SAT Prep Strats

As a top SAT-scorer, I would like to share some of the best review resources that I know of.

How Important is the SAT?

Without going into detail, the SAT is one of many factors that are taken into account for admission to most colleges. While it should not be something to stress over, it is still a good idea to try and do the best you can.

What About the PSAT?

You should only take the PSAT for the purpose of either preparing for the SAT or becoming recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program.

In order to become recognized, you must be a top scorer, so a lot of preparation must go into it. If you can commit to that, then it might be right for you!

If you are planning on taking either test though, here are some good review materials to use in your future endeavors!

Prep Books

One type of resource that people commonly point to is SAT prep books, which generally contain several practice tests and specific advice about different types of questions.

For example, the sentence above follows the rules of subject-verb agreement, and a prep book would probably have information on those grammatical rules in the writing section.

Personally, while a book contains a lot of information that you can study independently, it is sometimes expensive and a hassle to carry around. So, I prefer some other methods of review.

Khan Academy Personalized Practice

On the College Board’s website, they recommend practicing online using Khan Academy’s free practice system.

Many of my peers from around the nation tell me that they did hundreds of practice problems on topics that they struggled with and ended up with great scores.

To me, it’s kind of like playing a game when using their practice system. It’s quite relaxing because there is no time limit, and all of the questions have explanations for why each answer is wrong/right.

Personally, I struggle with the reading and writing sections the most, so I like to do all of the questions for just one text (about 10 problems) every day.

Full-Length Practice Tests

After I do the practice problems for a while, I like to time myself doing the full-length practice tests on either paper or online. You can either download them to your computer as PDF files or just use Khan Academy.

Conclusion

Ultimately, while the SAT is quite important in the eyes of many students, you should not let it stress you out. With just moderate amounts of practice using the right resources, it becomes easily managable.