we’re leaving together,
but still it’s farewell
and maybe we’ll come back,
to earth, who can tell?
i guess there is no one to blame
we’re leaving ground
will things ever be the same again?

it’s the final countdown
the final countdown

it’s like the band europe knew exactly what you’d feel like 2 days before your sat when they penned this epic final march song. so while you might not actually be leaving earth and blasting off into space this saturday, we can all agree that taking the sat can feel just as intense and as stressful as if you were.

so to make sure you can march on to your sat as confidently as this final countdown song demands that you do, i’m sharing a list of tips you should take advantage of before saturday. whether you need a last-minute refresher of concepts you’ve already been studying for months, or if you need a 2-minute crash course on the sat just to cover your bases, the 6 tips that follow are for you:

1) take a full length practice test:

it’s a no-brainer–you’ll need to get familiar with the test format, lingo, and general feel so that you can limit the surprise factor on the day of your actual test. there are a handful of free sat practice tests you can take advantage of, so get started asap. and if you can’t get your hands on a full length practice test, more general practice with high quality sat practice questions will also do the trick!

2) learn from your mistakes:

don’t just breeze through the practice test on auto-pilot; use this as a learning opportunity! after you’ve taken the full length test in tip 1, check your scores and see how you did. which questions did you miss? why did you miss them? write it down. this is a key part of the learning process that will help you avoid those same mistakes on saturday.

3) review concepts:

after you’ve figured out where your mistakes happened, it’s time to review those areas–even if just briefly–so that you can boost those weaker areas. magoosh comes with lesson videos that cover all the core concepts you’ll need to know for the sat, so you can search our list of sat lessons for a video that covers the topics you missed on the practice test. but if you don’t have a magoosh sat account but have access to a library, you can try one of these best sat books instead to help you review.

4) take another practice test:

if you have the energy and time and can brave another full length test, then do it! there’s truth to the saying the practice makes…better, so taking another test–especially after you’ve learned from the mistakes you made the first time around–will do you a world of good.

5) get ready for the big day:

make sure all your tools, id, snacks and such are packed and ready to go. have your clothes for the day already laid out, and confirm what your means of transportation to the test center will be on saturday morning. the college board has a handy checklist that can help make this tip a breeze!

6) rest:

be sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before your sat. you won’t help yourself even a little bit if you pull an all-nighter the night before; in fact, that might do a lot more damage and rob you of the memory-storing sleep you need to make sure all that you’ve learned 2 days before your test sticks.

and that’s all, folks! when saturday morning rolls around, i hope following these tips gives you enough reassurance to handle your final countdown with poise and elegance. good luck.
 

the post 2 days before the sat appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

we’re excited to announce our new “high schooler’s guide to the future” ebook that we made just for you. we teamed up with our friends at collegexpress (they know a ton about college applications!) to produce this ebook. and combined with our expertise on test prep, we’re confident that this resource will guide through all the ups and downs of preparing for college while you’re in high school.

the ebook is written like a timeline with tips for what you should do during each year of high school. you’ll learn all you need about:

* ap tests
* extracurricular activities
* managing stress
* choosing schools
* financial aid
* working with your parents
..and lots more!

if you’re ready to start preparing for your exciting college future, download the free ebook here.

you can also read the entire ebook on slideshare here:

 
we hope you find this helpful! if you have any questions or comments about this resource, feel free to leave them in the comment box below. we’d love to hear from you. 🙂

the post magoosh + collegexpress: high schooler’s guide to the future appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

but looking back, i realize now that my “can’t wait to get out of here” attitude actually robbed me of the moments i should have cherished back then. i only got to be the 14-18 year-old me once, and i really should have made the most of it.

so today, i thought i’d share some of those woulda-shoulda-coulda moments with you. for any high schoolers out there who’re like me, counting the days down until you’re free of those high school halls, you really do have a lot of be grateful for!

1. you’ll never have this much free time…ever again.

you probably don’t believe me when i write this because you feel very busy–you’ve got homework, club meetings, a part-time job, sports practice, volunteer hours, and you need time to eat and sleep too! but trust me on this–life only gets busier. in college, you’ll have a much heavier workload and more life to manage without your parents around as much. when you get a little bit older, you’ll have a full-time job and your fair share of grown-up problems to juggle in the mix. then add in a spouse down the road, and maybe some kids or a promotion at work, and your free time slice just gets smaller and smaller. so instead of complaining about how much time you don’t have right now, take time to appreciate the breaks that you do get to have. i mean, you have entire summer and winter vacations all to yourself!

 
2. your counselor could be your new bff.

my family immigrated to the u.s. when i was about 12 years old, so none of us had a clue about the u.s. college application system. without my college counselor, i would have been lost through the entire process. in my freshman year, she sat me down and planned out my classes for every year of high school. during my junior year, she planned out a test prep workshop for some of her students and informed us of which tests we’d need to take and when. and in my senior when i got my acceptance letters, she helped me make one of the most important decisions of my life–and one that i’ve never regretted–to go to uc berkeley. so if you haven’t already done this, i definitely recommend taking the time to build a relationship with your counselor at school–you’d be surprised how much insight and support they can offer you if you’d only listen. (shout out to ms. kaye woot woot!)

 
3. you don’t have to be bored.

there are so many opportunities for you to take advantage of in high school so that unlike me, you won’t be forced to watch reruns of america’s next top model to pass the time (if that’s you, stop it. stop it right now!) i mean, did you know that you could study abroad while you’re in high school? yeah, you read that right–you can visit another country right now and have a life-changing experience under your belt even before you get to college. and that’s just a start! you could make a difference in your community, begin your own startup company or even fight to end slavery. it just takes you being proactive and grabbing the right resources, and you just might find a gem of an opportunity right under your nose! and you’ll never have to utter the words “i’m bored” ever again.

 
4. it’s only 1 phase–out of the many phases–of life.

while you’re in it, this phase of life can seem like the greatest reality–like it’s all there is to life. but this, too, shall pass. whatever mistakes you might make, or whatever you might feel limited by, it won’t last forever. with a little perspective shift–and probably as you get older–you’ll be able to see that this is just one part of life that ends and changes, just like every other phase of life. so treat it as just that–one stage of life that you are in for the moment, but that very soon will become just a memory.

 
takeaway

it’s really all about your perspective! remember that there is a lot available to you while you’re in high school and be sure to make the most of it (instead of complaining). then one day in the future, when you look back at your high school days, you’ll be able to see them with the fondness–and not regret–that they deserve.
 

the post what i wish i knew in high school appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

if you’re signed up for the sat this saturday (may 3rd), you should have started studying…exactly 30 days ago. but, i was in high school once. i know how it is: you add sat prep to your calendar, you stroll down to the public library down to street to borrow the big blue book, you prop down on your bed intending to begin sat domination…and 1 month later, you end up on magoosh sat’s blog, freaking out because you’ve got only 4 days left until your sat.

it’s the story of high school students throughout the generations, so it’s no surprise that you’ve found yourself in the same boat. the good news is that there’s tons of advice out there to help last-minute studiers like you survive–and even thrive–on your fast approaching sat!

so without further ado, here are 5 tips i’d recommend you stick to this week, if you want to make it to saturday with your mind in one piece!

1. use a study schedule. 

it’s never too late to start! in fact, we’ve got a 3-day study schedule that should take a look at immediately. that’ll give you a guide for what to do in the next few days leading right up to your test.

2. sleeeeeepppppp. 

i’m serious! it might not sound like a tip that should have make it onto this list, but research has shown time and time again that you perform better when you’ve had enough sleep. so do it: get at least 8 hours of sleep each night this week, and you’d be surprised how much of a difference that makes on test day.

3. get a vocab refresher. 

the sat verbal section is an area of the test where you definitely can’t fake it: you just need to know your words. so, make the most of every spare moment this week. instead of loitering the the streets of your city at lunch time with your friends, or screaming at the top of your lungs to your favorite selena gomez jams on your way home from school, sneak in some vocabulary flashcard practice, and your test score will thank you for it.

4.  eat yummy (but good!) stuff. 

in addition to sleeping enough, your brain also thrives when you give it the right nutrients. so come saturday, be sure to eat a nutritious breakfast, complete with vitamins, protein, high quality carbs, and stay away from energy drinks or high sugar food. that’s what makes for a true breakfast of champions!

5. relax. 

it sounds cliche, but it’s true. whatever happens on saturday, it won’t be the end of the world. at worst, you’ll learn a lot about the test and be better prepared next time around; at best, you’ll be one step closer to getting into the school of your dreams. regardless of which destiny fate assigns you on saturday, magoosh will still be here to cheer you up and guide you on next steps to take.

now good luck to you all! come back after you’ve taken the test and leave me a comment below! i’d love to hear how your test day went.

the post may 3rd approaches! 5 tips to survive the sat appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

finding answers to questions like these can become overwhelming really quickly, so we thought we’d help simplify things by going right to the source of great info. this week, we chatted with university of vermont admissions on twitter and asked them the questions you’ve been thinking. here’s what they had to say:

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 1. how can a student know if they’ll fit in and really thrive at uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

1 @magooshsat get on to our campus for a #uvmvisit to get a firsthand feel for what it’s like! http://t.co/1uqardhsyk #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 7, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 2. what’s the number one reason you would turn down an applicant to your school? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

2 @magooshsat we practice ‘holistic review’ when reviewing a student’s application; one thing will not ‘make or break’ a student #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 7, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 3. college is expensive! so what do you recommend for financially strapped students applying to uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

3 @magooshsat keep those grades up! #uvm automatically considers applicants for merit-based scholarship! #magooshu http://t.co/jyikd8bvuk

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

3 @magooshsat check out student financial services for merit, need-based, & application scholarships #magooshu http://t.co/jyikd8bvuk

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

3 @magooshsat for estimating cost, definitely check out our net price calculator. #magooshu http://t.co/dccc5wohve

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 4. should a student choose their school based on how their sat scores compare to that schools average sat score? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

4 @magooshsat this ties into our ‘holistic review’. we look at the whole picture to determine admissibility #magooshu…

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

4 @magooshsat the transcript is a crucial piece so definitely check for our school’s entrance requirements. #magooshu http://t.co/grrbgwukax

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

4 @magooshsat keep in mind, uvm’s 7 different schools/colleges has slightly different requirements! #magooshu http://t.co/grrbgwukax

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 5. are repeated low sat scores a deal breaker for uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

5 @magooshsat we practice super scoring, and look only at the highest testing score from across multiple testing dates #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 10, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 6. final piece of advice you’d like every uvm applicant to know? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

6 @magooshsat definitely make a visit to the schools your considering for a sense of the community you will be joining! #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 10, 2014

if you have any comments or questions you’d like us to ask the admissions committees for you, leave them below! we’d love to hear from you.

the post admissions tips from university of vermont appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.