SATs

[1994RANGERS]

I'm taking the one in March and im scared as shit. My GPA is good its over 4.5 but I feel like im gunna do bad on the SAT. I wanna get around an 1800 and I'd be happy.
Do you recommend any online courses at all?
Also I'm planning on taking 2 subject tests. I can't really decide on which two to take. I'm good in history and math so I was gunna take those two but I heard you dont even have to take the subject tests unless your applying to harvard or somehting.

 

[Chaos669]

If you want good preparation for the SAT I recommend ordering the official Online Course provided by College Board. It has a myriad of lessons and practice tests for you to choose from. Although it is quite late to prepare for the SATs in March you should be able to increase your grade by around 100 if you prepare hard. Also, look into getting the Official SAT Study Guide (provided by College Board). I have both of the things I mentioned above and they are very useful tools.

Although the SAT IIs aren't necessary unless applying to higher ranking schools, they still look very good on an application if you do well on them. Personally, I'd recommend taking two or three regardless.

 

[1994RANGERS]

If you want good preparation for the SAT I recommend ordering the official Online Course provided by College Board. It has a myriad of lessons and practice tests for you to choose from. Although it is quite late to prepare for the SATs in March you should be able to increase your grade by around 100 if you prepare hard. Also, look into getting the Official SAT Study Guide (provided by College Board). I have both of the things I mentioned above and they are very useful tools.

Although the SAT IIs aren't necessary unless applying to higher ranking schools, they still look very good on an application if you do well on them. Personally, I'd recommend taking two or three regardless.

Is the $69 course on collegeboard the one you recommend?
I also started their full length practice test, So far I'm about 20% of the way done.
Also how exactly are the SAT II'S graded? Are they out of 800 like regular SAT'S? And are they all multiple choice?

 

[Chaos669]

Yes, that's the one I recommended.

The SAT IIs are out of 800. Not sure if they're entirely multiple choice or not.

 

[Markla709]

I took the SATs in 7th grade for a John's Hopkins Program. I ended up getting ~1150, but I practiced a lot

 

[Justin Bieber.]

I took the SAT once when i was 17, i scored a 1975 on it. My mom bought me like 3 different SAT prep books, none of which i used. if you are from the UK im sure you will destroy the SAT as most schools in the UK have a much harder curriculum than US schools.
in the long run it didnt really help me because i went to a community college for one semester and then transfered to a university. really that is the easiest way to get into a university, plus community colleges are a very cost effective way to get alot of credits knocked out before you decided on your major.

A 1975 and community college is hardly "destroying" the SATs nor does this support your claim that your curriculum is harder than ours. The easiest way into a university is to be accepted flat out.

 

[Justin Bieber.]

Yes, that's the one I recommended.

The SAT IIs are out of 800. Not sure if they're entirely multiple choice or not.

Each SAT II is completely multiple choice. They all come in one booklet and you pick the three you want to take regardless of what you signed up for, as long as you paid for three. A math and science is strongly recommended for most Tier 1's.

 

[SuF]

I took the SAT once when i was 17, i scored a 1975 on it. My mom bought me like 3 different SAT prep books, none of which i used. if you are from the UK im sure you will destroy the SAT as most schools in the UK have a much harder curriculum than US schools.
in the long run it didnt really help me because i went to a community college for one semester and then transfered to a university. really that is the easiest way to get into a university, plus community colleges are a very cost effective way to get alot of credits knocked out before you decided on your major.

The SAT has nothing to do with your schooling. Taking it is a skill and unless you are trained to take it, you will do no better than anyone else, essentially.

 

[Chaos669]

Hmm that's odd that you'd put it that way SuF. Surely good schooling helps substantially with the critical reading and writing sections. Math requires specific preparation in my eyes though, as many different subjects are covered. However generally if you have a good education you should do above average. That's just my opinion though.

 

[SuF]

Hmm that's odd that you'd put it that way SuF. Surely good schooling helps substantially with the critical reading and writing sections. Math requires specific preparation in my eyes though, as many different subjects are covered. However generally if you have a good education you should do above average. That's just my opinion though.

The test is made in order to take basic skills that will be taught in every school and see how prepared for college you are. This is done by accessing your thinking skills. Better schooling may help slightly, but it will not replace inherent skills that one possesses already. For example, I am in AB Calc and have an A+ and think it is the easiest thing ever. Then person B is also in AB Calc is is basically failing and has always struggled in math. Person A scored 100 points higher than me on the math section of the SAT even though I am numerous times better at math than person A is.

What does this show? Well, if she took a course or prepared for the SAT at all it shows that the taking the test and getting a good score is a learned skill. If she didn't prepare it shows that taking the test and getting a good score is an inherent skill. Its obvious a mix of these two.

There is no need to stress about the test because it is obvious that it really does not mean much at all. One score can not change four years of grades (which have the exact problem as SAT scores but I won't get into that), activities, recommendations, etc. If you are really trying to get into a highly selective (note I did not say good) school the SAT should not stress you as everything else is much more important and if you are not, then it really does not matter and you should not stress either.

 

[Chaos669]

Thanks for your input SuF. Now that you elaborated more it makes more sense to me. After all, I've seen numerous people with perfect SAT scores get rejected from schools due to the more prominent factors in their applications such as Extra Curriculars, and Recommendations. I'm certainly feeling a sense of relief knowing that they aren't as important as they're acclaimed to be.