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Practice Tests and Preparation Tools
You know where you want to go to school; now you've just got to get past the SAT or ACT and send in your scores with your application. How do you prepare for a test that will determine where you go to school for the next four years? What can you expect when you've never taken this type of exam before?
Luckily, you have numerous tools at your fingertips, depending on how much time and money you want to spend on your preparation. While that's up to you, one thing is certain: You'll want to do something before walk into that classroom with your No. 2 pencil to take the test.
Says one school director of student programs and college guidance, "We tend to put emphasis on the SAT because by the time students finish their junior year, that's about all the grades they can send to a school. What a junior or senior can control is how well he or she takes the SAT and write essays."
OK, so the test is important, but how can you get the most for your time and money when preparing? One advisor says the best preparation is to take the PSAT, or practice SAT, which many high schools offer to their students. After your answers are submitted, you receive your score report, which tells you what you missed, gives you the correct answers and in the reading comprehension section offers helpful tips on what you can do to improve your score. Your high school doesn't offer the PSAT? No worries. Check out the "Cyber Help" sidebar to find Web sites you can visit to take free SAT and ACT practice exams. Every college or university has a free practice test you can pick up in the counseling office.
Certainly not everyone is in this category, but if you're the type who likes to go over and above, here are some facts you might want to know about expensive prep classes, such as the Princeton Review (which runs about $900 for the in-person class and $300 for online). Collegeboard--the 100-plus-year-old organization that serves students and parents with admission, financial aid, programs, teaching and learning or college -- research found that with 20 to 40 hours of prep time, you can improve your verbal section by only one or two questions and math section by only six to eight questions. The reason there's such a small "return" on the time invested is because reading comprehension cannot be taught in a prep course. Only constant reading - not Cliff's Notes -- can improve those scores. Math can improve by a few more questions because a prep course can refresh you on theories and equations, which will help your score.
However, instead of spending that kind of cash on prep courses, take the SAT or ACT once or twice during the second semester of your junior year and once in the fall semester of the senior year.
The bottom line to remember is while there's a lot of hype surrounding the SAT and ACT, schools look at other things besides your tests scores. In fact, test scores count for only half of what a school assesses. Administrators look at the academic and personal aspect. They'll use your course work and SAT (or ACT) score for the academic. The other half is a personal index where they look at sports, extracurricular activities and your essay (if the school asks for an essay). Some schools look at a recommendation. Harvard and Princeton turn down valedictorians of the class routinely because they could have a room full of them. They want to see more well-rounded students.
So, if you're a great test taker, do what you can do make the best score you can; if you're not, you're still going to be fine if you can showcase all the other great qualities that would make you the right fit for your dream school.
Luckily, you have numerous tools at your fingertips, depending on how much time and money you want to spend on your preparation. While that's up to you, one thing is certain: You'll want to do something before walk into that classroom with your No. 2 pencil to take the test.
Says one school director of student programs and college guidance, "We tend to put emphasis on the SAT because by the time students finish their junior year, that's about all the grades they can send to a school. What a junior or senior can control is how well he or she takes the SAT and write essays."
OK, so the test is important, but how can you get the most for your time and money when preparing? One advisor says the best preparation is to take the PSAT, or practice SAT, which many high schools offer to their students. After your answers are submitted, you receive your score report, which tells you what you missed, gives you the correct answers and in the reading comprehension section offers helpful tips on what you can do to improve your score. Your high school doesn't offer the PSAT? No worries. Check out the "Cyber Help" sidebar to find Web sites you can visit to take free SAT and ACT practice exams. Every college or university has a free practice test you can pick up in the counseling office.
Certainly not everyone is in this category, but if you're the type who likes to go over and above, here are some facts you might want to know about expensive prep classes, such as the Princeton Review (which runs about $900 for the in-person class and $300 for online). Collegeboard--the 100-plus-year-old organization that serves students and parents with admission, financial aid, programs, teaching and learning or college -- research found that with 20 to 40 hours of prep time, you can improve your verbal section by only one or two questions and math section by only six to eight questions. The reason there's such a small "return" on the time invested is because reading comprehension cannot be taught in a prep course. Only constant reading - not Cliff's Notes -- can improve those scores. Math can improve by a few more questions because a prep course can refresh you on theories and equations, which will help your score.
However, instead of spending that kind of cash on prep courses, take the SAT or ACT once or twice during the second semester of your junior year and once in the fall semester of the senior year.
The bottom line to remember is while there's a lot of hype surrounding the SAT and ACT, schools look at other things besides your tests scores. In fact, test scores count for only half of what a school assesses. Administrators look at the academic and personal aspect. They'll use your course work and SAT (or ACT) score for the academic. The other half is a personal index where they look at sports, extracurricular activities and your essay (if the school asks for an essay). Some schools look at a recommendation. Harvard and Princeton turn down valedictorians of the class routinely because they could have a room full of them. They want to see more well-rounded students.
So, if you're a great test taker, do what you can do make the best score you can; if you're not, you're still going to be fine if you can showcase all the other great qualities that would make you the right fit for your dream school.
