I really need advice about the SAT?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and have a 3.6+ GPA. I find it hard to study for the SAT because homework takes up most of my time and I'm committed to sports. I took the practice SAT and didn't study AT ALL and I got a 1400. I was shocked because I thought I did well.. but then again, I didn't study!

So my questions are:
How much time should I put into studying for the real SAT (considering that I don't have much time)? Or in other words, how much time (days, weeks) will the average person need to study all the material to get a good score? Is studying a week before the test a bad idea?

What else should I know about the SAT?


I'm planning on taking the test on JUNE 2.

Answer 1

I'd say 1400 is a pretty good score. I wouldn't stress about it too much, 6 weeks is plenty of time. You can go to collegeboard.com and have them email you a practice SAT question every day. It doesn't take very long, and you get used to the type of questions they ask, and you get good at doing them quickly.

Answer 2

Personally I think studying for the SAT's is overrated. Focus on your current schoolwork and if time allows take practice tests, of which there are a lot. The SAT's aren't that hard and you're going to be tested on a lot of things you should just already know from normal coursework. There's no use trying to relearn everything. If you do study at all it should be the test taking process rather than the content. I don't know how the new SAT scores are but in 2003 I got a 1270. If you're involved in sports and have a great GPA you can get away with a pretty low GPA score. I'm not saying you'll have a low score, I'm just saying don't worry so much. Cram 2 days before the test, rest and calm yourself the day before, then the day of the test take 15 minutes to skim through a practice test. Other than that all I can say is good luck! It sounds as though you're commited to doing well, I'm sure you won't have any problems.

Answer 3

I'd wait until your senior year to take the SAT. Study all summer for it. The SAT is just as important as your grades are in terms of admissions to school.

Not all of us are as naturally smart as Taranto. The SAT is definitely a test you can prepare for. No way to do it one week before. You need at least a month at 2 hours a day. The longer you have, the more you can pace yourself. Of course, the longer you have, the better you can prepare.

I started preparing for the SAT since the 7th grade. Just doing things like improving my vocabulary and stuff. I started specific preparation for the SAT 2 years before I took it, but really actively studied for it somewhere in my junior year. A little earlier than where you are right now. I improved. I went from scoring in the 1200s my junior year to in the 1400s (out of 1600). It's not super drastic improvement, but it's pretty significant.

Honestly, 1400 out of 2400 is crap. That's below average, and average won't even get you into any of the decent schools, let alone big name ones like UCLA. I dunno what your college expectations are, but you may seriously want to consider dropping a sport or two and spending that time studying for the SAT instead. And you're aiming for the October test.

Answer 4

For the most part, you don't need that much time set aside to study for the SAT. Just a few minor things and you should be set. Read the newspapers starting at least a week before the test to enhance vocabulary and keep it fresh. Review a few slightly complex trig, geometry, and algebra problems to get a handle on it. And just do some minor writing just to remember structure and fluidity. All in all you should only need to devote about another half hour at the most to include all these things. It helped me so much that I went from a 990 to about a 1400 when the SAT was under the original format of 2 sections.

Answer 5

Just to clear up for others.....yes SAT scores were out of 1600 a few years ago; However things have changed since then. Right now the scores are out of 2400. I had around the same score for the real thing. My PSAT scores had some differences. If you do bad on this SAT remember that there is the summer to prepare. Worst case senario is to take the ACT. There are lots of students who do better on this test than the SAT. So...I think you should try both. Most schools should take the ACT as well as the SAT. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Is that 1400 out of 1600 -- or 1400 out of 2400?

I'm not a big believer in studying for these tests if you can get a good score. You might get an extra 30-40 points -- but that won't help you much.

Now someone who is at 1200 could benefit -- because bringing 1200 up to 1300 or 1350 could mean entrance to a better school.

My advice -- take a few more practice tests. If you continue to do this well -- just go & take the exam.

Answer 7

A 1400 is a pretty good score - you should be proud of yourself! It is certainly difficult to study for the SAT; make sure you pay attention to basic math and grammatical principles. The software and books can help, but cramming for it too much might burn you out. The best thing you can do is get a good night's rest and a decent breakfast before you take it, and try not to stress too much.

I personally preferred the ACT - most colleges will accept either, and the ACT does not penalize you as heavily for skipped questions. You might consider taking it as well as the SAT.

Answer 8

Hasn't the SAT always been out of 1600? Unless, I am mistaken a 1400 is probably around the 92 or so percentile. I think that score, your GPA, and athletics will be fine for your school of choice, unless you are looking at a service academy. Furthermore, I think the PSAT is more difficult than the SAT, or so it was whenI took it in 1996

Answer 9

Personally, I dont really think you can study for the SAT.

I had friends in HS who took thousands and thousands of dollars worth of SAT classes (like the Princeton Review among others) and yet I, who was a 2.99 student, who didn't study, who's parents wouldnt even buy her a SAT book, got above 1900. I cant even begin to explain how upset they were.

Many of the people I knew that did incredibly well on the test, like 2200 and above, well all naturally intelligent rather than book worms.

Oh, and a high GPA definately doesn't mean you're gonna do good on the SAT. It just means you work hard. Plenty of smart people get low GPAs because they just dont work as hard as those determined straight A students.

Answer 10

The best ways in my opinion is the buy a book with a list of most commonly used vocab words. I've bought a book called 5000 Vocabulary Words on the SAT, but you don't need to study that many words. You can also by some SAT Vocab help books that give little hints that will help you remember hard Vocab words.