PrepMe.com Expert Offer Tips to Improve SAT Scores
By: Reference and Education News
As high school students begin the 2006-2007 school year, improving falling SAT scores and getting into top-tier colleges are top of mind among students and their parents. Ironically, according to the College Board, the class of 2006 posted the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years. This statistic clearly highlights the importance of proper test preparation to stay competitive.
Joe Jewell, a current Rhodes Scholar and co-founder of PrepMe.com, a premium online test prep service, offers key tips for students to improve their SAT scores. Joe scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT, co-authored the bestselling book Up Your Score: The Underground Guide to the SAT, and has advanced degrees in aeronautical engineering. He's literally a Rocket Scientist.
1. Don't be Creative on the Essay
Graders score hundreds of essays and are scanning through your essay looking for the same elements: a basic four- or five-paragraph essay with a thesis, topic sentences, specific details/evidence, and conclusion that restates your thesis. Make sure everything in your essay ties back to the thesis and supports it with evidence.
2. Don't Practice in the Ideal Test-Taking Environment
How will you react on test day, if the kid behind you keeps kicking your chair? Simulate distractions when you're taking practice tests to get yourself ready to focus regardless of what is going on around you. Try doing practice SATs in a cafe or somewhere else where there's a small amount of ambient noise. Do this enough and nothing will distract you come test day.
3. Keep a Vocabulary Journal
Create a running list of words during your sophomore and junior year. Put three new words in it a day and memorize those words; that's 1000 new words in a year! Make sure you reinforce the old vocab with a monthly review and try using these new words in conversations with your parents, teachers, and in your school essays. The more you use these new words, the more likely you are to remember them on test day.
4. Be Comfortable with your Calculator
A fancy graphing calculator that you've never used before will just confuse you and waste time. Nothing on the SAT requires anything more than a simple 4-function calculator, so stick with the calculator you use everyday in school.
5. It Pays to Guess
On most questions there are one or two answers that are obviously wrong. Eliminate those and then guess from the remaining choices. No question should be left blank if you can rule out even one answer.
About PrepMe.com Premium Online Test Prep
PrepMe Corporation, based in Chicago, Ill., is an online college admissions and test preparation service founded and provided by the nation's highest test scorers.
A leader in the Adaptive Learning Technology arena, PrepMe provides students with a customized test preparation course specifically targeting individual strengths and weaknesses. Students are also provided with one-on-one online tutoring and essay coaching from current students at the nation's most selective universities.
The winner of the 2005 FORTUNE Small Business Magazine Student Showdown, PrepMe was founded in 2001 by three college students including Joe Jewell, a 2005 Rhodes Scholar, and aspiring entrepreneurs who revolutionized the test prep industry by combining their know-how of successful SAT techniques and strategies with the popularity of the Internet. The result is an industry-leading online test preparation service offered at half the cost of its competitors, making academic achievement accessible to all students. Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com For more information, please visit www.prepme.com.
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