SATs and ACTs: An Opportunity to Shine

Most kids hate standardized tests.

This is a fact.

Chances are, your face closely resembles this when someone brings up the SAT or ACT.

Why?

a) you think that they fail to evaluate students holistically

b) both require you to sit quietly for an inordinate amount of time

c) you don't test well

d) you are secretly terrified that you will not achieve the stupendous results that you dearly desire

e) all of the above

Whether you select a-d or e, you will inevitably have to take one of the two tests; it would therefore be in your best interest to make the experience bearable. For the most part, I will focus my attention on the SAT, since that is the test I am most familiar with. (I once attempted a practice ACT, which instead of producing good results, yielded a sore forehead and a dented desk. If you wish to receive advice about the ACT, I suggest finding a peer with a proclivity for mathematics. Try the blogger from coaswel.blogspot.com)

In all honesty, the SAT isn't half as bad as it's cracked up to be. Achieving decent results relies on the following five steps:

1) Studying. The types of problems you will encounter vary little from test to test, which is something you can and should use to your advantage.

I worked with a C2 Education Center teacher recommended to me by two former Walter Johnson students, one of whom now attends Wellesley and the other Dartmouth. If you can afford it, I guarantee that you will find the sessions worth your while. Leave me a comment if interested.

2) Studying.

3) Studying.

4) Studying.

5) Studying.

Sadly, there is no magic formula for doing well on the SAT, which is what I assume you came here to find. Do not keep searching the Internet in hopes of uncovering a miracle worker. It does not exist. No book or tutor alone will push you to the top, though both can certainly be heavy factors in reaching a favorable outcome. Interestingly enough, that's excellent news for most of us. That means that top results on the SAT aren't exclusively the domain of geniuses, who so rarely grace us with their presence.

I'm not a prodigy. I never have been. I'm a quick study and I care about my education, but I do not have in my possession more than average intelligence. Recognizing this, I set high bars for myself and work to achieve them - but that comes at the cost of having less leisure time. I started out with a 1700, which is actually somewhat shabby even for the Average Joe and Mary. However, in spite of all bets against me, I raised that score by five hundred - almost six hundred - points.

You can do it. The fact you are searching this blog means that you have motivation and ambition in your arsenal.

Now, unless you happen to be me and accidentally end your reading section on question 23 instead of 25, resulting in a 790 instead of 800, you will do perfectly fine. (Under no circumstances should you exclaim, "Crap, this is like a frameshift mutation!" if it does happen to you. Not that that's what I did, of course.)

If you would like to see a list of the types of problems that crop up in the test, comment below.

Cheers.