SAT Prep

[Chris in PA]

Hi all,

My dd will be taking the SAT in June. I am trying to decide how to prep for this. She gets the SAT question of the day, I have the Chalkdust SAT math prep DVD's, and an SAT prep book. Should we start any of the math prep or the prep book now? I was thinking of waiting until after Christmas and then starting. She is very strong in the areas of grammar, writing, reading, and vocabulary. It is the math that I am really concerned about with this child. For those of you who have BTDT, what did your SAT prep schedule look like?

 

Thanks!

[Elinor Everywhere]

:bigear:

[Susan C.]

Chalkdust SAT Math prep is very good. Ds got a great math score (for him) and he is not a math/science person. We use that and a SAT prep. book. We like Princeton Review. Dd used CD and got a good math score for her first SAT.

 

As for the writing section.... we concentrate on the grammar, then you get a high score no matter what happens with the essay. :)

[Jane Elliot]

Hi all,

My dd will be taking the SAT in June. I am trying to decide how to prep for this. She gets the SAT question of the day, I have the Chalkdust SAT math prep DVD's, and an SAT prep book. Should we start any of the math prep or the prep book now? I was thinking of waiting until after Christmas and then starting. She is very strong in the areas of grammar, writing, reading, and vocabulary. It is the math that I am really concerned about with this child. For those of you who have BTDT, what did your SAT prep schedule look like?

 

Thanks!

 

Those Chalkdust SAT DVD's are great. My dc love them. One of my sons is not strong in math, so I was positively shocked when he got a 760. He followed Chalkdust with Math 800. I vote for starting with Chalkdust now, and then when she finishes do Math 800.

[speedmom4]

My daughter is also strong in the Reading/Writing section. She is taking an SAT math prep class. They are using the Official SAT Study Guide from the College Board. It has LOADS of practice tests. I think there are 10 in all. So far so good. My daughter will take the SAT on Dec. 3.

 

God BLess,

Elise in NC

[nancy in nj]

Even though your daughter is a great writer, she should still do some basic prep for the writing section of the SAT. Shockingly, the SAT is not really a test of writing ability...it is a test on how well you write to the specific formula they are looking for and the top scoring essays are not necessarily the best written essays. My daughter (also a strong writer) watched the IEW Essay Intensive lectures about the writing section of the SAT, and then did a couple (2 or 3) of timed practice essays using past SAT prompts and read over a bunch of other prompts and just jotted down the 3 examples (bullet points) for each to make sure that a similar question wouldn't stump her. She ended up with a 790 in writing (10 of 12 on essay) without much prep at all, but familiarizing herself with the test was essential. Basically, she learned how to write the crappy essay they rewarded...an essay that her PA Homeschoolers English Language teacher and classmates would have justly crucified.

[MyThreeSons]

Here are some key things to remember:

 

The SAT is more of an aptitude than an achievement test. In the math portion especially, it tries to be a test of the student's reasoning ability. The questions are often not like what the student has encountered on tests in regular math classes.

 

It is essential to be familiar with the format before going in to take the test. You don't want to waste time reading and understanding the rules for the grid-in questions on the math portion, for example.

 

Strategy is key. Know when to guess, and when to simply skip questions. (My son raised his math score by 40 points by answering fewer questions, but being sure of those he did answer.)

 

Know how to manage time.

 

The SAT question of the day is nice, but they don't ever send "read this passage and answer these" questions.

 

Be prepared with ID, admission ticket, calculator, pencils, snack and drink, dress in layers, etc.