How to Make Studying For the SAT More Interesting

The SAT is one of the most important tests that a high school student can take. It not only determines how much scholarship money you get, but it also decides what colleges will see your application.

But every year, thousands of students dread the idea of taking this test because they find studying for it boring and tedious.

Why is studying for the SAT so hard?

The SAT is so hard because the test-makers want to make sure that everyone who takes it is prepared for college. This is based on the opinion that if the designed test is simple, more people would just memorize all of the answers rather than studying in order to really learn and understand how to do well on it.

But there are ways around this! You will find that you have to put some work into preparing for the SAT, but if you can get through those boring practice tests and take advantage of these tips, then you’ll be able to earn a great score that will help you get into any school of your dreams.

Why should I bother with taking the SAT?

First, let’s look at what happens if you don’t get a good SAT score.

If you want to go to a decent college, but don’t get the scores that make them interested in your application, then you won’t be able to get any scholarships or grants when it comes time for school. That means that you’ll have to pay full price to attend whatever colleges accept your application.

Why not just go straight to a local university?

Well, many students who start at their local universities have trouble adjusting to the workload. The amount of classes you are required to take each semester is more rigorous than what high schoolers typically experience. In fact, only a portion of freshmen graduate in four years with most students graduating after five or six years. Because just getting your Bachelors’ Degree takes longer, those additional years mean thousands of more dollars spent on tuition!

A lot of people think that taking the SAT is a waste of time because it doesn’t really give you many benefits, and it costs a lot of money to take. But, if you get good enough SAT scores, then you’ll be able to go wherever you want after high school! You can get the education that fits your needs and gives you the most options for your future career.

The best part is that an impressive score on the SAT comes with a lot of perks! Colleges will look at your application more favorably because they know that other great schools were interested in accepting you.

And since colleges will offer more scholarships when they see how well you did on this test, those free college dollars could really add up over four years! But if you can spend the time to really study and use these tips, then you’ll be able to get those great scores that will help you get a wonderful education!

How many hours a day should you study for the SAT?

As a general rule, you should study for the SAT between two and three hours per day.

This will give you a chance to go over the things you’ve learned to make sure that you are ready for all of the different topics and questions.

How do I use time efficiently during my SAT studying?

Here are some steps on how you can make your study time more efficient!

1. Take practice tests early and often.  Once you take the first practice test, you’ll realize just how much your skills have grown since taking it! If there is a question or a topic that really stumped you before, then reward yourself with ten minutes of Netflix when it’s done. But don’t just stop there: keep taking these tests until they feel like second nature!
2. Always do research on unfamiliar material. This goes along with taking practice tests, but don’t just focus on the material you already know. There are a lot of topics that we don’t learn about in school so it’s important to do some research on them. The College Board has a list of all the topics that may come up in the test and what you should study!
3. Take time to plan out each SAT practice test. You should have a goal for each practice test: how many questions will you answer correctly? And if there is one type or topic of question that your aim to get perfect, then go ahead and focus more time on those types as well! It can be difficult to keep track of everything you want to improve when you first start studying for the SAT, but after doing this several times, you’ll get the hang of it.

How should I plan out my schedule?

Now that we’ve talked about how to make your study time more efficient, how do you actually fit this into your busy life?

Find a way to separate work and leisure time. For many people, the best chance for getting some studying in is during their commute to and from school or work! This can be difficult if you have early/late shifts that last only a couple of hours per day. You may also want to ask around at your job to see if you can get off early for some of the days before your SAT.

If any of these are not options, then try to work two or three hours on the weekend before your test—but don’t do this too long before the test! This could backfire if it means that you won’t be able to focus all week or stay awake during class because you’re just so tired. A day or two a week will be fine as long as you give yourself at least a few weeks between these additional study sessions and when your actual test is scheduled.

How much time should I spend studying each subject?

There isn’t really a set answer for how many hours per day you should spend on each subject but that is because this will depend on your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re really good at math but not so great at reading, then obviously you should spend a little more time studying for the math part of the test!

If you aren’t sure what subjects to focus more or less time on, then choose a practice SAT that gives you an overall idea of how well you are doing. That way, if there is one subject in particular that is giving you trouble (for example, if it’s harder than anything else in your coursework), then try to focus more time on studying for that topic.

As long as you can find ways to make your schedule work by putting in just a couple of hours per day into study sessions, everything should turn out all right.

How do I study for verbal sections of the SAT?

As we said earlier, there are many topics and types of questions that you might be asked to answer in the Verbal section. One way to study most efficiently is to start off with timed practice tests: make sure that you have a certain amount before you check over your answers. If you haven’t finished all of the questions in this time frame, then guess on whatever ones you can and mark them for review later on! Then go back and finish those up as well as check over each one.

How long should I spend studying vocabulary words?

Some people like to try to memorize hundreds of vocabulary words before they take the test, but this is not really the best way to study. If you have a good idea of the definitions of most SAT words, then it’s okay to look over them in five minutes!

You can also pick up some books (or websites) that have flashcard sets for each SAT question topic—where there are vocabulary flashcards and grammar flashcards as well as others.

You don’t need to memorize all of these; you just want to be able to match up an English word with its definition on the test. This could actually save you quite a bit of time when taking actual practice tests because you’ll already know what many words mean instead of having to spend time looking through your sheet or using other strategies.

How do I learn about grammar rules?

Grammar is something that can be confusing for a lot of students but once you have learned the basics, it won’t be hard to remember it for the test! Luckily there are more and more resources available online or in bookstores that teach you the rules for writing essays on all parts of speech.

How long should I spend studying math concepts?

The most efficient way to approach math is to make sure you have a good understanding of any formulas that might be on the test. Then, for Verbal Math questions, look at the problem and try to work backward.

What types of rules or formulas can you use to help you solve it? If you haven’t heard about strategies like these in class, then take some time to read up on them online—you may need some additional practice before taking real SATs but this will also improve your skills in general!

How do I study reading passages?

If you’re feeling really confident about getting high scores in Reading there are plenty of tactics that can help!

For example, if you know that Passage 1 of the test will always cover political topics, then you could start by studying up with historical facts and figures in this area.

Not only will you be more equipped to answer the questions on these topics, but also this point of view sets the tone for how your mind is going to work as you read through Passage 2: with an eye towards asking yourself what sort of angle or perspective each author takes.

If you see there are science terms in one passage that are asked about in another passage on technology, then try remembering them both so that they come up at roughly the same time!

Please note: This is a guide; don’t get caught up following every suggestion exactly—make sure you’re putting enough time into reading practice tests and participating in class!

What is the most effective way to study for the SAT?

For those who are in the throes of a panic attack because they just found out about this test and want to take it as soon as possible, here’s what you can do.

You don’t have to give up your social life, stay up all night studying vocabulary words or fill notebooks with flashcards that you’ll never even need—but there is still some preparation necessary so that you’re not taken totally by surprise!

• For Verbal: Read through the verbal practice tests (first one for each section) mentioned above—and then find some more or practice doing them on paper. It’s also good to shadow a lecture; if you know the teacher will be lecturing on these topics in class then follow along and listen carefully as he or she explains the concepts.
• For both Verbal and Math: Find a list of other vocabulary words that you might see on the test and write them down in your notebook along with their definitions. If your SAT will be on a computer, you’ll also want to memorize any keyboard shortcuts so that you can use them during the exam (like “Shift+5” for bold font). Knowing this information beforehand is going to make your life easier!

Please note: In all cases, it’s useful to practice taking full-length practice tests, but if time is running short, then eliminating one section will allow you some extra time elsewhere. It’s best not to skip unless absolutely necessary as these sections are scored separately; skipping will just increase the time you need to spend studying the other sections so that you’ll be able to boost your score.

Don’t forget that information changes! If there are any new announcements or if a teacher mentions something about the exam, make sure you’re keeping track of them so that on test day you’ll have an extra layer of help.

If I’m not taking the SAT until next year, what should I do until then?

Time flies fast and it’s easy to get caught up in the whims of school and everyday life. It can also be tempting for students who aren’t taking this test right away to put off their studying until it’s too late—but now is the perfect time to start preparing!

How long should you study for the SAT to improve?

If you’re the type of person who likes to study ahead and make sure that everything is covered, then you might want to try covering every section in detail for a week or even two before your official exam date.

Remember that this test isn’t going to be the only thing clamoring for your attention; if you have other things on your mind then it might be good to spread out studying so that it’s taking up less of your time overall.

Resources and References:

• Best SAT Scores
• College Board