Tag Archives: SAT prep

SAT, Sponsored posts, test prep

Why Your Student Should Take Advantage of Free SAT Prep

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This post is sponsored and written in partnership with the College Board.

free test prep

Before your student ever enters college, there are college-related expenses. Test registration fees, college application fees, AP test fees, college visit expenses and more. For the average middle-class family, budgeting for these expenses can be difficult. Add to these the cost of paying for a test prep tutor and your family budget will explode.

Why pay for test prep when the College Board and Khan Academy have partnered to provide free test prep for every student willing to study for the SAT? Save your hard-earned money for college tuition instead.

Why choose free test prep?

Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy is the best way to prepare for the test. It was created by the makers of the test and offers all students free customized practice. Students can link their PSAT/NMSQT results to Khan Academy or take diagnostic quizzes to get personalized practice exercises to improve their score. Their personalized study plan will show them the areas where they need the most work and turn those weaknesses into strengths. There are also 8 practice tests on Official SAT Practice, so students have plenty of opportunities to prep for the test and improve their skills.

What are the benefits of this free test prep?

A recent study shows that students who practice for 20 hours on Khan Academy gained an average of 115 points from the PSAT/NMSQT to SAT compared to those students who did not use Official SAT Practice. More than 16,000 students in the class of 2017 who used Official SAT Practice saw score gains of 200 points or more.

Not to mention—it’s FREE! Great test prep from the makers of the test.

How does this free test prep work?

Your student gets a personalized practice plan using Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy. Khan Academy uses her PSAT scores and diagnostic quizzes to pinpoint the skills she needs to study and improve her score. The Official SAT Practice will guide her through the personalized lessons with video lessons that explain problems and quizzes to test her progress along the way. Your student can move at her own pace and have plenty of time to master each skill.

What are the benefits of prepping for the SAT?

Students who take the time to prep for the SAT will certainly reap the rewards. Preparing for any test certainly produces a better outcome. They will know what to expect on test day. Building confidence is key. Good test scores give your student a leg up in the application process. Colleges also may use these scores as a factor when awarding merit aid.

There is certainly time before the March SAT test for your student to begin test prep. Have your student go online now and register for the test and while she is there, start taking advantage of the College Board’s free prep through Khan Academy.

App Tuesday, test prep, Uncategorized

SAT Prep to your Smartphone

 

prepcube

 

Say what? Yep. SAT prep to your smartphone via text message. What could possibly be easier. And here’s even better news–it’s affordable. Just $9 a month for the bronze plan and $19 a month for the silver plan. Why not reach kids where they are–on their smartphones?

What is Prepcube.com?

Prepcube.com is a learning management system that allows students to study for the SAT via SMS and our proprietary instant messenger platform. Prepcube has the ability to administer questions and video based solutions for real time feedback via sms and instant messenger. Our system allows students, parents and teachers to track all of their student’s results through our dashboard.  Our data shows that students will engage our platform because they are more engaged when they interact with content via sms or instant messenger, which are their preferred mediums of communication.

How does it work?

As the system currently stands, students are pushed one question and solution via text message and have the option for mobile and web based private tutoring. After the initial question they are given the option to study unlimited amounts of questions via a web based instant messenger system. While on this web-based system they are also given the option for mobile and web based private tutoring.

Who is running the show?

All content was developed by the Co-Founder of Bell Curves, a leading standardized test preparation company. He oversees all aspects of the development of programs and materials, as well as the training of tutors. He has spent the last 18 years working as a standardized test prep trainer and materials developer at three different test prep companies.

Score! A developer who knows how to reach teens, has a background in SAT tutoring, and knows how to use the medium to help them learn.

test prep

Frequently asked questions about the SAT–answered

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Veritas Prep’s Shaan Patel Answers Five of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About How to Smartly Prepare For the SAT

q-and-aDo you have questions about the SAT? You’re not alone. For many students and families, the SAT is daunting. To help answer many of the most common questions about the SAT test, Shaan Patel, a perfect SAT score recipient and Director of SAT Programs at Veritas Prep, identified the five questions he’s most frequently asked and offers responses below:

Q. Why do smart students struggle with the SAT?
The SAT is very different than the tests students take in their high school classes, but many think that if they are a solid A student, they don’t need to prepare for the SAT. That overconfidence is the number one reason students who normally do well academically post disappointing scores the first time they take the exam. The SAT rewards the prepared and it is absolutely an exam students can master with effective SAT prep. Students that spend time learning and practicing key strategies, reviewing grammar rules and vocabulary and taking practice tests will be much better positioned for success on test day.

Q. For students applying to competitive colleges and universities, is your GPA or SAT score more important?
When admissions officers look at GPA and SAT scores, only one is a standardized measure: the SAT. Grade point average has a high level of variability from school to school, which means it isn’t a consistent or standard measure with which to compare or evaluate applicants. So when it comes to college admissions, the four hours you spend taking the SAT is more important than the 4,000 hours you spend working on your GPA. Given that, whether you take an SAT course or prep on your own, you need to put considerable effort into preparing for the exam.

Q. When is the best time to take the SAT?
While many consider spring of junior year the best time to take the SAT, Veritas Prep actually recommends that students first take the exam during the winter of their junior year. The reason is simple – timing. Students that wait until spring of their junior year are preparing for the SAT, finals and often AP exams as well. Add in sports, extracurricular activities and a job, and that is a lot to handle. The best plan is to take the SAT in the winter when you have more time to dedicate to SAT preparation. A common argument is that you should wait to take the SAT until after you’ve completed algebra II, but the truth is, if you prep properly you’ll have command of the strategies you need to correctly solve SAT math questions, not to mention the rest of the exam.

Q. What’s the biggest misconception about the SAT?
The SAT is an unknown to a lot of people, so there are actually lots of misconceptions. The biggest misconception is that high school or AP classes are preparation enough for the SAT. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. While AP classes can help on the SAT Subject tests, overall, the average high school curriculum is not designed with standardized college entrance exams in mind. The SAT tests different skills than what you learn in high school, and some properties of the exam even contradict what your teachers may have taught you. For example, English teachers emphasize quality over quantity when it comes to writing essays; however, on the SAT, the more you write on the essay, the higher you score. To get ready for the SAT, you’ll have to spend time preparing specifically for the exam in addition to your regular high school coursework.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give to students preparing for the SAT?
Practice, and practice only with official College Board SAT practice tests. The best way to prepare for the exam is to use questions produced by the folks who created it. The College Board releases a question of the day that you can sign up to receive by email, as well as makes several tests available at little or no cost. A College Board SAT practice test is also among the free SAT resources Veritas Prep offers on its website.

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Patel improved his SAT score from 1760 to a perfect 2400, earned more than $237,000 in scholarships and co-authored the Veritas Prep SAT 2400 program, which is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand in high definition or in private SAT tutoring sessions. Additionally, McGraw-Hill recently published his book, “SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps.”

For more information, visit www.veritasprep.com/sat.

About Veritas Prep 

Veritas Prep is the world’s largest privately-owned provider of test prep and admissions consulting services. It offers industry-leading programs to help applicants improve standardized test scores and gain admission to the world’s most selective universities. Founded in 2002 by graduates of the Yale School of Management, Veritas Prep offers its live classroom GMAT prep course in more than 90 cities worldwide and as an interactive online course available to students everywhere. Its Veritas Prep SAT 2400 course is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand or in private tutoring sessions and features the only zero risk, money back guarantee in the industry. In addition, Veritas Prep offers admissions consulting services for applicants seeking entry into competitive business schools, law schools, medical schools and other graduate programs. For more information, visit veritasprep.com.  

Guest Posts, test prep

SAT Prep Crunch Time: Veritas Prep Outlines 5 Things Students Can Do Now to Boost Their SAT Score

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Veritas Prep (www.veritasprep.com) recently released a list of five things students can do now to boost their chances at a higher score. The SAT is offered seven times annually in the United States – six times internationally. The tips outlined benefit students who may not feel adequately prepared and are doing what they can in the final weeks before the exam to improve their performance, as well as provide an extra edge to those who have spent the summer studying or taking an SAT course.

To help students get ready for test day, Veritas Prep recommends the following:

1) Be Prepared to Write a Longer SAT Essay
An MIT study found that longer SAT essays receive higher scores, so unlike what your high school English teacher may have told you, on the SAT quantity is just as important as quality. SAT essay readers have hundreds of essays to read and can only spend a few moments reviewing each one, so because the logic is that smarter students have more to say, essay readers discriminate against short essays. To improve your score on the SAT essay, make sure you practice filling up two full notebook pages in 25 minutes before test day.

2) Research Two Literary Works, Two Historical Examples and Two Current Events in Advance
Although writing full two pages for the SAT essay will take you far, if you want to maximize your essay score potential, you’ll need to fill those pages with scholarly examples. If you don’t think you can come up with solid academic examples in 25 minutes on test day, don’t worry. You can actually plan out what examples you will use in your essay right now. This works because SAT essay topics are extremely broad. They won’t ask you about specific material such as the Declaration of Independence or the Watergate scandal; instead, SAT test writers must offer topics that are very general so that every student is able to write about the topic. Use this to your advantage by researching examples that are applicable to multiple themes in advance.

3) Stop Using Algebra
Have you ever been given a multiple-choice exam in a high school algebra class? Chances are, probably not. That’s because you could just plug in the potential solutions into the original algebra equation and see which one works. Well, guess what? That’s exactly how the SAT is setup. This enables you to practice a powerful strategy we use at Veritas Prep called Plug In Numbers. If there are variables in the question and numbers in the answer choices, plug the potential options into the original equation and see which one works. For students that might struggle with time management during the Mathematics section, this can ensure you complete the questions in time.

4) Don’t Make Assumptions on SAT Reading
The biggest mistake students make on the SAT Reading section is that they make assumptions rather than inferences. What’s the difference between an assumption and inference? An assumption is a conjecture that is not based on textual evidence, whereas an inference is a conjecture that is based on textual evidence. Every correct answer on the SAT Reading section is based on textual evidence from the passage. So get in the habit of not making any assumptions, both when you read and even in real life.

5) Learn the 15 Writing Rules Tested on the SAT
Did you know that there are only 15 grammar rules you need to know to successfully answer every Improving Sentences and Identifying Sentence Errors question on the SAT correctly? Most students miss this huge opportunity to cut down on their study time. They go into the SAT thinking that any one of a hundred different grammar errors could pop up at them during the Writing Multiple-Choice section and doom their SAT score. Don’t let this be you! Make sure to check out Veritas Prep to learn the 15 SAT Writing Rules you must know.

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About Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep is the world’s largest provider of test prep and admissions consulting services. It offers industry-leading programs to help applicants improve standardized test scores and gain admission to the world’s most selective universities. Founded in 2002 by graduates of the Yale School of Management, Veritas Prep offers its live classroom GMAT prep course in more than 90 cities worldwide and as an interactive online course available to students everywhere. Its Veritas Prep SAT 2400 course is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand or in private SAT tutoring sessions and features the only zero risk, money back guarantee in the industry. In addition, Veritas Prep offers admissions consulting services for applicants seeking entry into competitive business schools, law schools, medical schools and other graduate programs. For more information, visit veritasprep.com.

In addition to its online SAT prep course, Veritas Prep also makes several free resources available to students, including a free SAT practice test and a free, live one-hour online SAT prep seminar. To learn more about Veritas Prep’s SAT offerings, visit www.veritasprep.com/sat.

college planning, parenting, social networks

My Top 10 Summer Activities

 

I’ve had several parents ask me recently about activities I recommend over the summer during high school. Summers are a great time to take advantage of the days and make a future impression on your high school resume.

Here is my list of the Top 10 summer activities:

  1. SAT/ACT Prep–summer is the best time to spend doing some SAT prep and improving vocabulary. There are awesome sites online for this. Just check out my post Top 5 SAT Prep Sites.
  2. Scholarship Searches–Even if your teen isn’t a senior yet, it’s a good practice to do some preliminary searching to make note of qualifications and deadlines. Note: Look locally first. Local scholarships are less competitive and often easily earned. For some search sites, check out my post of the Top 10 Scholarship Search sites.
  3. Volunteer–Encourage your teen to start volunteering in his/her community. A consistent pattern of volunteering each summer looks great on applications and shows colleges that your teen is concerned about giving back.
  4. Get a job or start a business–Summer is a good time to make some cash for that college fund and also demonstrate responsibility. Many teens actually go the entrepreneurial route and start a business: lawn mowing, babysitting, tutoring, etc.
  5. Write–Probably the last thing your teen wants to do over the summer is write. But writing is good preparation for the college essay and the writing portion of the SAT. Journaling is a great way to do this and will also serve to spur your teen’s creativity.
  6. Make some preliminary college visits–I stress “preliminary” here since visiting colleges in the summer isn’t the best time to get a clear picture of college life. But it’s a great time to wander around and explore the campuses.
  7. iTunes University—iTunes University is an excellent way for your teen to get an idea of what college courses might be like. It’s free and there is a wide array of subject matter to choose from. You can access it on your iPhone or iTouch or by downloading iTunes on your computer.
  8. Start or focus on a hobby–Hobbies are great ways that your teen can stand out from the pack on his/her college application. But it needs to be consistent throughout high school.
  9. Spend some time on social media–You won’t have to pull their arms to get them to do this; but it needs to be focused. Have them spend some time on Twitter to follow some college tweets. They should also read some blogs from college students and perhaps connect with some on Facebook from the colleges they are considering. Check out my list of the Top 30 College Info Twitterers.
  10. Read–Yes. I know…I can hear it now…BORING. But honestly, reading is one of the BEST summer activities to enhance their academic success and improve their vocabulary. And if he/she likes Ayn Rand, there are several big money scholarships given each year for essays on her books!

What are your favorite summer activities with your college-bound teens? Do you have any other suggestions?

college planning, test prep

Creating an SAT Study Plan

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When it comes to studying for the SAT, most students don’t know where to begin.  The easy way out is to head over to the local branch of one of the big prep companies.  But, that route can be inefficient time-wise, not to mention extremely expensive.  The good news is that you can create an SAT course yourself!  All you need is some good materials and a little organization.   Here are a few tips to get you started:

  1. Be sure to get started early, ideally at LEAST three months before test day.  Unless you’re prepping over the summer, school and other activities take up most of your day.  Allow yourself a long time frame so you don’t have to cram for eight hours a day the week before the test.
  2. Plan to average about 30 a minutes a day over that time.  Note that’s an average, not a rule.  Spend a half hour here and there, with maybe couple of hours on the weekend.  Grab fifteen minutes before soccer practice.  Keep a journal of what you’ve done, what still needs to be done, and how much time you’re spending.  And be honest!  You might be amazed how much (or little) time you’re devoting.
  3. Take a timed, as close to real as possible, practice test for starting your prep.  I always recommend downloading the free SAT from the College Board’s website and using that as your pre-test.  Be sure to use the printed version.  Don’t take the online version, since you won’t be taking the real thing online!  Use your results as a guide for your prep.
  4. As for materials, there are unlimited options.  There are online courses, books, iPhone apps, podcasts, computer programs and on and on.  Check out a few options, and see what makes sense for your learning preferences and budget.  The only must-have is the Official SAT Study Guide from the College Board.  It should be your primary source for practice sections.  Use any other resources you like to learn strategy, review math and build vocabulary.  Of course, I am biased towards Word-Nerd.com for SAT vocabulary.
  5. In the early stages of your prep, do practice questions at your own pace.  Treat it as an open book test.  When you make an error, analyze it.  Always learn from your mistakes, as well as your successes.  The same types of questions appear repeatedly on the SAT.  So analyze those errors.  When you encounter a similar question on test day, you’ll know what to do!  If you’re stumped by a particular question, ask a friend or a teacher for help.  Or hire a tutor for an hour or two to get you through the tough stuff.  Wyzant.com is an amazing source for tutors nationwide if you need ideas.
  6. Lastly, ramp up your efforts as the big day nears.  By the last couple of weeks, you should be taking practice sections from the Official Study Guide under timed conditions.  Just be sure to give yourself a break the night before the test.  Nothing will hurt your score more than being tired on test day!

If you have a question I haven’t covered, feel free to send me an email at jenn@word-nerd.com – your question may be the topic of a future post on The Fat Envelope, Word-Nerd’s test prep and college admissions blog.  Good luck everyone!

Today’s guest post is by Jennifer Cohen, President and Chief Word-Nerd at Word-Nerd.com. She offers some great (realistic) tips on preparing for upcoming SAT’s. Word-Nerd.com is your best resource for efficient, fun SAT and PSAT vocabulary prep.