What is the best way to study for the SAT?Answered
Hi, so I'm taking the June SAT but I don't know what would be the best way to study. I already took the SAT in Dec but I didn't get a good score because I was super sick that day and it was more of just a trial run to see what it's like. But now should I just self study with Khan Academy or should I join an academy that tutors for the SAT? I don't know if the academy would be worth it so I wanted to know from other people.
Earn karma by helping others:
3 answers
I scored 1520, and the resource I found most helpful was Khan Academy's Digital SAT Prep. The course is free, intuitive, and organized by question difficulty. For me, the English section has given me the most problems in the past, particularly on my PSAT, where I scored 700 in reading and 760 in math. My SAT study plan only took about a week, albeit I already had some experience with the digital SAT-type questions. I only focused on the advanced tier questions to mimic test conditions even if, in hindsight, they were a bit more challenging than the actual test. I started with 1 hour of studying five days before the test (taking a unit test in both English and Math) and gradually worked up to 3 - 5 hours of studying the day before (aiming for at least 26/30 on the respective unit tests). This wasn't ideal, so you can spend as much time as you need with each section scaled up to your timeframe before the test. Based on past scores, I recommend studying 3/5 in math and 2/5 in English (this is very adjustable). Particularly for English, I recommend studying standard English conventions, independent/dependent clauses, and sentence boundaries. Complete as many 30-question unit tests as possible and set a timer to mimic test conditions. I hate taking practice tests, and I found the instant feedback (knowing the correct answer after every question) of the unit tests to help me analyze and fix my mistakes quickly and easily. By the time I exhausted Khan Academy's resources, I was scoring in the 1500s on practice tests and didn't feel any further prep was necessary. However, each person has preferences for study strategies, so I recommend trying a few free preps and taking some practice tests to see what best fits your style.
Good Luck,
Jason
Hi @croissant!
I personally have self-studied. If you do well in school, it is a good idea to give self studying a shot! Khan is good, but I discovered Strategic Prep Test has 2 excellent digital workbooks (as well as an app called Preptly) with tons of practice questions, which is what I personally needed. They give you strategies, and then you practice them. STP is offering their English workbook for FREE rn if you sign up for their email list and the math is $25- totally worth much more. STP has a Youtube channel with helpful videos as well.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post here: collegevine.com/c/junior/50784/first-usa-dsat-upcoming-plus-incredible-free-study-resources-i-love
These are my study tips and fave resources. Hope it helps you and lmk if you have any questions!
What's been working for me is definitely using Khan Academy, it helps identify your strengths/weaknesses, and gives you practice questions with quizzes/tests along the way to help you out. It does get to a point though where you might exhaust that resource, but I also recommend taking LOTS of practice exams through Bluebook as you study (I do them every week/week and a half after I've completed some units just to check up on my progress) and especially looking over your mistakes and reoccurring patterns.
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!