SAT Math Practice

by on August 25, 2011

 SAT Math Practice

 

If you’re a high school student who wants a lucrative career in a scientific field such as math or medicine, the SAT math test is probably you’re worst fear right now. Rest assured, it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of SAT math practice tests out there that will help you get the high score you need to get into your college of choice, as well as other options you may not have thought of.

As someone who has taken many SAT math practice tests in my day (I once wanted to go to medical school), I know how helpful they are to a kid who’s scared to death that this one test will ruin his whole life. If you’re that student, I’m going to give you a piece of advice: Calm down. Read that again. Calm down.

Is the SAT math test important? Absolutely. Is it going to ruin your hopes and dreams if you don’t get a perfect score? Of course not. I might be the first person to be telling you that this test isn’t the first step towards the life of your dreams, but that’s what you need to hear.

Why SAT Math Practice is Important?

Well, because the SAT math test is not that bad. That’s right, I said, NOT THAT BAD. With the myriad of options available to help you take this all-important test, you’ll do fine as long as you have the knowledge and drive. But what makes all things worse (and not just for important tests like the SAT) is extreme anxiety, which is what we are led to believe we should feel before embarking on this first step in our journey to a great life.

SAT Math practice tests help you evaluate your knowledge

SAT Math Practice can give you a balance

I know, it’s hard to hear, and my words probably won’t calm your fears alone. When I was in high school with dreams of getting into a top med school, I wouldn’t have listened to these words either. I did exactly what I’m telling you not to do right now, because that’s what ambitious kids do. They panic, and worry, and panic some more.

We are taught as early as middle school that these tests can make a difference. Top schools only accept so many students, and you can have the same high GPA as a kid in another part of the country, with the same amount of extracurricular activities, but if that student gets a score that’s even a few points higher than yours, he’s in and you’re out.  Seems unfair, and maybe it is, but because of this, only a perfect score will do for some kids.

So what can you do to relieve the stress of this all-important exam besides taking a deep breath? Speaking from experience, the absolute first thing I would do is taking an SAT math practice test. Don’t spend a lot of time preparing for it, don’t think too much about it, just get a test and sit down in a quiet location and take the test. There shouldn’t be any pressure or anxiety; after all, this has no bearing on anything.

How does this help calm distress you might be wondering? Well, taking an SAT math practice test will give you a good idea where you stand. Taking it before you try any other method of preparation will help you gauge where you started. Lots of kids score much higher on an SAT math practice test than they think, and this is a huge confidence booster, especially for those who are extremely panicked.

Now there’s a downside to this method too. Taking an SAT math practice test can be a great help, but don’t let a good score on a practice test trick you into thinking you can take the real thing with no problems. Remember, taking a practice test is much less pressure than the actual exam and when you look at your score on the practice test, you should factor this into what you think your final score will be.

SAT Math Practice Next Steps

Once you’ve seen your score on the SAT math practice test, it should be relatively easy to figure out where you might need help and study those things more than every piece of math information you’ve ever learned. After you take a practice test for the first time, brush up on the areas you didn’t do so hot on, and take another one. Seeing your progress is much better than studying and studying only to hope that you’re doing it right. You’ll be able to go over the test with a fine toothcomb, and you’ll have a much better grasp on your strengths and weaknesses. If you know which parts of the exam to study more, you can use divide your time much more wisely.

When I began my adventure into SAT math practice, a practice test was one of the last things I tried after library research, study guides and an expensive tutor. I’m not saying these things didn’t help, because in the end, I believe each thing played it’s own part in my final score on the SAT math test. I got a decent score, and while I didn’t go to med school (not only because of the SAT mind you), I do believe my score would have been much lower had I not prepared.

As someone who has freaked out, calmed down and freaked out again, the best advice I can give you is to start early, and take advantage of every opportunity you can to prepare yourself for the SAT math test. There are way more options available to kids today, in the form of videos and study guides, and of course that all important SAT math practice test. Don’t overlook any of them, and do what is best for your test taking skills.

All in all, remember one thing. A SAT math practice test will help you get to where you want to be, and getting that high score is absolutely attainable if you take advantage of every opportunity available to you. Oh, and practice, practice, SAT math practice.

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SAT Math Test

by on April 3, 2011

SAT Math Test

 

I remember when I was in high school and had to take the SAT Math test for the first time. I was terrified. I was a junior at the time and it had been drilled in my head for a couple years now how important these tests were. It didn’t help that I wanted to go to med school (that has since changed) and didn’t have rich parents or a trust fund from a wealthy relative.  So I needed to get a good score on the SAT Math test and the national average of about 470-500 just wasn’t going to cut it.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I never studied when I was in high school, but kept my GPA at close to a 4.0 for my entire high school career. I’m not trying to make myself sound smart, it’s just that some things came easy to me. Including math and algebra. I never got nervous taking tests, and had taken the ACT earlier that year without freaking out. But some of the schools I had my heart set on required high SAT scores, especially math.

SAT Math Test First Steps

So my journey into the SAT’s began. I started by going to the local library (the internet was new back then, not as widely used for finding information as it is today), and searching for information how to get a good SAT math score. There were books and study guides and I read some of those, but they all said the same thing, and it none of it was the magic answer I was hoping for. In fact, looking through study guides with material that seemed a bit outdated (does the library have anything that’s up to date?), I became more and more discouraged.

SAT Math Test

The SAT Math Test can be confusing.

I wasn’t at concerned about the other sections, but the SAT math test was starting to scare me. I told my parents about my fears, who suggested a math tutor, one that specialized in my biggest fear to date: SAT math. I pondered this, but tutors in general weren’t cheap, and one that specialized in something so critical to my future career was going to come with a hefty hourly fee. I was a smart kid, and while I knew the SAT math test was important, I also could see my parents struggling with money, so I didn’t want to burden them with expensive tutoring that they didn’t even think I needed.

Burden them I did. I guess I was so outside of my own character nervous, that they thought I would benefit and helped me find someone who seemed like a good fit but didn’t charge a ridiculous hourly rate.  I can’t even remember his name, but he claimed he had gotten a 700 on the SAT math test. I never did see any proof of that (and paid him anyway), but he did seem pretty smart. We did twice weekly sessions for a month or so before the test and while it made me feel a little better, it also made me feel much worse about my situation.

SAT Math Test Worries

I was not a bad student. In fact, I was the opposite. I also was not one to get myself so wound up over a test that I couldn’t function. Yet weeks before the SAT math test, only the most important test of my entire life, I was a pile of blubber most of the time. My family couldn’t calm me down, my friends were no help at all, especially the really smart ones who were just going to take the test and hope for the best, no dusty library study guides, no expensive tutors, no sleepless nights for months on end. What was wrong with me?

Nothing, as it turns out. As high school students, we are taught to believe that these tests are important if you want to go to college. Critical if you are looking at competitive fields such as medicine or law, and even more critical if you want to go to a top college. If you don’t have any money and are looking for scholarships or grants to pay your way?  You might as well give up your high school social life and do nothing but study for a year before taking the test. No making lifelong friends for you.

When I had to take the test, the options for preparing were pretty much exactly what I did. Study guides, tutors, I think some kids took some expensive SAT math courses that were supposed to “guarantee” the highest scores and admission to top colleges.

As it got closer to the test, I took some SAT math practice tests I had gotten from the tutor. After all this worrying, these calmed my fears a little bit. If I took enough practice tests, maybe I’d get lucky and the actual SAT math test would be exactly like one I had already taken.

Okay, so I am not that naïve, although as a teenager with a dream of a top med school, I was beyond hopeful.  I took the test, and did okay. I did not get quite the top score I was hoping for on the math section, but I am convinced that the SAT math practice tests helped me more than any of the other methods.  My overall score was quite impressive, and my scores on the writing were much higher than on the SAT math section (which is probably why I’m sitting here writing this instead of performing a lifesaving operation).

Today’s students have a myriad of options as far as studying for the SAT math test, and if you fall into any of the categories I mentioned above, you should take advantage of as many of them as you can. Videos, study guides, and especially practice tests will all help you out immensely, not to mention help you calm your nerves a bit. Don’t wait until the last minute; while the SAT math test isn’t the end all test of your entire life, it should be taken seriously, and you should get all the help you deserve.

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