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In the eyes of college admissions officers, taking the SAT too many times can be harmful to a student trying to get in.  Some would say that taking the test 6 times or more is excessive.  Many experts would agree that taking the SAT 1-2 times is plenty and the long-term data seems to support this despite...

With the competitiveness of college admissions at an all time high, parents are shelling out more than ever for private SAT tutoring. How effective are these private tutors? Is it worth it?
New York tutoring prices have sky-rocked in recent years and companies are charging any where between $80-$500 per hour! Craigslist, a cost-effective alternative for reserving professional services, seems to draw relatively less attention in this market than other service industries. “This isn’t my auto detailing company,” explains Jessica Kollander, an Upper East Side mother of four. “When it comes to my children’s education, I want to be confident I am providing them with quality education. I don’t trust a craigslist advertisement for a responsibility like...

(original article via PrepMe.com)
By Mimi Doe and Michele Hernandez
Co-Founders of Application Boot Camp and Co-Authors of "Don’t Worry, You’ll Get In!" Best-selling authors Mimi Doe (parenting guru) and Michele Hernandez (college consultant extraordinaire) have come to the rescue with a collection of tips and strategies for anxious parents and their frazzled teens. Follow their advice, take a deep breath, and Don’t Worry, You’ll Get In! 1. Keep in mind that there is a college for everyone. Sure, the Ivy Leagues are extremely tough to get into, but the truth is, once you get past the top 20 most competitive colleges, many schools admit the majority of applicants. 2. Create a printed list of all the schools to which you are applying. Give it to your guidance counselor so that he/she is sure to send the official school report to every college on your list....

When preparing for standardized tests, students are often taught to use various gimmicks to tackle their math or science problems. This approach is not entirely a successful one. This is because when learning takes a gimmick-oriented approach, very often there is a lack of understanding of the content. One can be trained to answer a particular kind of question using a gimmick, without having to fully understand the nature of the problem. However, if this problem is slightly altered, the student becomes disoriented, as he or she has does ...

Research shows that we learn new vocabulary words in stages: At the first stage, we don't remember ever having heard a particular word before.  At the final stage, we can use the word fluently ourselves.  As we encounter new words, they move slowly along the continuum of fluency.
Does a person have to achieve that final stage of fluency to recognize a word on the SAT critical reading exam?  Generally not.  There are many words in the SAT rotation... far more than most students have time to memorize.  The goal is to move as many words...

School is back in session, and for high school juniors who plan to go to college, now is the time to start thinking about taking the SAT.  If you are not a whiz at standardized tests, you may want to look into local test prep courses.
A recent study by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) found that test prep courses yield a positive impact on SAT scores, in the range of 30 points.  The study also finds that, while 30 points is not as...

(Originally posted by Andrew Belasco on Kaptest.com)
In today’s hypercompetitive college admissions landscape, standardized tests are a “necessary evil.”  Sure, four hours in a fluorescent-lit room with these grueling exams could pass for cruel and unusual punishment in some countries, but let’s face it, colleges need a way to level the highly variable academic playing field from which its prospective students apply.  The SAT and ACT are not perfect, but most institutions still believe that these exams offer the best way of putting applications into their right perspective. So, unless you’re applying exclusively to the handful of schools that have done away with evaluating SAT/ACT test scores, standardized testing is a reality that you will have to confront, sooner or...

What is the SAT?
According to the College Board, the SAT I Reasoning Test is "a measure of the critical thinking skills you will need for academic success in college." The SAT is popularly perceived–or as we see it, misperceived–as a measure of intelligence, reasoning abilities, and scholastic aptitude.
 
What is the SAT really?
The SAT may be a proxy for many things, but the only thing the exam really measures is how good you are at taking the test itself.
Every time the SAT is administered, it uses the same format, the same questions, and the same traps to test the exact same small set of concepts that the test makers think are important. Thus the most useful way to think of the SAT is not as a test of broad knowledge but as a narrowly defined game with simple and predictable rules.
Our experience is that students who do well on the SAT do so not because they are better at "reasoning" or have more "aptitude" than their peers, but because they understand the concepts that the exam covers, are familiar with each of the question-types used to test them, and possess specific strategies that make those questions easy to answer correctly.
IVY INSIGHT: Doing well on the SAT isn't about being smart. It's about knowing how to take the test!
 
Why does the SAT matter?
If the only thing the SAT really tests is how good you are at taking the SAT, why is it such a big deal?
The answer is simple: because colleges say it is!
Admissions officers at almost every college in the United States use applicants' test scores as one of the primary criteria in making their admissions decisions. In fact, at most schools, SAT scores are the single strongest predictor of...

Did you know that using the TI-89 is the most common reason students are dismissed from the ACT for calculator reasons?
As you can imagine, it will definitely ruin your day to be kicked out of the SAT or ACT simply because you did not bring the right calculator. It is important to be aware of the calculator policy of the test you will be taking beforehand so as to have the correct calculator on test day. Here are links...

Once again it is time for students to start getting prepared to take the SAT exam. The test itself is an important indicator of a student’s chances for success in most colleges and universities. A poor score on the SAT will limit a student’s chances of being accepted into a good university / college. Many universities use the SAT as one major factor of determining whether or not to accept this student into their program. These colleges already know from years of experience that a low SAT score probably means that this student will not be able to meet or exceed the school’s requirements and this is why universities so heavily rely upon the...