Study Guides

Planning your SAT Practice

We like to think we’ve done a pretty good job creating the best study program for the SAT—now if only Khan Academy could also do your studying for you! Alas, one of the challenges you will face with the SAT is figuring out what kind of study schedule works for you and will best prepare you to succeed. An SAT study plan is not one size fits all, so what works for your friends or classmates may not work for you. In fact, students who have taken the SAT have used very different approaches with very different focuses, as you’ll see in our sample study guides for the redesigned SAT written by current high school students.

You should definitely consider your study preferences, SAT goals, and resources before deciding on a study plan. In general, we recommend starting your SAT prep early. About three months before your test should give you enough of a buffer to try a few study approaches and get comfortable with the test content.

When you create your Official SAT Practice schedule, the system will suggest how often you should practice and how many full-length tests to take based on the amount of time before your test. You’ll also choose the times each week that you want to do focused practice on improving your different skills.

For more tips on how to study and manage your time, see these ideas from fellow students:

Diagnose your skills early on. Even if you don’t plan on studying during the months leading up to the SAT, we advise you to take a diagnostic on Khan Academy, or complete the PSAT/NMSQT, six months before the test. That way, you’ll have a good sense of how close you are to your SAT goal. If you have a lot of skills to learn, you might want to start studying earlier than you’d planned. Fariha suggests: “Figure out what areas you need to focus on the most, and keep practicing. Don’t get discouraged if at first it is difficult to understand or learn, the more you practice the easier it will get.”
Take at least two full practice tests. We recommend taking at least one fully-timed practice test toward the beginning of your studying, and one toward the end. We also recommend you take at least one practice test on paper, which is how the actual SAT is administered, so you can get comfortable with the format. Taking a full-length practice test provides a realistic sense of how long the test is and where you tend to get tired or mentally blocked. Yes, it’s at least three hours of hard work, but if your first full SAT is on Test Day, you may find yourself unpleasantly surprised by how taxing all of that intense thinking can be. You can’t train for a marathon just by doing sprints! Gaeun says: “Full practice tests are invaluable. Taking at least two before the actual test helps you gain some sense of what it’s like to sit for four hours taking the SAT. Timing yourself strictly and accurately is essential when taking these tests.”
Familiarize yourself with the instructions for each test section. The sequence of the sections and the directions for each section will be the same for every SAT. Time that you spend trying to understand the instructions on Test Day is time wasted. Hannah says: “If I take the SAT again … I would want to better know what would be expected of me on the writing portion, by looking at some kind of rubric or other guide.”
Study outside the box. Mix up your SAT prep with some general skill building. Read and summarize long articles and scientific studies to prepare for the Reading Test. Read editorial articles or essays and pay attention to how the writer constructs his or her argument to prepare for the optional essay. These approaches may not be enough on their own, but there’s no more sure way to reinforce a skill and build your understanding than to apply what you know to the real world. Eric advises: “Don’t underestimate the power of reading books. Reading in bulk not only increases your world knowledge and cultural awareness, but it also helps exercise your brain to pick up on finer details and make extrapolations based on context. It will make the critical reading and writing sections more enjoyable and allow you to think clearer. Read often, read lots.”
Take a break the night before the test. We know this can be hard advice to follow—why would you waste any critical study time right before the SAT? But it’s important to make sure you’re rested and relaxed when you wake up for the test. Studying at the last minute can introduce extra stress, lower your confidence, and wear you out. Instead, we recommend you do something calm and enjoyable, like watching a favorite movie or playing soccer with friends, to take your mind off the test and put yourself in a good mood. David says: “Please, do not study the SATs the night before the exam! Our neurons need some rest too.”
Set yourself up for success on Test Day. What everyone says is true—a good night’s sleep can make all the difference. Make sure you go to bed early the night before the test and clock a full night of sleep (at least 8 hours). It may help to go to bed a little earlier every night the week before the test so an early bedtime on Friday feels natural. Wake up early on Saturday so you have plenty of time to warm up your brain before the SAT starts, and eat a full, healthy breakfast so you’re not distracted by hunger or discomfort during the test. And don’t forget to organize your supplies in advance! You’ll need No. 2 pencils and a calculator to take the test, and you will not be allowed into the test room without a valid photo ID and a printed copy of your SAT test registration. The more you do to feel prepared and rested before the SAT, the more you’ll be able to focus on success while taking the test. Rushi says: “Try to get as much sleep as possible before the exam. You’re most likely already prepared, and the extra sleep will help you think properly during the SAT.”

So how does Khan Academy’s SAT practice fit into your study schedule? Again, there’s no one right answer. Depending on where you plan to study, what resources you have at your disposal, and what your goals are, your personal study plan may be all Khan Academy or only a little, practice test-heavy or math-focused, with friends or alone late at night. No matter your preferences, Khan Academy’s prep is available 24/7, so you can use the program at a pace that is most comfortable and accessible for you. We asked some students what kind of schedule worked for them, and here’s what they told us:

If you have six months …

Six months is plenty of time to practice the skills on the test, but to avoid study fatigue, you’ll want to keep your studying organized and ramp up slowly. Here’s are two sample schedules:

Clay
Lili

If you have three months …

This is a great amount of time to get up to speed on content and format as well as drill down into the areas in which you’ll most want to improve to raise your score. Here are some sample schedules:

If you have one month …

With one month, you’ll want to prioritize the highest value practice areas while also getting comfortable with the experience of taking a full test. Here are some sample schedules:

GMAXSAT Online SAT Course

Hi, Take a look at the demos at http://www.gmaxsat.com to see a new way to study for the SAT. And look at the overview of the course, which is linked to “see what you’re getting” on the home page. You will be amazed to see how complete the course is and how easy it is to learn using the full-screen streaming video. The teachers are great – easy to understand and interesting. They go through each question thoroughly, explaining why the right answers are right, and, in many cases, the wrong answers are wrong! Try it out for yourself. Leanna

Math for SAT

Another website with free math questions is http://www.free-test-online.com. No usernames or password needed.

SAT Vocabulary Builder

Hi, I am a first time reader on this forum and I saw that a few of you were asking about online resources. From personal experience Flash cards are the best way to study however they do take alot of time to make especially with word roots. I found a website called greatvocab just by googleing and the address is http://www.greatvocab.com. I found it to be VERY HELPFUL. A UF Engineering student programed it and I was able to learn 20+ new words a day and did not need to make flash cards. Let me know what you think!

Full-Length Diagnostic Test from Parliament Tutors

Parliament Tutors will be releasing its Sixth Edition custom, http://www.ParliamentPrep.com Full Length Diagnostic SAT Exam on Novemeber 2nd 2009. Print out the Test, Plug in your Answers Online, and get a complete score report along with a breakdown of strengths and weaknesses. http://www.ParliamentPrep.com

Onlinetutorsite.com – Expert in math homework help

Onlinetutorsite.com to whom I dedicate this article for their assistance to me on various subjects helping me to attain knowledge and acheive success in my career. I dedicate this to all the students and knowledge seekers as a reference to kncok the dorrs of this education service provider. This article is all about an online education service provider organisation Onlinetutorsite Inc, which I feel is a Global community of a mix of Students and Subject matter Experts or tutors from across the globe where Students can interact with Subject Matter Experts/Tutors to get the Homework Help/Solutions of their Assignment or Queries or Projects. Looking to the past records of their success for the last 7 years, organization is committed towards Quality service deliver and 100% success rate. Onlinetutorsite provides live Online Tutoring – maths, algebra, geometry, english, chemistry, accounting & have expert online tutors for college & high school students & offer solutions to assignments before deadline. Our expert Statistics tutors provides you detailed Statistics solutions, containing step-by-step explanation to your statistics questions, case studies and projects, homework and assignments. In these pinching times, spending hard-earned money for a college degree takes on a new meaning.

PWN the SAT

http://blog.pwnthesat.com/ is a fairly new site with a bunch of useful preparation tips and tricks. The guy who’s writing it has a 2400, which you can see proof of on the site.

SAT MATH

For free ressource for Math SAT See http://emathexams.blogspot.com/

Vocabulary
I tried the method at http://www.qliklearn.com/ and it helped me alot. Specially, if you are running out of time this is the best

You could try using http://www.verbalearn.com. It’s pretty unique and completely free. I used it and it not only helped my scores, but my vocab knowledge has actually increased.

http://vocabcharity.com is an addictive tool to study SAT words. It’s awfully similar to freerice though it focuses on SAT vocab…

Check out http://www.SATcomVideo.com, The site is completely FREE and allows you to learn 250 SAT words by watching a 20-minute sitcom episode. The site also features a workbook, over 30 quizzes and much, much more.

Free SAT Resource
Recently I took the SAT. Used a lot of books for practice. But also used a site called http://www.examville.com Lots of practices questions. If interested check it out. Also use the coupon code SAVE10 to get a discount. I think the coupon code is still valid at http://www.examville.com, Cheers

SAT II resources are harder to come by. I like http://satsubjectprep.com, They cover the language subjects also.

Here’s a good forum that you can ask for help when studying for SAT by yourself. I really highly recommend it http://sat.crammers.net/

FREE Online SAT Test Prep Training / SAT School
Free SAT Test Prep by ProProfs, Study for SAT test for free at ProProfs SAT test prep school. The site features a comprehensive collection of SAT preparation material (covering all three major areas of the exam) that includes study guides, flash cards, practice questions, and even full length SAT practice exams. Quizzes, videos, blogs and wiki are also provided. SAT Test prep was never so easy!

Another site I really like is http://sat.crammers.net/ It really helped me a lot. And it’s FREE.

free lessons
http://www.fusionacademy.us it has 30 lesson on math, writing, and voc. it help me a lot and it was free.

http://SATcrammers.net is a community of people who are either cramming for the SAT or who are teaching SAT. They share information and help each other! It’s a great place to go and ask questions and read tips and advice, and it’s free. Helps me a lot

Solved Assignments!
Students around the world are worried due to high advancement in the educational level. They need assistance by best suited teacher/expert. Regardless of the level and field of education, SolutionInn is offering Best Quality Assistance to Global Students by Professional Online Experts

Critical Reading Study Guide
If you’re looking for an extra resource for the critical reading section, try this site. It has a guide available which breaks down all the material into a well-organized format.

http://sathelper.wordpress.com/

SAT prep site!
Iv’e found the best website out there to help prepare for your SAT’s it’s http://www.eprep.com I was frustrated and stressed out from all the pressure that I was receiving especially from my parents. But I was so happy when i found this website. Has anyone else heard of it? http://www.eprep.com

Try this one as well. Online Free SAT test prep school, This was rated absolute best SAT site by SAT Tutor: http://sat-tutor.blogspot.com/2007/04/absolute-best-sat-site-online.html

I would recommend the guide on http://www.guideparadise.com , helped me get a 2320.

for online program you’re paying for features and effectiveness, more so than with a book or personal tutors. http://www.INeedAPencil.com and kaplan have the best online programs based on their performance and compatibility with students.

There are two really good websites that I use. I like them because they have good practice questions. http://www.Number2.com , http://www.mySATpractice.com

One of the best sat techniques website is this one: http://www.academichacker.com The author of the website is a well-known SAT instructor. Good luck

I found a fully integrated online practice test at http://www.practiceTheSat.com; they also have weekly scheduled tests where they give a prize to the top scorer and it doesn’t cost a thing

thanks for the information.I have tried there and its really good site.i also found some sites where u can learn something new.sataudiocards is one of them http://www.sataudiocards.com/

Also take a look at StarCatcher SAT: http://www.northstarelearning.com/sat1 , It provides several fun and effective SAT prep programs and comprehensive online SAT prep materials such as e-Flashcards, word practice, online video SAT prep courses, and 1-on-1 tutoring. I used it and scored 2350 on my SAT. Good luck.

If anyone is just looking for help with Verbal stuff, you can try here: http://www.ultimatesatverbal.blogspot.com , It covers pretty much everything: Critical Reading Strategies, Grammar Rules, Essay Tips, Vocab, etc. It’s totally free, and there are some really good suggestions.

I also found a site called collegeinsightsonline.com. The site already help many students in their SAT to improve their scores.

Good Resources. Best regards, Tarriff http://www.universitylink.info

I recommend http://sat.crammers.net/ because it talks about SAT questions specifically, and helps you on Critical Reading, Grammar rules, essay tops, vocab. You can ask any question you want too. The site is free too, which I love!

Here’s a site with a critical reading study guide available for under $20.
http://sathelper.wordpress.com/

online resources
The best online resources to my mind are: SATMathPro.com – all free and all good. Flocabulary.com SAT Vocabulary in Rap.

The only best only study guide you need is posted at CollegeBoard, the official organization in-charged of writing and facilitating the SAT examinations. Their website is Collegeboard.com

I would recommend the website http://www.northstarelearning.com StarCatcher SAT. It provides comprehensive SAT prep resources and online software tools to help the students to study more efficiently. Check it out and it should help you a lot.

Through internet free study material are available for practicing sat. More you practice more you will score which will help you in your carrier. http://www.my-sat.com/

I like this forum that offers answers to collegeboard questions and SAT. Best of Luck! http://sat.crammers.net/

Critical reading study guide. Very well organized – made by a private SAT tutor
http://sathelper.wordpress.com/

Critical Reading Help
I’m an SAT tutor who’s specialty is in Critical Reading. I’ve received an 800 multiple times on this portion, and I have experience as a reading specialist for high school students. I’ve written a study guide for the Critical Reading portion of the SAT that I’d like to share with you. It’s available at http://sathelper.wordpress.com/get-the-guides/ The book is also available on Amazon.com if you’d rather receive a hard copy.
In addition, I’m offering my services to tutor via Skype, should that be of more interest to you. Feel free to email me at bholcombe227@gmail.com for any additional details.

I can also recommend you great app which can help you with preps.
Clarify Learning Academy
https://itunes.apple.com/app/clarify-learning-academy-cursos/id1077338433?mt=8

Education and Learning
Northstar started education and learning services in !990, we provide both accredited international courses and globally recognized Northstar certificate courses.
For more details please visit our website http://www.northstar-ehs.com/ or call us at +918146811171.

princetonreview.com
online guides at http://www.princetonreview.com/

A website provides SAT test information
this web site provides tutorial on SAT, here is the URL, http://www.takesat.com

collegeboard.com
online SAT test guide at SAT official website http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/sat/satguide/taking_SAT.pdf

REALLY COOL TEST PREP
I got one of these shower curtains in my bathroom. It really helps with my SAT vocab. I saw some other kids posting about it but they didn’t mention where other people could get one. I found their website: http://www.tilcoweb.com

online study guide studybeans.com
Here’s a free SAT study guide, tips, etc that might help…

SAT tips
http://www.sat-tips.blogspot.com/ , Tips are updated daily.

like it! also check out http://www.eprep.com and http://www.collegeboard.com

I IMPROVED MY SAT SCORE 540 POINTS ! EASY!
I improved my SAT score from 1700 to 2200 in 2 month of taking the SAT Online course from collegeboard.com. It seriously helps! My gpa is only a 3.5 and i was able to raise it up that much!

Just to let everyone know this is a must have.https://satonlinecourse.collegeboard.com/SR/loginAction.do, Hope that helps!

This is what I used to prep for the SAT…I took it twice and got a 2310 the first time and a 2390 the second (after prep). http://www.smartdoodle.com The answer explanations are REALLY detailed and it helped me a lot on the few questions I was stumped on. Plus it’s free…can’t hurt to try.