The Math Is Easy...................

Its setting up the question that is the hard task on the Math section of the SAT. Read the question, if you don't understand it, read it again! I cannot tell you how many of my students make silly mistakes on math questions because of poor reading comprehension. Focus only on what is being asked. Focus only on what is being given. Do not invent things that simply are not there. Today's question of the day was a classic--Two sets of two lines were drawn. Only two of those lines labeled (l and m) were specifically given as parallel. The other two lines looked parallel but YOU CANNOT ASSUME THAT THEY ARE PARALLEL! If you assumed they were parallel your answer would be totally different and wrong. Remember there is always a wrong answer waiting for you if you are careless and misread the question.

Tiger Woods and Focus

Tiger Woods hobbling on one leg forced a playoff in todays US Open Golf Championship by sinking a long putt on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, CA. By just watching Tiger's eyes lining up the putt, I knew that that ball was going in. His uncanny ability to concentrate and block out any distractions makes him the greatest golfer in the world. Why am I writing about this? Because all successful people in life have this type of focus. Imagine how much clearer those boring reading passages would be, how much easier those convoluted math word problems would be if you, the student could focus like Tiger Woods. The ability to concentrate and focus for an extended period of time is a skill that will greatly enhance your performance on the SAT and ACT. Concentration and focus starts with your ability to set aside a quiet place each day and attempt practice questions without any distractions from the outside world. Sure you will be depriving your social life for an hour a day, but think of the places that this new found skill will take you later in life. In the summer time if you get up early and focus, all your friends will be sleeping anyway so you really will not be missing out on anything.

Strive to be the Best!

According to the College board, the average SAT scores for college bound seniors during 2007 were: Critical reading: 502; Mathematics: 515 and Writing: 494 for a combined score of 1511. Why be mediocre? The world is full of average people trapped in the middle. Strive to be the best, separate yourself from the pack. If you think the college process is highly competitive, just wait until you become an adult and then the fun begins! Competition only gets more intense in the job market when you graduate from school. Prepare for the SAT by taking baby steps. Set aside a small amount of time each day (30 minutes) but allow enough time (3 months) to get the job done. Do not miss a day! No excuses! Suddenly the study time becomes a way of life, a habit just like brushing your teeth. A half hour per day for 3 months amounts to 45 hours of studying. Have you ever studied for anything for 45 hours? My guess would be no. Ask yourself, how much better than average would my scores be if I put in 45 hours of study time? 30 minutes per day is a small price to pay for success. I bet everyone reading this post wastes 30 minutes per day text messaging, watching reality TV, sending IM's to your friends, etc. etc.

Flashcards

Flashcards are an old school but very effective way to study for anything academic, including the SAT and ACT. Sure, a student can purchase commercially prepackaged flashcards, but the better way to go would be to create original flashcards from scratch. When you make your own flashcards, the retention rate of the material is better because you are writing down the concepts. I recommend purchasing a minimum of 300 standard size blank flashcards. Pick three different colors. Divide the cards into three sets of 100. For example use yellow for math, blue for critical reading and green for writing. Use the math cards for concepts and formulas citing specific practice test examples to refer to on the flip side of the card. Use the reading cards for vocabulary words. Use the writing cards for the rules of grammar as well as for ideas for essay topics. Imagine creating 300 new concepts on your own! As you go over the flashcards set aside in a separate container those concepts which give you the most difficulty. Focus on the concepts you are weakest with so as to make those concepts your new strengths.

The Odds of A Perfect Score

According to the Collegeboard, 269 of the 1.5 million students who took the SAT in 2007 earned a perfect score of 2400. The odds of perfection are almost 6,000 to 1. When I speak about setting realistic goals, I do not assume your goal is to achieve a perfect score. Proper goal setting is an individual matter. In any given year, the average scores for all sections are around 500, or 1500 total.

Who wants to be average? Nobody! Don't be mediocre, strive for much better than the average score. Answering 70% to 75% of the questions correct as a general rule should bring your scores into the 600's. Put in the time necessary to achieve the desired results. There is no greater satisfaction in life than working hard and enjoying the benefits of that effort.

SAT Question and Answer Service

For $18 a student can order the SAT Question and Answer Service through the Collegeboard. This service gives the student the test questions, a breakdown of his answers along with the correct answers, the question type and the degree of difficulty for each question. In my opinion, this is an invaluable piece of information. Students and their tutors can use the information to try and find a pattern of mistakes. With such data, a student can better prepare to retake the test by focusing on those questions and subjects that prove to be the most challenging. This is money well spent because it will make the preparation for the next SAT much more efficient. To learn more about this service please visit the Collegeboard at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/qas.html

College Information Blog and Discussion Groups

Allen Grove writes a great College Admissions Blog for About.com. Tons of useful information are scattered throughout his page. Top college rankings, test prep, tips on the application process, essay ideas, planning a college campus tour are just some of the many topics discussed. This is a must have reference for the dreaded application season. Please click on the following link: http://collegeapps.about.com/ to subscribe. You will receive weekly email updates, so if a new topic interests you, there is probably a discussion forum which will lead you to in depth resources about a particular issue. I have personally subscribed to this blog and it has helped my children navigate the college application game. In some upcoming posts, I will be discussing many college issues such as How many AP credits do colleges accept?