Student Comments on the October SAT

Here are some actual comments from High School Students regarding their October 2009 SAT experience:

“I felt the test wasn't too bad but it had some challenging parts and the passages weren't as confusing and complicated as they usually are”

“I didn't finish any part of the SAT”

“i took the SAT Saturday but I don’t think I did too well. I didn't like my essay and I think that preoccupied my mind throughout the test. I didn’t finish the first reading so I went back to it during second section which didn’t give me enough time to finish section I was supposed to be doing”

“I'm still feeling a little brain dead from the SAT…..Ill keep doing some reading sections because that's what i thought i struggled on the most today”

“The test was fair, yet I still managed to find somewhat of a problem while doing the critical reading section. It was not the passages yet the questions were all hard, and often were misleading”

“I don't know if the test was good or bad, but i felt less stressed during this one and hope for good results”

“I thought the sentence completions were average, and fair”

“I found the critical reading still the hardest part although it was much better than last time. some writing questions were difficult too. However I found the math sections very easy. I'll keep my fingers crossed but I think I improved this time around”

“Overall, I didn't think the test was was too difficult. Surprisingly, I thought that the sentence completions were the hardest part of the whole test. Many of the vocab words and wordings in the sentences I found to be very difficult to make out. I didn't have too much trouble with the passages and I found that the math and writing sections were fairly easy”

“The essay I thought was a little ridiculous. It was about laughter. The questions for math were very easy but the writing was just to hard. The reading was what i expected. all in all it was an SAT”

“The essay and most of the math was pretty easy to me. The rest i had some trouble with. My timing was not to good either. I did not complete the 35 question writing section, two reading sections, and one math section”

Don't Out Think The SAT

Student after student with extremely high G.P.A.'s seem to have difficulty on one or more parts of the SAT. Why? Many times they are too smart for the test. Their common mistakes include:

• Answering math questions too quickly, thus making careless, sloppy mistakes
• Misreading questions and falling for the sucker answers
• Bringing outside knowledge of a topic into the test
• Thinking every question is a trick question with trick answers

My advice to very bright students--no body is out to get you except you! Slow down, breathe, and relax. Do not attempt to answer a question until it is fully understood.

Tis The Season for SAT Prep

Its August 5th, and for those who will be sitting for the October 10, 2009 SAT, now is the time to start preparing. How? Read something challenging each day. I post a new article everyday on twitter with at least five new SAT words. Take the time to learn some new words.

Buy the new Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition and start doing some practice tests. Pay attention to the SAT Question of the Day.

Wake up sleepy heads! School will be starting before you blink. Use the quiet time in August to do something productive. Senior year is particularly stressful with college applications. Don't put off your SAT prep because September and October will be a mess.

Happy Fourth of July!

The fourth of July marks a time to relax, kick back and have a good barbecue with family and friends. The 4th of July is also exactly three months from the October 4th SAT. Most well thought out SAT study plans are about 12 weeks long. Most of my students hire me for 12 sessions, usually a week apart. The longer you plan in advance, the less stress you have for last minute cramming. Why force a situation where a tutor must meet with you 2-3 times per week? Those who wait until September must prepare with the added stress of senior classes and college planning. The summer is a quiet time to focus on preparing for the October exam. So have a wonderful July 4th. However, starting July 5th, make a pact with yourself to wake up an hour early and study at least 30 to 45 minutes. Slow and steady wins the race.