SAT or Scholastic Assessment Test is a standardized test conducted by the College Board for admissions to graduate programs in the US. The exam has gained popularity as it allows students to apply for admissions to prestigious universities in the US. However, a few universities and colleges in India have started to accept the SAT Score. The exam assesses students based on different skills to measure their college readiness. Thus, students aiming to pursue their higher studies in the US must not miss a chance to appear for SAT.
SAT Preparation is not challenging as many might think. Every entrance requires dedicated learning, an effective schedule, and a strategic plan to grasp all knowledge and be prepared for the final test day. Unlike other exams, students appearing for SAT might find it challenging to prepare a study schedule. One size does not fit all, similarly, SAT preparation plan effective for a few students might not work for all.
Every student has a different approach to study. Thus, focussing on your study goals, preferences, and resources, one should consider preparing their study plan in advance. Starting your SAT preparation early will help you get comfortable with the exam pattern and get enough time to analyze and implement different study approaches. In the SAT exam, there are 154 questions to be completed within 3 hours.
So, when you are preparing your SAT preparation schedule, you need to keep these points in mind –
- Strategise your preparation based on different sections
- Focus on improving weaker sections and polishing stronger ones
- Take SAT Practice tests and mock tests to analyse your performance
- Based on the time left for the final exam, focus on solving full-length tests to improve your score
- Keep working on improvising your skills to be able to perform well in your actual SAT Exam
SAT Preparation: Expert Insights
The points mentioned above will help you strategize your study plan and effectively work on improving your performance. However, here are a few tips from the experts at Hitbullseye to assist you in managing time while preparing for the exam –
Analyse your skills – Every student preparing for SAT must prepare well in advance to analyze their skills and areas they need to improvise. Diagnosing your skills early will help you know how close you are to your SAT goal. If you find that you have been lagging, you must start giving more time to those skills than planned. Starting early preparation helps you in analyzing the skills you need to work on the most. Do not be discouraged. Practice more, and you will get it.
Take Full-length Tests – Subject matter experts at Hitbullseye recommend that students must solve at least two full-length timed SAT Practice Tests to be aware of the actual exam administration. Taking full-length tests will help you in analyzing the types of questions, level of difficulty, and time management. As the exam is 3 hours long, students must be mentally prepared not to get stressed during the exam.
Be familiar with all the instructions – We all spend most of the time understanding the exam instructions on the test day, where we lose some precious time. Thus, it is advised that the students must be thorough with the instructions of each section in advance to save time from being wasted. When you attempt full-length tests, make sure that you thoroughly follow the instructions and understand how to try the sections with ease.
Read more and more – Do not just focus on studying the syllabus, but also readout of the box. Mixing up your SAT preparation with general skill building will help you improve your reading skills and benefit you in attempting the reading test. Reading editorials, essays, and long articles on scientific studies will help you analyze the author’s argument. Reading more and more will increase your knowledge and awareness. It also assists your brain in picking up the finer details and enhances critical reading.
Stay relaxed before the test day – It might be hard advice to follow, but experts recommend that students must take a break from books a day before the exam. Last-minute studies might stress you and affect your confidence levels. Instead, experts recommend that you must stay calm and keep your mind stress-free.
I hope these tips will help you in preparing for the SAT exam. Hitbullseye’s SAT Practice Tests will give your preparation an extra edge. Based on your study schedule, you can add these practice papers to it and prepare well for your SAT Exam.
For more information, you can go through the official College Board website.
