Order Your 2008 Summer Study Guide

For Sophomores in particular who will become juniors in the fall of 2008, the summer is a precious time that you must use to your advantage. I have written a 31 page comprehensive summer guide. This is a step by step method which sets forth a game plan during the summer months. Following this plan will put you light years ahead of your friends. It is available in E-Book form for the low price of $9.97. It is available now through June 15, 2008. To order please go to www.testniques.com and click on the Special Offer Tab.

The May SAT is Two Weeks Away

With two weeks to go, the best way to prepare for the May 2008 SAT is by doing as many practice tests up to the Thursday before test day. Allocate one hour each day to complete two 25 minute sections of a practice exam. When you are ready for sections 8, 9 and 10, complete those in your one hour practice time since those sections are on 50 minutes in the aggregate. Using this regimen, you should be able to complete at least 2 full practice exams, possibly three. Score the exam pursuant to the instructions in the test book. With persistent practice your scores should improve with every exam. This will give you positive reinforcement and confidence going into test day.

College Admissions

The 2008 College Admissions data is being released by the elite schools. According to the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal many Ivy League schools are accepting applicants at rates lower than 10% with Harvard's acceptance rate at around 7.9%. Once again schools are swamped with a record number of applicants for a limited number of spaces. This trend is expected to continue at least through 2010. In this highly competitive environment, it is important to prepare a well rounded resume with your application. This includes your entire body of work throughout High School--grades, extra-curicculars, standardized test scores, leadership roles, community service, recommendations, work experience as well as any other creative talent you may have to stand out from all those qualified applicants.

SAT Resources

I am often asked, “What are the best resources to help a student prepare for the SAT?” The primary resources that my students use are The Official SAT Study Guide, published by the College Board and Up Your Score published by Workman’s Press. The Official SAT Study Guide, also known as the blue book contains many valuable lessons including 8 practice tests. The blue book is published by the actual company that administers the SAT exam. The questions are the most accurate representation of the actual test questions. In contrast to the practical bluebook, Up Your Score is a book written by actual students who have aced their SAT’s and have since gone on to Ivy League Colleges. This book is more of a strategic guide. It provides the student with valuable insight into the tricks and traps the test makers set to confuse students.

After an ambitious student has extracted all the knowledge from these two books, I recommend the following multimedia reference materials: For writing and grammar please look at Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Connor. This book contains many valuable rules of grammar often ignored by high school curriculum. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White is another classic book of grammar and usage that will serve as a valuable tool for students throughout college. Finally, a free podcast from Grammar Girl provides a 3 to 5 minute weekly audio lesson on topics which can be immediately used by students to improve their writing skills.

For additional math and reading problems I recommend Gruber’s Complete Preparation for the SAT by Gary R. Gruber, PhD. This book contains many hints, tips, practice quizzes and lessons on almost any topic covered by the SAT. Don’t be overwhelmed by the size of the book. A student need only use this resource to focus on particular parts of the test he or she is having trouble with. For example, Gruber’s has a wonderful section on math word problems, an area which many students often find challenging.

The College Board makes available an online course from its website www.collegeboard.com. This valuable course offers lessons, quizzes and additional full length practice tests. Book owners are given a $10.00 discount and there is an essay scoring service offered free of charge. The website also provides detailed answers and explanations to all questions in the bluebook free of charge.

How to Use Your PSAT Results

The PSAT results are in. Now what to do? First find out if your score is high enough to qualify for a national merit scholarship. Consult with your guidance counselor and find out the cutoff score. Second, go over all the wrong answers to see if there is a pattern. For example do you consistently get the same type of question wrong? If so, sit down with your tutor and map out a study plan to improve upon all your weak areas. Finally, use your PSAT scores to set realistic goals for the SAT. Set the bar high enough above your PSAT score but do not be unrealistic. Write down your specific goals on a piece of paper and look at that paper from time to time. You will be amazed at how close you can come to your goals with a little hard work.

Up Your Score--Free Sneak Peak

The publishers of "Up Your Score"-The Underground Guide to the SAT have been gracious enough to allow me to share with you a free chapter of this most valuable book. I recommend this book to any student who wants to become a master SAT test taker. To all students that are interested, I will send an entire chapter of the book which includes many helpful tips for free! Visit my website, www.testniques.com and click on the Contact Us button and request your free chapter as soon as possible.

How to Find More Study Time

Time is a precious commodity, but we all have the same amount of it. How do some stuents find those extra hours per week for test preparation? First think about all the time you waste. In a typical example, a student will commute to high school via mass transportation and sleep during the trip with her i-pod blaring. The round trip to school for some is in excess of an hour. Don't act mindlessly! Instead print out an interesting article or articles in the morning from the nytimes.com website and read it on the bus. Read it with your pen, circling key words and phrases. You will not only increase your vocablulary, but you will also become more worldly and knowledgable of important issues of the day.