SAT Prep – Get a Study Schedule!

Stop! Before you launch into a panic and a crazy crash study plan for your SAT, get a grip and go about this in an organized, reasonable way. The key to good performance, or at least the performance score you are looking for, requires a plan – a strategy – and a study schedule that will follow that plan. Here, then, is a step-by-step process for your own individual schedule of study that will get you the score you want.

 

Step One: Identify Your Target Score

 

This step should begin in your sophomore year, but do not panic if you are now a junior and did not take the PSAT or think about the colleges you want to go to. You still have plenty of time and can still develop your strategy for studying to get the score you want.

 

What you need to do now is this: Identify the SAT score that is required for the colleges you are considering. If you took the PSAT your sophomore year, take a look at that score as it compares to the requirements of your chosen colleges. If, for example, you got a 170 on your PSAT, that predicts a 1700 on the SAT if you do nothing more. If you did not take the PSAT in your sophomore year, then go online and take a practice SAT right now and get your score.

 

Step Two: Calculate the Gap Between Your Current Score and the Score you Need

 

This step is easy. How many points you need to get for writing, to get into the school you want? If you have a 1700 and need a 2200, then you have 500 points to increase. The gap in points will determine the amount of time you need to spend studying.

 

Step Three: Determine the Amount of Study time You Need

 

The general “rules” are as follows:

 

1.      Take the SAT in the fall of your junior year. This gives you your base score

2.      Determine how many points you need to increase

3.      Follow the guidelines provided by the testing service for point increase:

A.     0 – 50 Points: 10 hours of study at the most. And you may achieve that 50 points just by taking the test a second time in the spring. Focus on test-taking strategies rather than content and skills study.

B.      50 – 100 Points: About 20 hours of additional study

C.     100-200 Points: About 40 hours

D.     200-300 Points: About 80 hours

E.      300-500 Points: About 150 hours or more

 

Step Four: Identify Content Areas for Improvement

 

It makes little sense to focus on areas of the test in which you are already exceeding the scores necessary. You have to determine your weak areas and focus on those. If your language areas are high and math is low, then you know that all of your study hours must focus on math – it’s really that simple.

 

Step Five: Determine Your Study Schedule

 

This will depend upon when you intend to study. Ideally, if you know at the end of your sophomore year what point increase you need, then you can plan your study hours during the summer before you take the fall SAT. Divide your weeks off by the number of recommended hours of study and you have your schedule.

 

If you are scheduling your study between the fall and spring examinations of your junior year, then it will be a bit trickier – if only because you are in school and have all of those obligations to meet too. Take the number of recommended hours and divide them among the weeks you have left to study. See if you can get a lot of those hours in during winter break – most schools have two weeks off, and that’s a lot of “down” time you can fill with study.

 

Step Six: If You are a Procrastinator

 

If you know that you will put things off until the last minute, try to form a study group. This will keep you more on track. If that is not possible, sign up for a local SAT prep course and commit to attending all sessions.

 

A study schedule for the SAT is, as you can see, a very personalized thing. What you need is not what anyone else you know may need. The key is to set a schedule and then to stick to it. When you feel like procrastinating, remind yourself that this score may well determine whether or not you get into the college of your choice. That will impact the rest of your life. Surely, setting a number of hours per week now is worth that long-term goal.