standardized testing

Why You Should Prep Now for the New SAT

As you may already know, a brand new SAT test is scheduled to launch in March 2016.  The new test will have changed significantly from the older version in terms of content and basic structure.  (Good news — no more penalty for wrong answers!)

In the next week or so, we will be posting Carole Richards’ latest article, which compares the new SAT to the ACT test.

In the meantime, the launch of the new test is leaving many high school students confused and weary.  Many teens are opting to take the ACT test this year.  (Why not?  That test isn’t changing.)  For many, the thought of taking a newly designed exam in the spring is nerve-wrecking.

But it doesn’t have to be.

Many colleges consider the SAT and the ACT to be equal.  There are few colleges who accept one exam and not the other.  If you go on to a college’s website, you can easily figure out what they accept.  A little extra research may tell you what the average scores were for the last freshman class.

The fact of the matter is that some students excel more on one exam than the other.  But there’s no way to tell which is the better exam if you don’t take both.  If you could interview with two different people for your dream job, why would you pick just one?

Don’t dread the new SAT.  Instead, starting prepping for it now!

The earlier you start preparing for the exam, the more comfortable you will feel about it.  It may sound too early to prepare for March, but think about it.  That’s only 4 months away.  If you studied for only one hour every week from now until the exam, you could get in 20 hours of prep time.  While I recommend you study more often than that, it’s a good place to start.

Now, how do you study for an exam that has yet to be released?  Lucky for you, there are already lots of places online where you can take practice tests and study for the new SAT.  A simple Google search will bring up lots of results.

My personal favorite is Khan Academy.  It’s a non-profit website that helps students prep for a wide variety of subjects — including the new SAT.  You can create a free account that will track your progress.  You can prep for the math sections, the writing & language sections, or take a full 3-hour practice exam…all for free!

Click here to get started now!

 

SAT ACT ad 001