College Tip of the Week #13: How to prepare for SAT/ACT exams
So its finally time for you to start thinking about your SAT and ACT tests right? Do not fear, because we have some general tips you can apply toward both exams to kick-start you studying!
Give yourself plenty of time. Whatever you do, do not cram for your exam the night, or even week, before your test date. Once you have decided when you want to take your test, start studying around 3 months before the test if you can. This will give you a lot of time to take a practice exam, identify your strengths, work to improve your weaknesses, and repeat this process multiple times as your score increases.
Understand the exam. Though the SAT and ACT are both standardized tests with some overlap in content, they test vastly different material and present questions uniquely. You also will have varying amounts of time you can spend per question on both exams, so learn about each section of the exam you are taking and what to expect (even before your first test date). Taking both of the exams at least once, will allow you to observe which test you perform better on and feel more confident in, so that you can focus on this for your future studying.
Practice! You will need to take many practice tests, no matter which exam you choose. You can find some practice questions for the SAT on CollegeBoard and Kahn Academy, as well as for the ACT here. The important thing, however, is to make sure you go over the questions you got wrong and see where you need to improve. Otherwise, even if you take a lot of practice tests you will not be able to target the areas in which you can be more efficient, and can not measure your improvement apart from a fluctuating overall score. For example, the PSAT is a good indicator of how well you will do on the SAT, so you can use it to assess your strengths and weaknesses.
Read. The SAT and ACT have reading sections that require you to have efficient comprehension of the material in a small time frame. For many, this can be quite challenging. A great way to build your reading comprehension skills is just to read more! From nonfiction articles online, to fictional novels, reading diverse texts will help you understand what you read faster and improve your performance on the reading section over time. This will also improve your vocabulary, which is very important for the reading and writing sections. CollegeBoard provides a list of suggested SAT reading, but if you come across a word you do not know in any text, make sure you look it up. The SAT and ACT also have an abundance of exam prep books for you to utilize, which include practice exams, strategies, and explanations for answers.
Set a target score. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine how much studying you should do. By setting a target score, you choose a realistic goal that will allow you to get into your target schools, but is also within the range of accepted applicants to your reach schools. This way, you can efficiently utilize your time to study enough to obtain your target score, and not spend too much time over-studying and stressing for your SAT/ACT.
Get help. These exams are not easy, even for students who typically perform well in their high school classes. In addition to all of your homework, extracurricular activities, and home responsibilities, finding time to study can be challenging. If you are finding it difficult to study alone, work with one of our college students on SAT/ACT Tutoring to help improve your score.
Study on the go. Sometimes when you are outside of the house, you have some down time. Whether waiting at the dentist’s office, or eagerly sitting in your car until your pizza is baked, you have the option to prepare for your exams through your phone. There are many SAT and ACT prep apps that provide something such as a “question of the day”, which is a great opportunity to spend a small amount of time on daily practice for your test.
To access the SAT website:
For the ACT website:
