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So, what is it and what's the difference between SATI and SATII? Which one do I need to give?
SAT, literally, is Scholastic Aptitude test. Emphasis on aptitude. I know this was not needed, but I hope you get why.
SATI comprises of English and Math while SATII focuses on specific subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Math II, Biology etc. This depends on which Uni you apply to and which course you apply for).
If you plan to go to the US, you WILL need to give the SATI, SATII varies and depends from university to university.
Do I need to give it?
Have you done O Levels? Are you in A Levels? Are you going to apply for A Levels? Do you have any plans for pursuing Bachelors from out of your native country/the US?
If the answer to most of the questions is Yes, then YES! More than likely that you need it!
Jokes aside, most College students need it. Its validity is for three years in most uni's, therefore you will have to give it near the time of applying. Almost all (all that I know of) uni's in the States need SATI. Many non-US uni's use SAT. SAT's not needed for England and a couple of other countries. Heck, many Pakistani uni's have started using SAT scores to assess you!
What does the SATI comprise of?
English:
Reading:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
19 Sentence Completions
48 Reading between the lines/comprehension type thing
Writing:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour
49 Grammer related questions
1 Essay
Math:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
44 MCQs
10 Grid Ins
Each of this is spread over 3 sections. Any of these can have a fourth section. This will be an experimental section, for CollegeBoard to basically experiment without affecting your score. However, since you wont know which section this is, you'll have to do your best on each!
___
Cumulative total marks : 2400. And yes, 2400/2400 IS obtainable. Personally know at least 9 people who got that, so please, ignore those who say 2250+ is impossible.
Right. Now, for a newbie, where do you begin?
Step 1:
Decide when you want to take SATI
You can take it in October, November, December, January, March and May.
Personally, if you want my opinion, I would suggest IMMEDIATELY after giving your O Levels (i.e October) for it'll give you the max cushion for a re-take possible.
ALWAYS plan ahead and see if it's viable. You don't want to, say, in Feb 2012 register for March 2012. That'd give you too little time to prepare. Ideally, I'd suggest choosing a month that is AT LEAST 90 to 120 days away from the said. Another thing, make sure you don't have any clashing Internals OR Externals during this period. Keep as little external 'tensions' on your head as possible.
Although a few uni's require entire scores (that is all three in one session), most uni's and well reputed uni's take your section best.
Lets say your scores were as follows:
Jan 12'
Math 740
Reading 700
Writing 680
March 12'
Math 780
Reading 650
Writing 700
Most uni's will take Math 780, Reading 700, Writing 700.
Okay. Now that you've chosen when you're taking it, it's time to start preparing for it.
(Actually you can, and mostly will begin before Step 1, but oh well )
Step 2:
What books to use?
You can choose from :
-> Official CollegeBoard books.
It contains official past papers plus is pretty good.
-> Princeton-Review
My personal favorite, narrowly taking it past College Board. Great tips on specific sections, and a nice way of presenting stuff. Fun to read through it.
-> Barrons
HATE this book. Toughest questions I've faced were in Barrons, and they weren't the type that shows up in the real deal. Despite this, a lot of people recommend this book for the sake of practice. I too used it for a few papers.
-> Kaplan
Haven't used it, but I've heard it's decent.
It's entirely up to you as to which book you're going to pick. In essence, any will do the job. My favorite combo thus far has been reading through Collegeboard followed by the PR However, I shan't opinionate this thread further. I'll leave that choice to yourself.
Step 3:
Take the diagnostic test in your book. If that is not present, use the first practice test. If you don't have a book, download a test from http://papers.xtremepapers.com/SAT/ and see whereyou stand. Refer to this score at the end of your book/practice.
___
That's pretty much about it. Let me know if I've missed anything and I'll add it. I'll add about SAT II later, although there's not much to add in that.
___
Tips to study for the SATI. (Credit must be given where it's due. Was advised so by my peers and seniors in addition to my experiences.)
-> Go Section by section initially rather than the whole test approach. Say, Critical Reading first, followed by Math, then Writing. Up to you totally. Make sure you practice everything so that you're well prepared for the real deal.
Try and time yourself HERE and be honest with yourself. Timing is where most people lose out.
-> Make a list of your scores versus section/question/xyz attempted daily so that you can see your progress.
-> Make a list of things you find most time consuming/difficult. And improve on them. Personally, I've found that CR takes up most of my time. Rectify your mistakes and places of difficulty and move on to whole tests.
-> Don't practice hastily. Weird choice of words, I know. I mean, don't just skim through the test in an attempt to solve what you're confident with quickly, and move on to places of difficulty with relatively more time left. Sure, this in theory is an awesome way, but in reality when you do this it's quite likely that you carelessly skim through them and make a silly mistake. In short, in this way, the probability of making a silly mistake is relatively higher.
-> Don't go the O Level MCQs way. Mark your answers as you go through them. You DO NOT want to leave it to the last few minutes! An empty answer sheet and all answers on the question paper warrants you zero marks. You don't have the extra time like that in O and A Levels to mark them afterwards.
-> Underline the important/keywords in questions. Easy questions in particular. In my experience, it makes you focus on the word.
-> Pay a lot of heed to the Vocab lists. These are bloody annoying and hard to deal with. Words you may have never heard of, and meanings you couldn't have guessed in the wildest of your dreams may show up. The best way is to get the Vocab banks (I used Princeton Review Word Smart I (And there's a second edition too for those willing to score even higher) ). The method of learning what most of them mean is up to you. I found the easiest way was by picture memory (it's usually sharper than mental memory). I mean, associate a picture with a word and use it to learn. You can either LEARN what they mean, OR, you can get into word roots, a much more effective method.
Alternatively, make a list of the words you find hard.
- LEARN 10-15 of them DAILY and test yourselves as you go through to ensure that you even remember 90-95% of them.
In case you don't TAKE A BREAK!. Take a day off the practice session. It's very strenuous, I know. If one doesn't seem enough, take two, or three or four, till you're mentally relaxed and fresh and then restart with a fresh mind. It's important to take it only when you absolutely need it. Time is your worst enemy in this. You have to be honest with yourself and see what's absolutely needed.
-> ALWAYS, ALWAYS and ALWAYS practice in pencil. You'll use a pencil at the final day. You don't want awkward situations when you practiced in pen, and on the final day it's a weird feeling altogether.
-> Stay away from careless guessing. Educated guesses, however, are highly recommended. If you don't know the answer and have no clue, LEAVE IT! You'll lose 1/4th of a mark on every wrong answer. You'll lose nothing on a question you leave.
Taking a guess when you're 70% sure b/w two options is worth a shot. Taking an educated guess when you've eliminated one or two of the options is also recommended. However, don't spent a shitload of time choosing this.
-> Always best to take external help in getting your Essays checked and graded. SAT instructors at your Schools/Colleges should be competent enough to suffice.
-> Go berserk a week or two before the final day. Practice tests back to back and record your score at the end of each test. If done properly, I can ENSURE 100-150 points of improvement. The key is to solve the entire test in one sitting. Doing this at the final day is one hell of a painful job.
- KNOW what you want to achieve. Say, you need a 2100, eye a 2200 and prepare for a 2400.
___
I'm guessing you already know this, but registering for the test:
1- Go to http://www.sat.collegeboard.org/register and register for the date, city and center of your choice. (Payment is via a credit card)
2- MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOUR PASSPORT IS VALID BEYOND THE DATE OF THE TEST. An expired passport will mean no entry, and the money will be non-refundable.
SAT, literally, is Scholastic Aptitude test. Emphasis on aptitude. I know this was not needed, but I hope you get why.
SATI comprises of English and Math while SATII focuses on specific subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Math II, Biology etc. This depends on which Uni you apply to and which course you apply for).
If you plan to go to the US, you WILL need to give the SATI, SATII varies and depends from university to university.
Do I need to give it?
Have you done O Levels? Are you in A Levels? Are you going to apply for A Levels? Do you have any plans for pursuing Bachelors from out of your native country/the US?
If the answer to most of the questions is Yes, then YES! More than likely that you need it!
Jokes aside, most College students need it. Its validity is for three years in most uni's, therefore you will have to give it near the time of applying. Almost all (all that I know of) uni's in the States need SATI. Many non-US uni's use SAT. SAT's not needed for England and a couple of other countries. Heck, many Pakistani uni's have started using SAT scores to assess you!
What does the SATI comprise of?
English:
Reading:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
19 Sentence Completions
48 Reading between the lines/comprehension type thing
Writing:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour
49 Grammer related questions
1 Essay
Math:
Total Marks: 800 (scaled)
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
44 MCQs
10 Grid Ins
Each of this is spread over 3 sections. Any of these can have a fourth section. This will be an experimental section, for CollegeBoard to basically experiment without affecting your score. However, since you wont know which section this is, you'll have to do your best on each!
___
Cumulative total marks : 2400. And yes, 2400/2400 IS obtainable. Personally know at least 9 people who got that, so please, ignore those who say 2250+ is impossible.
Right. Now, for a newbie, where do you begin?
Step 1:
Decide when you want to take SATI
You can take it in October, November, December, January, March and May.
Personally, if you want my opinion, I would suggest IMMEDIATELY after giving your O Levels (i.e October) for it'll give you the max cushion for a re-take possible.
ALWAYS plan ahead and see if it's viable. You don't want to, say, in Feb 2012 register for March 2012. That'd give you too little time to prepare. Ideally, I'd suggest choosing a month that is AT LEAST 90 to 120 days away from the said. Another thing, make sure you don't have any clashing Internals OR Externals during this period. Keep as little external 'tensions' on your head as possible.
Although a few uni's require entire scores (that is all three in one session), most uni's and well reputed uni's take your section best.
Lets say your scores were as follows:
Jan 12'
Math 740
Reading 700
Writing 680
March 12'
Math 780
Reading 650
Writing 700
Most uni's will take Math 780, Reading 700, Writing 700.
Okay. Now that you've chosen when you're taking it, it's time to start preparing for it.
(Actually you can, and mostly will begin before Step 1, but oh well )
Step 2:
What books to use?
You can choose from :
-> Official CollegeBoard books.
It contains official past papers plus is pretty good.
-> Princeton-Review
My personal favorite, narrowly taking it past College Board. Great tips on specific sections, and a nice way of presenting stuff. Fun to read through it.
-> Barrons
HATE this book. Toughest questions I've faced were in Barrons, and they weren't the type that shows up in the real deal. Despite this, a lot of people recommend this book for the sake of practice. I too used it for a few papers.
-> Kaplan
Haven't used it, but I've heard it's decent.
It's entirely up to you as to which book you're going to pick. In essence, any will do the job. My favorite combo thus far has been reading through Collegeboard followed by the PR However, I shan't opinionate this thread further. I'll leave that choice to yourself.
Step 3:
Take the diagnostic test in your book. If that is not present, use the first practice test. If you don't have a book, download a test from http://papers.xtremepapers.com/SAT/ and see whereyou stand. Refer to this score at the end of your book/practice.
___
That's pretty much about it. Let me know if I've missed anything and I'll add it. I'll add about SAT II later, although there's not much to add in that.
___
Tips to study for the SATI. (Credit must be given where it's due. Was advised so by my peers and seniors in addition to my experiences.)
-> Go Section by section initially rather than the whole test approach. Say, Critical Reading first, followed by Math, then Writing. Up to you totally. Make sure you practice everything so that you're well prepared for the real deal.
Try and time yourself HERE and be honest with yourself. Timing is where most people lose out.
-> Make a list of your scores versus section/question/xyz attempted daily so that you can see your progress.
-> Make a list of things you find most time consuming/difficult. And improve on them. Personally, I've found that CR takes up most of my time. Rectify your mistakes and places of difficulty and move on to whole tests.
-> Don't practice hastily. Weird choice of words, I know. I mean, don't just skim through the test in an attempt to solve what you're confident with quickly, and move on to places of difficulty with relatively more time left. Sure, this in theory is an awesome way, but in reality when you do this it's quite likely that you carelessly skim through them and make a silly mistake. In short, in this way, the probability of making a silly mistake is relatively higher.
-> Don't go the O Level MCQs way. Mark your answers as you go through them. You DO NOT want to leave it to the last few minutes! An empty answer sheet and all answers on the question paper warrants you zero marks. You don't have the extra time like that in O and A Levels to mark them afterwards.
-> Underline the important/keywords in questions. Easy questions in particular. In my experience, it makes you focus on the word.
-> Pay a lot of heed to the Vocab lists. These are bloody annoying and hard to deal with. Words you may have never heard of, and meanings you couldn't have guessed in the wildest of your dreams may show up. The best way is to get the Vocab banks (I used Princeton Review Word Smart I (And there's a second edition too for those willing to score even higher) ). The method of learning what most of them mean is up to you. I found the easiest way was by picture memory (it's usually sharper than mental memory). I mean, associate a picture with a word and use it to learn. You can either LEARN what they mean, OR, you can get into word roots, a much more effective method.
Alternatively, make a list of the words you find hard.
- LEARN 10-15 of them DAILY and test yourselves as you go through to ensure that you even remember 90-95% of them.
In case you don't TAKE A BREAK!. Take a day off the practice session. It's very strenuous, I know. If one doesn't seem enough, take two, or three or four, till you're mentally relaxed and fresh and then restart with a fresh mind. It's important to take it only when you absolutely need it. Time is your worst enemy in this. You have to be honest with yourself and see what's absolutely needed.
-> ALWAYS, ALWAYS and ALWAYS practice in pencil. You'll use a pencil at the final day. You don't want awkward situations when you practiced in pen, and on the final day it's a weird feeling altogether.
-> Stay away from careless guessing. Educated guesses, however, are highly recommended. If you don't know the answer and have no clue, LEAVE IT! You'll lose 1/4th of a mark on every wrong answer. You'll lose nothing on a question you leave.
Taking a guess when you're 70% sure b/w two options is worth a shot. Taking an educated guess when you've eliminated one or two of the options is also recommended. However, don't spent a shitload of time choosing this.
-> Always best to take external help in getting your Essays checked and graded. SAT instructors at your Schools/Colleges should be competent enough to suffice.
-> Go berserk a week or two before the final day. Practice tests back to back and record your score at the end of each test. If done properly, I can ENSURE 100-150 points of improvement. The key is to solve the entire test in one sitting. Doing this at the final day is one hell of a painful job.
- KNOW what you want to achieve. Say, you need a 2100, eye a 2200 and prepare for a 2400.
___
I'm guessing you already know this, but registering for the test:
1- Go to http://www.sat.collegeboard.org/register and register for the date, city and center of your choice. (Payment is via a credit card)
2- MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOUR PASSPORT IS VALID BEYOND THE DATE OF THE TEST. An expired passport will mean no entry, and the money will be non-refundable.
