Grades and SAT

Coming from a 1540 (760M/780ELA), ad 36 ACT scorer (me!):

1) Berkely doesn't look at SAT :)

2) Follow the following YouTube channels, and watch their study videos, in this order: Gohar Khan, Mahad the Mentor, Rishabh Jain, Preaching P. This will really help you out with this stuff!

3) in terms of the SAT, if you are OK with paying a lil but, acely.ai/ is your best best. For practice, KhanAcademy to learn and BlueBook practice tests to test. Read: "Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section" on the right side of blog.prepscholar.com/. This will really help you improve.

4) Keep your head up! If you want to go to Berkeley , you need to show a passion for something. Even if your grades arent perfect, top colleges still care about whether you will make an impact at their school and beyond. So get out and show your impact in the world! A great way is passion projects, highly recommend Preaching P's channel for that. Prep scholar's blog is also a great resource!

Personally, I enjoy lots of active recall and whiteboard work.

-For math, I do lots of practice problems on a big whiteboard with different colors to keep my self organized

-For english, I like plot progression maps, character charts, TPCASTs for poetry (Title, author & background info, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shift, Theme), and mind mapping

-For history, I like flashcards, mind dumps, and mind mapping

-For science, I like flashcards, whiteboard work, mind dumps, and mind maps

-For language learning, I like flashcards mostly

Also, try to use things like pomodoro timers and look up the forgetting curve. It shows that your brain can only remember things after a certain period of time and that studying must be spaced out. Also look at when you think you work best. For me, I feel like my brain is the most active from 12-4 AM so I work then in 50 minute sessions with 10 minute breaks, which I recommend being active during. Also, use methods like the 3, 2, 1 method if you can't focus. The 3, 2, 1 method is a method that has a person doing 3 minutes of a high energy activity, straight into 2 minutes of breathing exercises, and 1 minute of focusing before you get to work. Also, don't forget to reward yourself! It can serve as a great motivation if you don't want to get anything done.

Hey boo. You should try turning studying into more of a game. It might help keep you entertained and improve your retention. For example, people often dislike repetitive tasks, but when you turn it into something like Papa’s Pizzeria, suddenly everyone wants to put in the effort and even enjoys it. You could do something similar with your studying. For instance, assign different point values to questions or aim for 100% on practice tests. Each time you hit a personal best or score 100%, treat yourself to a special reward you wouldn’t usually get. This way, you stay motivated.

You could sign up for the Schoolhouse SAT boot camp or take an SAT prep course.

If your school has guidance counselors you should probably consult with them about ways to study for the SAT. Personally, my counselors send out links to websites that help us study for these tests, and they really help a lot with background knowledge.