on? I'm prepared to go ham on studying for the SAT which book would be best for that(in the list).</p>

<p>Thank you, and sorry for the wall of text and 100 questions. I would really appreciate it if you could get me some advice to get me through this stressful part of my life. Also any general tips would be welcomed. Thank you!</p>

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<h1>of times: Plan out 3, but space them out so that you can get scores back before going for the next one (if necessary). I would recommend something along the lines of December/January, March, June (June is nice since AP tests are over by then). However, nothing beats being prepared, so if that means taking a later SAT, then do it. 3 is usually okay, while 4 can raise some red flags. And, no, score improvements won’t hurt, even if a college requires that all scores be sent. If anything, it shows solid improvement.</h1>

<p>Books: Blue Book = good, Black Book = ok, everything else = somewhat useless…</p>

<p>As for some general tips by section…</p>

<p>First and foremost, USE THE BLUE BOOK - it’s the best book out there.</p>

<p>Critical Reading - Brush up on vocab with Direct Hits and/or Quizlet/flashcards. These vocab questions are easily preventable mistakes as long as you master the vocab. For passage-based questions, try to first go through a couple tests without timing yourself. Take all the time you need, but try to get all the questions right. As you improve your accuracy, go back to timed tests and gradually work on timing.</p>

<p>Writing - Most sentences can be corrected by the way they sound. If something doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t. Don’t second guess “no errors.” As for the essay, use literature, history, current events, etc. but oftentimes, just using people gets you to that 10. It helps to brainstorm a list of examples organized by literature, history, people and current events, with attributes/themes associated with each example before the test. Make sure to learn this list, so that you are less likely to have writer’s block on test day (after all, you only have 25 minutes). Also, study the format of typical College Board essays and derive your own formula based on that. That way, you could write a crappy essay on one of those bad writing days, but still get a 10 (trust me, I’ve been there).</p>

<p>Math - Definitely brush up on algebra, geometry, number theory and counting & probability. Just as with critical reading, do some untimed practice. When you come across a question/concept that you don’t know, look it up.</p>

<p>Here are some study resources that I have gathered from my own personal experience and through skimming these forums:</p>

<p>CR:
-Vocab: Direct Hits (book), SAT Vocab Cartoons (book), Quizlet (online), Mindsnacks (found on the Apple App store), Test Your English Vocabulary (Android app - just drills you on vocab with 10 question quizzes; great for on-the-go practice rather than studying)
-Passage Practice: Untimed Blue Book tests, Erica Meltzer’s CR Guide (book)</p>

<p>Math:
-Khan Academy (online), PWN the SAT Math (book), Dr. Chung’s (book - mainly geared for high scorers to get up from 650ish to high 700s), Untimed Blue Book tests</p>

<p>Writing:
-Erica Meltzer’s Grammar Guide
-For the essay: your own list of canned examples organized by people, literature and history, with themes/attributes for each</p>

<p>Know that you don’t need all of these resources (since that would probably cost a fortune) but if I were to recommend a couple, I would say: THE BLUE BOOK (absolute necessity), Mindsnacks (found on the Apple App store - the first lesson with 20 words is free, the other 24 lessons can be bought for ~$5) and Erica Meltzer’s The Critical Reader (I haven’t personally used this but I have heard rave reviews - if you don’t want to buy her book quite yet you could check out her website, which also has Grammar resources: <a href=“http://www.thecriticalreader.com/”>A closer look at "being" - The Critical Reader). Take advantage of free resources like Khan Academy and number2.com, as well.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Good Luck! :)</p>