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SAT Simplified: Tips for International Students to Ace the SAT

Student Life

June 16, 2024

Preparing for SAT is often a nail-biting experience for high schoolers who wish to attend prestigious universities all over the globe. Consequently, students from countries which do not primarily focus on the SAT can face major setbacks in their academic journey provided they are misguided. In this article, we will explore effective tools and mechanisms to ace the SAT.

  1. WHEN SHOULD I START PREPARING?

Students often get confused about when to begin practising for the test. While it is always great to internalise the important concepts of Math and English right from the 9 grade onwards, one can always take it easy. Ideally, the junior year of high school must be utilised to prepare for the SAT. 11 graders should invest their summer break in practising and strengthening their skill set.

2. MANAGE YOUR TIME

The importance of a proper timetable cannot be emphasized enough! It is absolutely crucial to devote at least 2-3 hours, per day, to prepare for the SAT. Junior year is already stressful with piles of homework toppled down students' heads, but there is nothing to worry about.

An efficient and productive schedule is the key. It is extremely pivotal to create a timetable that caters to YOUR needs, it does not have to be all packed up. Consistency is what makes all the difference.

3. CHOOSING THE RIGHT PLATFORM TO STUDY

As an international student, it must be frustrating to select the right platform to study for the SAT, right? Do I need to prepare digitally or should a tutor be hired or do I need to access external help at all? Such questions might be swarming in your head. So, let us simplify the process.

You do not necessarily have to hire a teacher or spend a lot to develop the required skills for the SAT. YouTube is by far the best option to start from scratch. One can easily find detailed videos by university students and experts and make use of them to familiarize oneself with the basics.

Furthermore, Khan Academy is widely used by high schoolers from all over the world, to educate themselves about the test. Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by Sal Khan. Its aim is to create a set of online tools that help students to imbibe knowledge by producing short video lessons. Not only this, but the website also includes practice exercises and question papers for students to practice. The official website of the College Board, too, provides full-length practice tests which makes the SAT a piece of cake for the learners. Moreover, all of these websites are free of cost and one does not have to worry about affordability.

4. TIPS AND STRATEGIES

SAT is all about making use of productive tools and mechanisms. Let's dive deeper into these:

# Time Management during the test: While taking the practice tests there is usually a timer that keeps a check on the number of minutes that are remaining. Firstly, to prevent yourself from panicking, DO NOT keep looking at the timer every now and then. Quickly try to solve the questions that you are confident about and skip the ones that you feel are extremely time-consuming.

Once you are done, you will find that plenty of time is left to ponder over the questions which you find tough and to trace back the important concepts. This trick is called POOD(personal order of difficulty) and proves to be advantageous in, both, Verbal and Quant (i.e. English and Math). So, use POOD all the time!

# How to ace the reading: Reading lengthy paragraphs can be tedious at times and it is easy to zone out while doing so. To avoid this bottleneck, note the following steps.

  1. Skim through the paragraph
  2. Carefully read the question related to the given text
  3. Try to relocate the precise sentence/sentences where the answer lies and highlight that part
  4. Use the process of elimination (POE)
  5. Cautiously study the highlighted part, again, and mark your answer

# Desmos is your best friend:

The test has a built-in Desmos calculator which, if used effectively, can make life a lot easier. Make use of this calculator only when the question involves any graph, quadratic equation, or inequality. Otherwise, make use of your calculator to facilitate faster calculations.

But, Desmos MUST be used to save time and increase accuracy. It, indeed, is your best friend.

#LOTD: What if you cannot think of any answer or the clock is rapidly ticking by? Never leave a question unanswered. Choose a LOTD or Letter of the Day and select the same for the answers you are uncertain about. As an exemplification, choose A as your letter and mark all of the unanswered questions A.

SAT is not hard to master. It requires a voluminous amount of practice and dedication, and that is all. Follow the steps mentioned above and engineer your own strategies as well.

Do not refrain from making use of the calculators, both digitally and manually, and gain expertise in English grammar. There are usually a multitude of questions related to punctuation and subject-verb agreement.

Most importantly, make sure to have fun. Do not stress over acquiring a perfect score because, at the end of the day, the SAT is not all that matters in your college application. Work passionately in your realm of interest and focus mainly on presenting your true self in your essays and applications. It is pivotal to work diligently for there is no alternative to hard work.

HAPPY TEST TAKING!

Sargun Kaur Dhanju
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Writer since Jun, 2024 · 5 published articles

Sargun Kaur Dhanju is a high school senior from Punjab, India. Along with a burning passion to study Computer Science and Psychology, Sargun leaves no stone unturned to powerfully impact the society. She is a skilled debater, writer, and orator and lives her life to the fullest!

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