SAT practice?

[ABQmom]

What did you use that you felt was the most effective in preparing your student for the SAT?

[Jen in NY]

There are two websites that my dd found to be helpful; both bloggers have also authored books which we purchased.

 

PWN the SAT

http://blog.pwnthesat.com/

 

The Critical Reader

http://thecriticalreader.com/free-study-guides.html

 

She took the SAT in March and did fairly well. She took the advice offered by these bloggers and her May score improved 180 points.

 

The tip she felt had the biggest payoff for the critical reading section was to try and answer the questions without reading the choices first. If you can answer the question straight up you are less likely to be confused by misleading MC answers.

 

HTH

[ABQmom]

There are two websites that my dd found to be helpful; both bloggers have also authored books which we purchased.

 

PWN the SAT

http://blog.pwnthesat.com/

 

The Critical Reader

http://thecriticalreader.com/free-study-guides.html

 

She took the SAT in March and did fairly well. She took the advice offered by these bloggers and her May score improved 180 points.

 

The tip she felt had the biggest payoff for the critical reading section was to try and answer the questions without reading the choices first. If you can answer the question straight up you are less likely to be confused by misleading MC answers.

 

HTH

 

Thanks for your feedback and for these sites!

[Sue G in PA]

Anyone follow suggestions from http://www.majortests.com? Just happened upon that site while searching or SAT helps. They have practice tests as well as vocab word lists, essay helps, etc. We also purchased the SAT and College Prep Course for Christian students by Stobaugh through MFW.

[rlugbill]

I would highly suggest doing as many practice tests as possible. Yes, there are some "tricks". However, most people figure those out on their own anyway.

 

There is a big business in SAT prep classes, where they teach you the "tricks", as if they have the secret knowledge that you have to pay big bucks for. You do not need to take one of their classes. You can completely study on your own and get a top score.

 

You can buy one or more of the study guides, such as Gruber's, Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc. Then, just take as many practice tests as possible. For variety, you can also do practice questions or just sections of the test. Yes, there are some websites for SAT practice and you can use those also.

 

Gruber's is one of the best study guides. Also the official guide from the College Board. But, like most subjects, it's better to actually do it than to just learn about the SAT.

 

Good luck.