SAT preparation - Great College Advice https://greatcollegeadvice.com College Admission Counseling Tue, 24 Mar 2026 06:59:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/758df36141c47d1f8f375b9cc39a9095.png SAT preparation - Great College Advice https://greatcollegeadvice.com 32 32 SAT Takers Complain of Reality TV Question https://greatcollegeadvice.com/blog/sat-takers-complain-of-reality-tv-question/ Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:01:02 +0000 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/?p=7167 A recent prompt on the essay portion of the SAT has created quite a stir. How can students prepare to write an argumentative essay about a topic they are not familiar with?

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]]> An essay prompt on the SAT exam administered earlier this month’s has created quite a stir in chat rooms on college admissions resource websites.  Even The NY Times published an article on the controversy.
The prompt asked students to consider how authentic reality TV shows can be when producers design challenges and scenes and then edit the footage.  It did not refer to any specific type of reality TV programming, but lead with the explanatory statement:  “These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives”.  It appeared that students who were familiar with reality TV seemed relatively comfortable writing a response, while students with little to no interest in the genre struggled.
The College Board maintains that all essay prompts are extensively “pre-tested” and provide students with the opportunity to show their writing skills.  Students need to be able to write a strong argumentative essay, no matter what the topic is.  They have to chose a stance on one side of an issue and be able to look past whether or not they actually believe what they are writing. Of course it is helpful if the student is familiar with a topic, but as some students found out, you may not always be so lucky.
So what can students do to prepare?  Practice, practice, practice.  Search the internet for a few sample topics and practice writing essays.  You only have 25 minutes to complete your essay on the actual SAT, so the more you practice producing a well-organized essay with that time constraint, the more relaxed you will be on test day!
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

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]]> College Planning for Juniors: Test Prep https://greatcollegeadvice.com/blog/college-planning-for-juniors-standardized-testing-preparation/ Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:01:13 +0000 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/?p=6921 How do you prepare for the SAT or the ACT? This blog post will offer resources for standardized testing preparation.

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]]> Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of creating a standardized testing plan.  (If you have not already mapped out all of the dates you plan on taking the SAT or the ACT DO IT NOW!)  One important step in a standardized testing plan is figuring out how and when you will prepare for the SAT or the ACT.
We recommend that students take both the SAT and the ACT.  Once you have your scores, you can compare how you did using the conversion charts available on both the ACT and the College Board websites.  Often times, students will do better on one exam over the other, depending on their learning style and test taking abilities.  If you have one exam with a higher score, you may want to put your test preparation efforts into that exam.
The best way to prepare for standardized tests is to practice, practice, practice!  You should complete as many full-length practice exams as possible.  If you do not have time to complete full exams, you may want to try taking a practice section each day.  This will help you be familiar with how the tests is organized.  There are practice exams available on both the ACT and College Board websites.  You may also want to check with your local library or community center to see if they offer free practice exams.  See also, the internet resources listed below.
Another resource are test preparation books.  We recommend the official books produced by ACT and College Board.  For ACT, pick up The Real ACT Prep Guide and for SAT, The Official SAT Study Guide.  One “outside” resource is Outsmarting the SAT, by Elizabeth King.
For more structured test preparation, students often choose between a private tutor and larger test preparation courses.  Clients often ask which is more beneficial and the answer is:  it depends.  Tutors are great if you need one-on-one instruction, but they are expensive.  Larger preparation courses can be more cost effective, but you do need to be motivated to do the “homework” they often require.
You also need to consider when you should prepare for the SAT or the ACT.  Keep in mind that your standardized testing preparation should not interfere with your regular school work.  Your transcript is still the most important part of your application, so if you feel that you will struggle with trying to juggle a test preparation course along with your normal coursework, look into taking a test preparation class in the summer.
Below are some additional test preparation resources:

Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

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