When to start prepping for the SAT & ACT
High School Students and Parents!
Go ahead, ask the question:
When is the best time to start prepping for the big college entrance tests, the SAT and ACT?
Answer? Don’t hold your breath. Really. Relax, breathe normally, take in oxygen now, because your body obviously needs it!
How many students hold their breath until the last possible moment to start preparing for these tests? Too many. Don’t be among them and turn blue in the face for lack of information, then red in the face in consternation and embarrassment over poor results. Start now!
Fact is, waiting until the last minute to crack a book is lethal for most all students. If you were someone who had just received your driver’s license, would you immediately head over to I-95 for a drive? Yeow! You have to practice, get used to the prompts and questions that traffic throws at you. Same for these tests: practice is essential. Start now. More and more students understand that taking the exam “cold” simply doesn’t deliver the desired results.
Students and their parents should recognize that conscious, concentrated study is available from a surprising variety of sources. Preparing can be more entertaining than you think!
The internet is an obvious starting point. Word games abound; just Google that subject and see what you come up with! Have you signed up for the College Board’s Question of the Day? It’s a free service that paves the way for students who want to learn about the form and structure of SAT test questions. Are you that rare reader with a pile of books bedside? Dig in! Mix your “serious” reading with vocabulary books that make learning words fun (etymology is fascinating—really!!) Many companies manufacture vocabulary flashcards specifically for the SAT. Check out your local bookstore, or search on line. Why, there’s even a CD of 13 tricked out songs that contain over 200 SAT vocabulary regulars.
If you go to your local Barnes and Noble or Borders, you’ll find the array of test prep books dizzying. The exams have been sliced and diced every which way to create books about separate exam sections. Remember that the SAT and ACT, while both used for college entrance consideration, are markedly different in form and content.
Confused? As test prep professionals, Score At The Top can sort it all out for you. Give us call!
