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SAT Advice for a Foreign Student?
An anonymous reader asks: "I am a student from the UK who is currently in the process of applying to a university in the US. This means that I need to take the SAT Reasoning Test. I have read study guides and seen sample questions, but the more I look around the more I seem to be seeing general 'study skills' information aimed primarily at explaining how to learn rather than what to learn, which results in a lot of pages to work through for seemingly little data. What would help me immensely is any kind of resource aimed at an audience unfamiliar with the tests. Does anyone have a link to a list of exactly what I am expected to know and in what detail I need to know it, as well as anything else that can help me prepare for the exams?"
Here's a comprehensive online course for the new SAT by Harvard & MIT grads and a perfect 2400 scorer:
:)
http://www.accoladeprep.com/
(Full disclosure: This post is on-topic, but also a shameless plug -- I'm one of the co-creators of the course.)
Contact us (contact at accoladeprep.com) and we'll get you set up.
Alright, end shameless plug
-fren
"Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?"
Just a few corrections (sorry if this is pedantic, but these are common misconceptions): There are no longer analogies on the SAT; the test is now out of 2400; there are no scientific deduction questions per se (although critical reading passage questions somewhat resemble "logic" questions); there is also now an essay (it's no longer just multiple choice.)
The only thing I can suggest is that preparation gives you a huge leg up -- there is only a finite number of kinds of questions you will encounter, and if you get accustomed to the format of the exam and the typical traps while taking *practice* tests you'll do much better on the real thing.
-fren
"Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?"
Math
SAT is not supposed to require Trigonometry. I feel it is helpful, but you don't really need it. The key to the math is to know the tricks. It is easiest to get practice tests and see the tricks for yourself. Most mistakes I see (from people who know the math) result from not reading the questions carefully enough and not knowing what to do with a given figure.
- Beware the words "figure not drawn to scale." In many cases, you will want to draw your own, more accurate figure.
- Know basic math terms like: mean, median, mode, prime factor, prime number, midpoint, bisect, etc.
- I know the test gives them to you, but know the area of simple shapes and the special triangles (45-45-90, 30-60-90, 3-4-5, 5-12-13) by heart.
- Look for the special triangles. They will pop up when you don't expect them.
- Any side of a triangle must be greater than the difference of the other two sides and less than the sum of the other two sides. (Seems like common sense, but people cramp on this on under pressure.)
- Remember that finding xy or (x + y) does not necessarily require you to find x or y individually. Additionally, remember that (x + y)^2 has a 2xy term.
- If you get an answer you are sure is right but does not show up in the choices, look to see if there is a way to simplify it or combine terms.
- 1 is not a prime number.
- Grid-In questions have no penalty for guesses. Grid 0 if you don't know.
- The grid-in grid only handles 4 digits. A "." or "/" takes one of those spaces.
- Read carefully!
- Mark the test up!
This isn't exhaustive by any means, and I'm just writing these from the top of my head. Math is what I know best, and I have to catch a bus this morning, but I will post some tips for the rest in this thread if I have time.
Study the test, don't study for the test. Learn how it's written, how it's graded, what kinds of things they are likely to ask you, etc. These tests are predictable and thus you can study them, and in doing so you can do better than otherwise. Unless the quality has gone down, I recommend the Princeton Review books on the topic. That's what I used (though it was 10 years ago).
My testimonial: I took the SAT, got a 1270. According to ETS (the people who make the SAT) I was unlikely to gain any score on a retake, in fact they claimed statistically I was likely to lose a couple points. They were correct in that there really wasn't anything I could think to study more of. I knew how to do everything on the test in general, it's not like there was some math I hadn't learned yet or anything, I just screwed some things up, mostly in the English section.
So what'd I do? Got a Princeton Review book ans studied the test, rather than studying for the test. 9 months later, I took it again, having learned really nothing more that was applicable to the test in school. That time I got a 1380, the big improvement being in the English section. Wasn't because I got smarter, wasn't because I learned more for the test, it was because I studied the test itself.
As an example something I made big gains in was vocabulary. I had a good vocabulary prior to the SAT, but just not in the kinds of words they liked in general. Well the book identified a hitlist of 275 words that ETS just loves to use on that damn test. So I learned those (275 words sounds like a lot but it really isn't). Sure enough, over half the words on the test came from that list, mostly the hard ones.
Also it gave valuable insights about test construction, like that they order the questions by difficulty and one of the ways they make hard questions is with "idiot attractor" answers. They'll put an answer down that looks intuitively right, but is wrong. So on the first questions, the intuitive answer is the one to go for, and the last few, you don't.
Now you'll want to get a current book as they could have changed it and there's at least one major new part: The writing test, which we didn't have. However I think you'll find that provided you have a good, pre university education (in the case meaning good math education through algebra and some trig and good English skills) your time is best spent studying the test itself rather than the material they claim it'll be covering.
Learn the rules of the game, and you'll find it much easier.
My advice: find out if your targeted universities will accept the ACT (http://www.actstudent.org/). Almost all big and small schools will, sometimes with a conversion table to turn it into an SAT score. I took both the ACT and the "old" SAT (the 1600pt one) in Fall 2004, and my ACT score, once converted to a SAT score, gained 280 points (to the 1500s).
The ACT and SAT are really quite different, and I much preferred the ACT. While the SAT tended to test on things you *knew* (analogies, vocabulary, etc.), the ACT seemed to test your *ability* to learn. For example, the ACT had a "science" section, where you would be presented with some kind of science-y report, complete with graphs and fairly dense language. You would then be given some questions requiring you to interpret the graphs and draw some kind of conclusions from the report. The reports were real, but about things like DNA traits and river pollution, and were far beyond the knowledge level of most high schoolers, so the test was on how well you could interpret a subject that was completely foreign (but in a familiar format).
So--if at all possible, try taking the ACT. You might not do any better, but if the SAT seems evil beyond your taste, it might be a nice break regardless.
**--All of my experiences are based on the SAT and ACT as of two years ago. While the SAT has changed substantially, I don't believe that the ACT has changed much, except for the (mostly) required addition of a writing portion. Also, I've had a pretty eventful two years, so my memory may be hazy and not fully correct.