In today's competitive college admissions
environment, doing well enough on the SAT™ and ACT™ may seem a daunting task.
But with some work, and the right preparation and practice, you can demystify
these tests and turn in your score best scores. Sylvan Learning, offers the following three-step
approach – the 3 Ps – Pace, Prepare, Practice – that will make it happen.
Pace
Even though it's still four years off,
you should begin to prepare for college admissions as soon as you enter high
school. This is the time to begin laying the foundation for the math, science
and language skills you will need to get into college—and to succeed once you
are admitted.
Pace yourself along the way. Don't wait
until junior or senior year of high school to suddenly realize you should have
done more as a freshman and sophomore, like taking those honors and AP classes
that college admissions offices like to see on transcripts.
Take your PSAT and any appropriate SAT Subject
Tests in your in sophomore year. In junior year, explore colleges, learn about
financial aid and take more subject tests as needed. This is also the time to
take the SAT and/or ACT—twice—once in the fall and once in the spring. Make college
visits in the spring and summer. If necessary, retake the SAT or ACT at the
beginning of senior year.
Prepare
Use Your Guidance Counselor
Many students don't make adequate use of
their school's academic guidance office. Throughout your high school career,
counselors can tell you all you need to know about college and SAT and ACT
admissions tests, as well as give you expert advice on which classes to take to
reach your goals.
Furthermore, the better your guidance
counselors get to know you during your high school career, the better they will
be able to help you identify, prepare for and gain admission to the college
that best matches your needs, interests and skills.
Research. Target Colleges
Most colleges accept both the ACT and
the SAT, but be aware that some of your targeted schools may accept only one of
them, or strongly prefer one over the other.
Before you take admission tests, it's
important to collect as much information as you can on the colleges you are
interested in to see which test they prefer, and how they use it in conjunction
with other factors such as GPA, extracurricular activities and work experience.
Do this early enough to allow yourself time to prepare for and take both tests
if you decide to do so.
Practice
Know Your Test
Take practice tests to gain an
understanding of how the tests work and how they are structured.
For example, the SAT is longer. It takes
3 hours and 45 minutes. The writing section is mandatory. The ACT, on the other
hand, takes 2 hours and 55 minutes to complete—or 3 hours and 25 minutes if the
student takes an optional writing test, which is required by some colleges.
Math also accounts for more on the SAT—33
percent, compared to 25 percent for the ACT. The tests also treat incorrect
answers quite differently: There is no penalty for an incorrect answer on the
ACT, but each incorrect answer on the SAT costs the test-taker 1/4 point.
Do The Math
Whether you intend to major in English
or engineering, math remains an important indicator of your ability to think in
a structured and logical way—a key factor that colleges examine when
considering your admission application.
Even if you excel on other sections of
the SAT or ACT, a poor or mediocre showing in the math sections will damage
your all-important total score. If you
need outside instruction to avoid falling behind in Algebra, Geometry or
Trigonometry while in high school, get help while there is still sufficient
time to nail down those skills.
For
additional information and educational resources on test prep programs, visit SylvanTestPrep.com, an online, on-demand, video-based course that teaches students to
increase their PSAT, SAT and ACT scores by being smarter test-takers or call
1-800-31-SUCCESS.
*SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board,
which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this
product. ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.
