Archive for May, 2008

SAT Test Day: the Night Before and Morning of

Saturday, May 31st, 2008
Karl Schellscheidt asked:


My students often ask me for last minute advice on what to do the night before the exam and the morning of the exam. Here’s what I tell them:

After dinner, collect the things you’ll need on test day:

1) Your SAT Admission Ticket
2) Your Student ID or Driver’s License
3) Several #2 Pencils (with good erasers!)
4) Calculator
5) Watch or other timepiece
6) A good snack! (the test is very long; you will need a snack)

You may also want to decide what clothes you’re going to wear on test day. Remember to dress in layers, because you can’t control the temperature. The SAT test room will most likely be either warmer or too colder than you would prefer.

After you have collected your things, be sure to relax! Watch a movie, talk to a friend on the phone, or go out for a walk. Do something to take your mind off the test.

Here’s my advice on bedtime: if you’re in the habit of going to bed around 11 o’clock, don’t go to bed at 8 o’clock the night before the SAT test. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to wind up starring at the ceiling for hours feeling frustrated. Rather, you should aim to go to bed about 1 hour before you normally would on a school night. Also, remember to set you alarm early enough so that you comfortably have time to get ready for the exam. You don’t want to create a time pressure situation for yourself. There’s going to be enough pressure during the actual SAT exam.

The Final Step:

In the morning, you should remember to Check Your Brain!

After breakfast, take out a test prep book and do the first two questions of each of the three sections. After a few easy math, writing, and sentence completion problems, you’ll realize your brain is still working and everything is going to be OK. Don’t check the answers….just do the problems. I don’t think the first problems you do on test day should be the real ones on the SAT exam.

Hopefully this advice will help you maximize your SAT test score. Good luck, and remember to stay positive!

Claude

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what’s the difference between the SAT and ACT test?

Friday, May 30th, 2008
livitation13 asked:


i know you have to take the ACT test in order to get into a good college, but do you have to take an SAT test?

Ann
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Get the Help of a Sat Tutor Nyc

Friday, May 30th, 2008
Hugh Goldsmith asked:


Before you qualify for higher studies, there are certain examinations you need to clear, so that it can be decided if you are eligible to get admission to a particular course or not. Questions set for these exams are pretty tough and to clear the exam successfully, you need to be prepared very well. SAT exams are scholarly aptitude tests, which are conducted to find out the eligibility of students for admission to colleges and universities across America. So, if you are really serious about having a carrier in academics, you must hire the services of a sat tutor NYC to help you clear the exams successfully. Studying in one of the elite colleges or university is a dream that many students have, but not all can clear the sat exams and get admission to these colleges and universities. If you really want to succeed in the exams, you must ensure that you do all that is necessary for clearing the exams and also make sure that you start preparing for the exams pretty early.

Hiring a sat tutor is not a tough thing for anyone to do, but parents must be careful while hiring a tutor and hire only the best tutors. There are many tutors that offer their services to students who want help to clear the exams successfully. The tutors are experienced and know exactly what needs to be done to clear the exams at one go, so when you approach the tutor for help, tell him exactly what your strength and weaknesses are. Well it may be that you are not even aware of what you are good at and which subject you are not very comfortable with. Again, here also you can seek the help of sat tutor NYC, to guide you in the best way. Having a good education is very important and getting admission in a good college or university is the first step towards achieving that.

Sat tutor NYC guides students in a unique way, depending on their strengths and weaknesses. The tutor prepares a study course for the student, which is made keeping in mind, the strong and weak points of the student and that is why it turns out to be just ideal for them. Since the tutor is experienced, it goes without saying that they will be the best person to assist you in taking the exams successfully. If you are worried how your child will fare in the exams, you must take the help of a sat tutor to help him out in this.

Taking tuitions from a sat tutor will help one in taking care of any difficulty that they may be facing for the exams. The exams are held once every year in the month of October, and that is why you must make sure that by the time the exam approaches, you are fully prepared to take the exams. You must make sure that you clear the exams in one go and for that, you need to take assistance from a sat tutor in your city.

Troy

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Prepare Well for Every Competitive Examination With a Sat Tutor Nyc

Monday, May 26th, 2008
Hugh Goldsmith asked:



As life gets more competitive at every level, it is becoming more and more difficult for students to gain admission in a college or university of their preference. The benchmark for admission has been set at a very high level to ensure that only the bets and the deserving get through the examination. Hence, may be its time to prepare yourself for the challenge in a more systematic manner with a focused approach and strategic plan. Getting the right guidance while preparing yourself to face the tough, competitive examinations can be a big advantage and every student in New York can get this edge by hiring the professional service of a competent SAT tutor in NYC. The tutor can not only train the individual to be well prepared to excel in every test he takes, but he will also be the best friend, philosopher and guide, only if the student has selected the right tutor with care.
Most competitive examinations like the SAT have a different method and style of questioning which is unfamiliar for most students as it widely differs from regular or usual class assignments. The question papers test the student’s skill, knowledge and aptitude at many different levels and one needs to fully comprehend the method of questioning and grasp the right way of answering in order to be successful in the examination. A SAT tutor NYC has the necessary expertise and experience in dealing with the particular pattern of test papers and can therefore, provide valuable guidance and tips when preparing a student for the exams. Important points like what are the aspects being tested, how they being tested and what are is the best way to answer the questions, can be best understood only by a SAT tutor NYC, who can then accordingly train his students.
Most competitive examinations like the SAT, usually fall into a pattern over the years, however, this pattern can only be deciphered by someone who is used to handling these tests on a regular basis. Hence, a SAT tutor in NYC is best equipped to guide a student about the potential loopholes, scoring areas and the best manner in which to answer the particular questions asked. Also, every student has some strengths as well as weaknesses and only a tutor who pays attention to each student individually, can accordingly guide the students as per their individual qualities or drawbacks.
When trying to select the right SAT tutor, who is available in NYC, a student may be faced with multiple options, with every tutor claiming to be the best. Here the student needs to do some basic groundwork, in order to ensure a successful future for himself. Opt for the convenient sources of information like the internet or the yellow pages, take reference of past and present students, judge a tutor by his track record of success and accordingly make your selection. If the tutor is competent enough and the student is dedicated towards achieving his goal than success in every competitive exam and life in general, is sure to follow.
 

Maurice
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Can I get a copy of June 2008 SAT test online?

Monday, May 26th, 2008
Katie H asked:


Is there a site that has all the old SAT test that I can go on and print them out to practice? I don’t mean practice tests that are similar to the SAT but the actual test distributed June 2008.

Kathryn
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Sat – Myths and Truths

Sunday, May 25th, 2008
Manya Jee asked:


The SAT Reasoning Test, previously known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, is a standardized test, mainly used by colleges and universities in the US to select students for admission. The programme consists of the SAT Reasoning Test and?the SAT Subject Tests. The SAT is three hours and 45 minutes long and measures skills in three areas: critical reading, math, and writing. Although most of the questions are multiple choice, students are also required to write a 25-minute essay. The SAT Subject Tests, on the other hand,?are a one-hour, mostly multiple-choice test in specific subjects. These tests measure knowledge of particular subjects and the ability to apply that knowledge. The SAT is offered seven times a year in the United States. Students can prepare for the test with the help of books, tutors, or online programs. It is published and marked by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

The SAT has been the subject of controversy ever since it was introduced. It has been described as racist, sexist and a very inaccurate pointer to a person’s real abilities. Because of the way it’s constructed, its high pace, and inherent cultural biases, the SAT denies African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and women equal opportunities for higher education. It’s almost become de rigueur now for students to attend expensive coaching classes for excellent scores on the SAT, for admissions in top universities. So many myths have sprung up around the SAT, that it’s become something of a bugbear for the academic community in general. It’s time we debunked some of these myths (and earn the gratitude of the long-suffering students).

Myth 1: SAT tests alone determine your chances of admission.

Absolutely untrue. While it’s true that the test does play a role in the admissions process, it’s not the only determinant to college admission. The reality is that when admissions officers evaluate students’ applications, they take into consideration evaluation letters, essays, academic records, awards, work experience, extracurricular activities, to get a clear view of the candidate’s all-round abilities. It is fallacious to assume that the SAT alone determines your chances of getting into the college of your choice abroad.

Myth 2: One has to score over 1350 to get into any of the Ivy League colleges.

This is another of those enduring myths. Many guidebooks provide a median score for each school, which indicates the score at which half the students scored better and half scored worse. A few schools’ list ranges between which most of their admitted students scored. One should keep in mind that every year thousands of students with good academic records but lower than average test scores are admitted to top schools.

To read more Visit: http://www.manyaeducation.com/sat/sat_myths_and_truths.php

Eva

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Get a Better Shot at Success With a Sat Tutor New York

Saturday, May 24th, 2008
Hugh Goldsmith asked:


Competition has become a part and parcel of our lives, especially if you are a student and aiming at making it big in the world. The first step towards achieving a successful career would be getting admission into a reputed college or institution in the united States of America. The seats are limited while aspiring candidates are large in number and hence the benchmark has been set high in order to get the very best students. The admission is based on the performance of students in competitive examinations and one such important criteria is clearing the SAT or Scholastic Aptitude Test which tests the performance of aspiring candidates in various fields such as writing, comprehension and mathematics. So if you are planning on taking the SAT then it is best to get every advantage that you can and one such crucial advantage is the guidance and expertise of a SAT tutor New York.

Clearing a competitive examination that has high standards, requires not just the ability to answer the test questions easily but also the smartness to do it within the prescribed time limit. In order to do both these tasks easily, you need the expert guidance of an individual who is well accustomed to the pattern of the test paper and has the in depth knowledge about the subjects as well. The ideal person to provide such competent guidance is a SAT tutor New York. Hence, the very first step to be taken when appearing for a challenge such as the SAT examination is the selection of the best SAT tutor New York.

If you reside in New York then it would be most convenient to locate the best SAT tutor New York with the help of yellow pages or the internet. Also, it is advisable to speak to the past and present students of the tutor to get an idea about his style of teaching and his success rate in the past. Once you are assured about the capability of the tutor, you should be ready to give your best effort in clearing the SAT examination under the guidance of the tutor you have selected. In entrusting your faith in the SAT tutor you can provide yourself a competitive edge of being better prepared for the tough examinations.

Every student has his own strengths and weakness in every subject and it needs the expertise of a competent SAT tutor New York to identify these in each student. The individualized attention paid to a student by the tutor will help not only in enhancing his strengths in a subject and minimizing the weaknesses but it also improves the self esteem and confidence of the student. When you have the guidance of a good teacher it automatically boosts your moral and gives you the faith in yourself and this is an inherent quality of successful students and individuals. So if you have plans to clear the Sat examinations and get admission into a college of your dreams then locate a reputed SAT tutor and get going.

Melvin

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Do you need parental authorization to take the SAT test?

Friday, May 23rd, 2008
James M asked:


I want to take the SAT test, but my Mom doesn’t want me to. Can I do it without her consent? Also, she does not want me going to any college but the one she picks for me. Do I need her consent to start at a college? I am almost 16 and will be starting college in the fall.

Ruben
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Why Should Your Student Study Extra Hard For The SAT Essay?

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
Rodney Daut asked:


Three hours and forty-five minutes!” that’s what Julie said when I told her how long the New SAT was. “And I have to study Critical Reading, Vocabulary, Math, Grammar and Writing!” she added. “Yes,” I said. You’ve got to study all of that. “Well, I’ll just prioritize by focusing on the important stuff like the Math, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar. The essay’s only 25 minutes of the test. It can’t affect my score that much right?” Julie was partly right. The essay is only about 1/9th of your potential score of 2400. However, in this case what Julie didn’t know could hurt her.
What she didn’t know is that college admissions officers won’t just look at Julie’s essay score when judging her suitability for admission. They will read a scan of the essay she wrote and use that as one criterion when they decide to reject or accept her application. In fact there are at least three important ways that college admission officers plan to use your student’s SAT Essay in deciding who will attend their undergraduate programs.
1. To see if your student can really handle the pressure of a college “blue book” exam.
How can an admissions officer know who will sail through their college exams, get on the honor roll each semester and graduate in 4 years? The answer: they can’t know for sure. That’s why they are constantly looking for new ways to predict college success and failure. And since most high school students don’t take in class essay exams as part of their curriculum admissions officers can’t use their transcripts to see how well they’ll do on college essay exams. That’s where the SAT Essay comes in. Many universities intend to use it to see who will do well on exams. For example, Ted Spencer, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and trustee of the College Board stated, “The SAT essay will be a first draft, written under timed conditions not unlike the on-demand writing of a college “blue book” exam. It will… give us a better, more complete understanding of the student’s writing abilities.” And Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said, “the essay test will give admissions officers a better feel for applicants’ writing and verbal skills and their ability to perform under ‘constraint.’”
2. To see how well you communicate ideas “on the spot” (even for math and science majors).
It’s a common misconception that math and science majors only need to do well on the Math section of the SAT. College officials from math and science oriented disciplines have consistently expressed the need for their students to have highly developed writing skills. For example, Ben Streetman, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin said, “This new requirement will be a great help to us in choosing students who can succeed in engineering. One of the most important skills an engineer has is the ability to present his or her ideas verbally and in writing. Virtually every engineering project begins with a written proposal, requires interim reports and culminates in a written summary. Professional success in engineering depends not only on the ability to apply the techniques of math and science to solve problems, but also on the engineer’s ability to write those proposals and reports in a way that helps others understand the work.” So while knowledge of math and science is obviously still very important for your student to gain admission to these programs, having powerful writing skills will set him or her above many students who lack these skills.
3. To see if any students “cheated” on their applications.
Sure, many students get help in revising and improving their college application essays. However, for years admissions officers have known that many students get “extra” help to make their essays appealing. There has never been a good way of knowing who these students are until the College Board added the Essay to the New SAT. Now, according to a survey done by Kaplan, almost 60% of the top 374 colleges and universities plan to use the SAT Essay to find writing level discrepancies among college applicants. For most honest students this shouldn’t be a problem unless they happen to write much worse on the SAT Essay than they did for their college application essays. Of course the best way to avoid suspicion of getting too much “help” on the admissions essay is to learn to write a good SAT Essay.
Now that you know that there are many important reasons why your student needs to do well on the SAT Essay, you might be wondering what are some of the best ways to prepare.
Successful preparation involves doing two things:
1. Writing an essay that will score well and
2. Writing an essay that will impress college admissions officers
For your student to score well she needs to learn the five characteristics that all high-scoring essays have in common and develop the skills to put these into her writing in under 25 minutes and under the pressure of test day.
Second, your student must write an essay that shows how insightful and intelligent he is so that admissions officers are impressed by the quality of the writing.
Below I list some important resources that can help your student prepare to write a stellar essay that will improve his or her chances of admission at the best schools.
The Official Guide to the New SAT published by the College Board and available on their web site http://www.collegeboard.com.
This site has several examples of essays graded by College Board graders which can give you a good sense of what it takes to get a high score.
Second, I recommend the website http://www.rocketreview.com which has a computerized program to help you grade several essay topics available there.
Third, I recommend my e-book “How to Write Fast and Effectively for the New SAT” which teaches the 6 steps to success on the SAT Essay, includes dozens of classroom tested exercises and many examples of real high scoring essays. It is available at http://www.sat-essay.net

Bruce
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Sat Scores- How Do I Obtain Them

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Jeff Schuman asked:


If you are looking to go to most colleges in the United States, you need to consider taking your SAT. Many do not know where to obtain the SAT scores and if they are able to find them they do not know what to do next. This article will answer the question how can I obtain my SAT scores.

To find your scores on the internet you are going to need to become a member of collegeboard.com. On their site there is a link that says View and Send Scores. After you have signed in you are able to see your entire score history and a history of all the schools you have sent your scores to.

When you are in the My SAT page you are able to change the score recipients fairly easy. You are given four score reports for free when you register and have the ability to change these score recipients anytime up to the Monday one week after you have taken the test.

You will receive the My SAT Online Score Report for free when you sign up for the SAT, and all you are going to need is an online College Board account. You are still going to receive your printed SAT score report in the mail, but the online score report shows you more about how you performed on each section. The online report gives you the level of difficulty, the type of question, and how many questions you answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted in each group.

The online score report shows how your scores compare to the scores in your school, state, and the nation, to understand specifics about how the test is structured and scored, and view a printable copy of your actual essay response. You are also given a detailed insight into how you did on each section of the test, search for colleges, majors, and careers based on your score, and work on improving your score for retaking the test in the future.

The final thing you can do is choose to pay an additional fee to send your scores to more colleges and scholarship programs than the ones you have chosen for free.

For admission to their school many universities and colleges require you take the SAT. Once you have taken the SAT you need to be able to obtain the SAT scores and know what to do with the scores, and the information in this article should help you.

Tara

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