even if you’re lucky enough to be receiving financial support from your family, they probably aren’t going to foot the whole bill for college. so you’re probably wondering, what’s a good sat score for scholarships, and how can i find them?

the short answer is that you should aim for an sat score between 1200 and 1600 if you want to secure some scholarships based on merit–and the higher within that range you score the more money you’re looking at.

however, different schools have different scholarship requirements (some even have guaranteed scholarship awards for students scoring above certain cutoffs) so you’ll want to research the specific schools on your list.

now for the long answer…

what’s a good sat score for scholarships?

in this post we’ll examine the different types of scholarships you can apply for, where to find them, and what some of the standard scholarship amounts offered by different schools based on sats look like. we’ll also coach you through how to set your own specific goal score, and how to structure your sat prep around that goal!

there are many ways to earn scholarship $$$ (sports, extracurriculars, overcoming adversity, the list goes on), but this post is going to focus on how to secure scholarships through your standardized test scores – especially the sats.

now let’s take a look at how to turn your good sat scores into some scholarship dollars.

types of scholarships

first of all, many colleges around the country have what are called guaranteed scholarships. these scholarships are automatically awarded to accepted students who have earned a certain sat score. the cool thing about them is that you don’t even have to fill out a separate application. when you’re researching colleges, keep your eyes open for what guaranteed scholarships are out there.

a larger number of colleges also have general merit scholarships. these scholarships have the same sat requirements, but you are in competition with other accepted students for a limited number of awards. these scholarships may require a separate application, along with a personal or themed essay. in short, read those directions closely!

available scholarships by school

many colleges and universities have specific scholarships available for their current and incoming students, so if you have a list of schools you’re interested in, a simple google search for your top college choices along with the search term “merit scholarships” is all you need. because every scholarship’s requirements are different, you have some work to do: get out there and find some scholarships!

scholarships based on academic merit often have minimum sat scores provided in their descriptions. take note of any sat score requirements you find during your research, then average all those scores. the result is your minimum sat score goal.

not sure which colleges you want to apply to yet? here’s a list to get you started:

the amount of scholarship money available varies widely between schools, but if you’re looking at regular public and private colleges and universities, you’re likely to see these kinds of numbers.

[related: average college tuition in america infographic]

private scholarships

there are also scholarships out there that aren’t affiliated any specific academic institute (the burger king james w. mclamore whopper scholarship for example), so once you’ve exhausted your college list, try casting a wider net. here are just some of the scholarships with super simple applications that i discovered after a few minutes of online research:

1. dosomething.org easy scholarships

on dosomething.org you can enter to win college scholarships by participating in community service campaigns–some are even as simple as sending a tweet!

2. $2,000 no essay scholarship
niche gives away a $2,000 scholarship every month. all you have to do is register for a free account and you are entered to win this scholarship.

3. $10,000 unigo scholarship
answer unigo’s prompt in 250 words or less. one of their recent topics was “surprise! you just got elected president. what’s your first tweet?”

4. no essay smart owl scholarship
scholarshipowl is an online platform designed to match you with the award opportunities that fit your background, grades, lifestyle, and more–and you will be entered to win the “$7,000 no essay smart owl scholarship” just by making a free account on their website.

searching for scholarships can be exhausting, so consider going to see your high school or college counselor to give you a leg up on the hunt.

how to set your sat goal score

having a specific score in mind will help you focus your sat prep, but don’t forget that this score is a minimum – ideally you want to be scoring a bit higher than this number on your practice tests (and the real thing, of course!).

once you’ve got a strong sat score under your belt, you can shift your focus to the scholarship applications themselves, and any essays and/or personal statements that may be lurking within.

final thoughts about a good sat score for scholarships

there are a lot of scholarships out there, and surprisingly enough, many of them have nothing to do with sat scores. like i mentioned at this beginning of this post, plenty of scholarships are based around other attributes such as overcoming adversity, your background, your summer job, or simply how well you write an essay. you probably have a lot more than just your sat scores going for you, so you shouldn’t sell yourself short by only looking into merit scholarships – they’re just a good place to start!

well, magooshers, that’s all for now. before you go any further, make sure to check out our article on the 3 best places to look for college scholarships. happy scholarship hunting!

need more help?

with magoosh sat, you can choose between a live cohorted class with an instructor (which includes all our lessons and practice questions) or access to the self-study option by itself.

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

the post what’s a good sat score for scholarships? appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

the ranges of “good scores” vary a lot depending on both your goals and your age. the more competitive your dream schools are, the higher your target score should be. on the other hand, you can expect your scores to increase as you go through high school. for that reason, if you’re a sophomore, 1300 is a good score, while a freshman should be very pleased with scores of 1200 or higher.

want to find out exactly what a good score would be for you and your goals? read on for more information about sat scores—from average sat scores to sat score charts, we have all the data you need.

 

table of contents

• what is a good sat score range for colleges?
• sat score scale: the basics
• what are sat percentiles?
• what is a good score for scholarships?
• how does the adversity index impact my score?
• how can i improve my scores?

what is a good sat score range for colleges?

let’s face it: at the end of the day, there is no “sat passing score.” what is considered a good score depends almost entirely on the colleges that you’re applied to.

keeping in mind the general sat score range to aim for, let’s take a closer look at good scores for your dream school. just to make things a little easier on you, we’ve put together this table of score ranges for the top universities in the united states. the numbers are from the middle 50% score range (meaning 25% of admitted students had lower scores and 25% had higher scores).

type the name of your chosen school in the search box to find its middle 50% sat score range!

sat score scale: the basics

before you send your score report to admissions officers, make sure you understand the sat scoring scale. what is the sat out of? what’s the top sat score? knowing these things can help you figure out what a good score is for you and what your goals should be.

basically, sat test scores are given both by section and overall. here’s a quick breakdown of the sectional sat score scale and how it contributes to the composite score. note that this “new” sat scoring applies to tests from 2016 onwards—scores were different on previous versions of the sat, with a top sat score of 2400!

• you’ll receive two sectional scores, one math and one verbal (combined from the reading and writing sections).
  • math score range: 200-800 points
  • evidence-based reading & writing score range: 200-800 points
  • the average sat score on each section is 500 points, give or take 30 points (in 2020, the average ebrw score was 528 and the average math score was 529).
     
• your math and reading/writing sectional scores add up to a composite (combined) score. the highest composite score you can earn on the sat is 1600 points.
  • composite score range: 400-1600 points
  • the average composite score is about 1000 points (the average overall composite score in 2020 was 1051).
     

what are sat percentiles?

another way of evaluating your scores is to look at percentiles. your sat percentile measures the percentage of test-takers who got a lower score than you did. this means that percentile numbers, much like score numbers, indicate better test performance when they’re higher.

here’s how to find your score percentiles on your online score report.
 

basically, sat percentiles compare your scores to average scores. because the sat is a standardized test, it means that these scores are easily comparable. this information falls along a bell curve:

if you’re in the 91st percentile, for example, it means that only 9% of all other scores are higher than yours. in contrast, in the 30th percentile, 30% of all other test takers would have lower scores than you… and roughly 70% of the scores were higher than yours. this would place you in the bottom half of the year’s test-takers, in terms of performance.

sat percentiles are calculated annually. click the arrows below to see the college board’s most recently released sat user percentiles (meaning only juniors and seniors).

what is a good score for scholarships?

many colleges around the country have what are called guaranteed scholarships. these scholarships are automatically awarded to accepted students who have earned a certain sat score.

a larger number of colleges also have general merit scholarships. these scholarships have the same sat requirements, but you are in competition with other accepted students for a limited number of awards. these scholarships may require a separate application, along with a personal or themed essay.

scholarships based on academic merit often have minimum scores provided in their descriptions. take note of any score requirements you find during your research, then average all those scores. the result is your minimum score goal for scholarships. to see the types of scholarships out there, check out our article what’s a good sat score for scholarships?


 

how does the adversity index impact my score?

if you’ve been paying attention to sat news lately, you may have heard about college board’s new adversity index. this is a measurement that they will give to colleges to contextualize your scores in terms of relative advantage/disadvantage.

by creating this new measure, the college board hopes to show how students from low-income and minority populations perform compared to other students from similar backgrounds. while this has been controversial, the adversity index will not affect scores themselves.

instead, what it will give schools is an understanding of your percentiles based on both your “environmental context” and your “high school context.” again, this won’t change your score at all, but instead give universities one more measure with which to interpret your scores.


 

how can i improve my scores?

check out this video for tips to boost your score, and read on for resources to help you before and during test day! you can also use these tips if you’re planning on retaking the sat.

• make use of a sat study schedule—knowing how to study for the sat is a huge factor in improving your score!
• take a free, full-length sat practice test to establish a baseline score.
• review our tips for pacing yourself during an exam.
• find ways to remain calm when a question flusters you.
• learn how to avoid careless mistakes in the future. (magoosh’s sat study guide has great tips to help with this!)

a final note

“how do my sat scores stack up?” it’s a question that almost every test taker has asked at some point! by taking a look at the score ranges for the colleges you’re applying to, comparing your scores to the national average scores with percentile rankings, and working your test prep to keep improving your score when necessary, you’ll have everything you need to understand how your score will impact your college admissions!

still unsure whether you want to take the sat or act? wondering how your scores stack up to potential act scores? check out magoosh’s sat to act conversion!

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

the post sat scores: everything you need to know appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

the sat reading section is a daunting task for many students who are new to it. the passages are dense, and the questions are tricky. however, if you have a solid strategy in mind, you’ll be able to tackle it effectively. here are my top 10 sat reading tips to help you improve your score:

1. get familiar with the types of sat reading passages.
2. don’t read every sentence.
3. do a preliminary skim of the passage before looking at the questions.
4. write a summary in the margins for each paragraph as you progress.
5. use keyword skimming for more specific questions.
6. predict before looking at the answer options.
7. get familiar with the common wrong answer traps.
8. keep a different strategy in mind for each sat reading question type.
9. use time checkpoints to stay on track.
10. when in doubt, choose the “boring” answer.

sat reading tips for a high score (2024)

1. get familiar with the types of sat reading passages

there are four different types of sat reading passages:

• literary narrative
• historical document
• social science
• natural science.

the literary narrative passages are parts of novels or stories. the historical document passages are primary source documents, which take the form of speeches, letters, or editorials. social science is the scientific study of human society and social relationships, so social science passages will be articles related to subjects such as anthropology, economics, or psychology. on the other hand, natural science is the scientific study of the physical world. natural science passages will usually be related to chemistry, physics, or biology.

you will see a total of five passages in the test. literary fiction and historical documents will each appear once. additionally, there will be either one social science passage and two natural science passages, or vice versa. one of the passages you encounter will be paired with a graph, and another one of the passages is actually a pair of two short passages.

now that you know what to expect, you’ll want to ingrain that knowledge with regular sat reading practice using quality prep materials!

2. don’t read every sentence

sat reading is very different from the way we usually read in real life. you don’t want to read every single sentence of the passage, because it’s too time-consuming and completely unnecessary–a bad combination. another common tactic used by students is to skip directly to the questions. this is also less than ideal, as you will have no context for the questions, and context is key to reading comprehension. what you should do instead is skim the passages.

3. do a preliminary skim of the passage before looking at the questions.

the first thing to do before looking at the questions is an initial skim of the passage. to be clear, when i say “skim”, i don’t mean to simply read every sentence quickly. skimming on the sat entails reading only the important sentences and skipping the rest (cross sentences out, if necessary).

how do we know whether a specific sentence is important? the first and last sentences of every paragraph are usually important because they tend to give us a gist of what the paragraph is about. (one important exception: the first sentence of the overall passage is often just a catchy hook, lacking any substantial content.)

transition words and phrases are important to look out for. any sentences that feature contrast transitions (e.g., however, nevertheless, in spite of) or conclusion transitions (e.g., therefore, in conclusion, ultimately).

transition words and phrases can also act as clues that a sentence is not important. any sentences with transitions that indicate detail (e.g., in detail, for example, for instance) or continuation (e.g., furthermore, additionally, in addition) are sentences that you should avoid for now. at this point of the process, you’re just trying to get a broad understanding of the passage without wasting time on the specifics.

4. write a summary in the margins for each paragraph as you progress

as you go through the passage, stop after every paragraph and write a short summary of the paragraph in the margins. how short? ideally, summaries should be no more than five words. you don’t even need to use words, as long as you can understand what you wrote! it’s not easy to condense several sentences into a few words, but embracing this challenge will help you to really internalize and retain your summaries, often to the point that you don’t need to revisit them while answering questions.

when you’re creating your summaries, focus on the big ideas, logical or narrative structure, and tone. furthermore, remember that relationships between concepts and points of view are far more important than any technical stuff you may encounter. you should be able to answer all of the broader questions attached to the passage from just your summaries.

5. use keyword skimming for more specific questions

there will be questions that pertain to specific details in a passage. you may remember that i said to ignore the details when doing your initial skim. so, how do we answer these more specific questions without rereading the passage? this is where keyword skimming comes in.

pick the most unique word in the question and scan for it in the passage. you can use your summaries to narrow in on the paragraph that likely contains the answer to the question. you don’t need to read —simply look out for the “shape” of the word (i.e., its length and which letters stick up or down). it’s kind of like “where’s waldo?” or “i spy”!

6. predict before looking at the answer options

instinctively, students tend to read the answer choices immediately after reading the question. reject this instinct! on the sat reading section, it’s more effective to make a prediction of the correct answer before looking at the choices. even vague predictions are better than nothing.

making a prediction first can help to focus your thinking so you don’t fall into wrong answer traps (more on that later). as i said before, you can answer the broad questions using just your summaries; make predictions based on what you jotted in the margins.

for the specific questions, keyword skim and read the sentences that feature your keyword. then, you can take what you learned to predict the answer. if you’re still stuck after reading the answer choices, revisit your prediction. ask yourself which choice is closest to your prediction and go with that one.

7. get familiar with the common wrong answer traps.

wrong answers are traps made to appear correct. here are the most common traps you’ll see on the sat:

• too broad — the answer choice is technically correct, but it fails to capture the meaning or content of the passage.
• too narrow — the answer choice contains a detail or idea that is mentioned in the passage but can’t be generalized to the whole.
• too extreme — is overwhelmingly positive/negative or states/implies that something is “all”, “none”, “never”, “every”, etc.
• assumption — could very well be true, but not necessarily, given the text of the passage.
• half right, half wrong — is correct about one detail or passage but incorrect about the other
• one word off — is almost perfect, but one word ruins it
• wrong detail — misattributed something mentioned in the passage
• opposite — has a sneaky “not” thrown in, or it’s correctly answering the wrong question (e.g., in “except” questions)

8. keep a different strategy in mind for each sat reading question type

• main purpose questions typically ask what the passage/paragraph is about or why it was written. these are big picture ideas, so you can make predictions from your summaries.
• line reference questions ask about the intended meaning or purpose of specific sentences/phrases/words. these questions deal with little picture ideas, and they give you the location in the passage, so you can just go to the line reference to predict. it helps if you use the surrounding sentences for context.
• key words questions ask about specific details of the passage, where the answer will always be explicitly stated. you aren’t given a line reference for these, so you’ll usually have to keyword skim to make your prediction.
• inference questions deal with notions that are implicitly stated in the passage. you’re looking for something that isn’t mentioned in the text but must be true, given what is in the text. these are often the hardest questions to answer; they’re difficult to predict, so you might want to use the process of elimination.
• evidence-based reasoning questions are usually paired with inference questions but are sometimes standalone. these questions ask what part of the passage proves that the inference is true, and the answer choices are line references. if you were able to figure out the answer to the inference question, then you should have a pretty good idea of the answer to the evidence-based reasoning question. if not, think about the implications of each answer choice and whether it fits with the one alluded to in the question.
• vocabulary in context questions deal with the author’s use of a word in the context of the passage; they are not asking for the definition of the word. for these questions, your prediction doesn’t have to fit perfectly with the answer choices. consider how you would use the answer choices and substitute them for the word in question. it is also very helpful here to have a broad knowledge of words with several different meanings.
• with graph questions, you will be reading and interpreting graphics, and relating them back to the passage. take note of the graph’s title, axis/column/row titles, keys/legends/labels, and trends. you can use them as keywords to scan for in the passage. it’s often useful to annotate the graph and mark what you’re solving for.
• comparison passage questions ask about the relationships between the paired passages. answer the individual passage questions before the ones asking about both passages. skim the first passage and answer its corresponding questions before attending to the second passage.

9. use time checkpoints to stay on track

in the sat reading section, you have 65 minutes to answer 52 questions. instead of wasting time constantly checking the clock or not paying attention to your pace at all, you can use time checkpoints to help yourself to stay on track. because the questions are divided almost evenly amongst the five passages, you have built-in checkpoints at your disposal. 65 minutes divided by 5 passages gives you an average of 13 minutes for each passage and its 10 or 11 corresponding questions.

i want to emphasize that this is an average; it’s okay to spend more time on some passages and less on others. adjust your checkpoints to your specific strengths and weaknesses. for example, you can save more time for whichever passage type is your least favorite. (if it’s your least favorite, it’s probably also the one that takes you the longest time to get through.) if you find yourself significantly behind schedule (more than a few minutes), then consider skipping some questions to get back on track. you can come back and attempt them at the end if there’s still time.

10. when in doubt, choose the “boring” answer

correct answers are rarely extreme in their implications or their tone, so pick the answer that is the least assertive and/or most neutral. if there’s a passage that you’re just not getting, or if you’re running low on time, you can use the process of elimination to increase your chances. eliminate anything that isn’t “boring” enough.

those are my top recommended sat reading tips to help you prepare efficiently for the test. know of any other tips? leave them in the comments below!

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

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the future is (almost) here! college board, the group of folks who make the sat, has finally decided to switch the format of the exam from paper and pencil to taking the test on a digital device. wow college board, is it 2007 already?

the new digital format will make the sat more accessible to more future college superstars, which is awesome! college board is also taking this opportunity to make some other changes to the test. in this article, we’ll give you an overview of the new digital sat, as well as what’s staying the same and what’s changing from the paper-based sat.

what’s on the digital sat?

the digital sat will test almost the exact same topics and skills that the sat has always tested. that means the digital sat features passages across a range of academic disciplines, and will ask you to demonstrate command of evidence, vocabulary in context, and conventions of written english like sentence structure, usage, and punctuation. the entire reading and writing section is made up of multiple choice questions.

on the math side, the digital sat will include problems covering the topics that matter most for college and career readiness and success. that means plenty of algebra and advanced math, as well as some word problems, data analysis, geometry, and trigonometry. the math section is made up mostly of multiple choice questions with a few of the grid-in style questions (aka “student produced response”) mixed in.

how is the digital sat scored?

the big takeaway here is that your digital sat score report will still use the familiar 200-800 scores for both the reading and writing section and the math section. then, those two scores are added together to get your overall sat score out of 1600.

but since the test will now be digital, college board can get a little more sophisticated about how they come up with your score. the digital sat will be scored adaptively, which means the overall difficulty of your test depends on you! both the reading and writing section and the math section will be broken into two separately timed modules. the first module will have a mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. based on how you do, you may see an easier, harder, or more balanced second module targeted to you. this change doesn’t really affect how it feels to take the test, but it does mean they can produce a more accurate score with fewer questions and a shorter test. digital sat for the win!

how to prepare for the digital sat

good news here—preparing for the sat is almost exactly the same as it’s been for years! all the tips, tricks, strategies, and study schedules test prep experts have always recommended will be virtually unchanged from the paper-based test to the digital sat.

one important callout here is that the digital sat students will see mostly the same lesson videos and video explanations of practice questions in magoosh as the paper sat students see. so, for now it’s really important for students studying for the digital sat to be aware of the differences so you’ll know when a magoosh video mentions some info that may not apply to your test.

the novelty of the digital sat also means there’s a lot less data available about the scoring scale. that means score estimates in magoosh may not be as accurate for a little while (but they should still be really close). it also means an official score on the paper sat may be less predictive of your performance on the digital sat. of course, magoosh students can email our test prep experts for answers anytime they have questions about the digital sat!

paper vs. digital sat comparison

long story short…

even though the test itself is changing in a big way, preparing for the sat is barely changing at all! and we can all celebrate that the test will now be shorter, simpler, with no need for a no.2 pencil. if you’re interested in more details about the digital sat, check out the digital sat doc from college board or email help@www.catharsisit.com. happy studying!

the post what you need to know about the digital sat in 2022 appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

when do sat scores come out?

when do sat scores come out? at the earliest, you will be able to view your scores online beginning 13 days after the test. sat multiple choice scores can take anywhere from 13 to 19 days to be released during the academic year – and up to five and a half weeks in the summer.

the tables below cover the schedule of sat score release dates: every sat test date and sat score release date for the 2022-23, 2021-22, and 2020-21 testing years in the u.s. — as well as international dates. for more information about registration dates and choosing the best test date, see our accompanying post on sat test dates.

you may notice that for most of the test dates, a range of release dates are given. this is the time frame within which you can expect to get your multiple choice scores.

u.s. and international sat score release dates

2022-2023 sat score release dates (u.s.)

2021-2022 sat score release dates (u.s.)

2020-2021 sat score release dates (u.s.)

the college board added test date in response to covid-19 on september 26, 2020.

sat test date	sat score release date (multiple choice)	sat score release date (essay)*
august 29, 2020	september 11, 2020	september 14, 2020
september 26, 2020: added	october 9, 2020	october 16, 2020
october 3, 2020	october 16, 2020	october 23, 2020
november 7, 2020	november 20, 2020	november 27, 2020
december 5, 2020	december 18, 2020	december 26, 2020
march 13, 2021	march 26, 2021	april 2, 2021
may 8, 2021	may 21, 2021	may 28, 2021
june 5, 2021	july 14, 2021	july 21, 2021

*the majority of sat essay scores will be released the week following your multiple-choice scores.

2022-2023 sat score release dates (international)

*college board announced that digital sat scores will be released in a matter of days, not weeks, so these scores will likely come out sooner.

2021-2022 sat score release dates (international)

2020-2021 sat score release dates (international)

frequently asked questions

don’t forget, if you’re a premium magoosh sat student, then you’re eligible for our up to 100-point score guarantee, and probably a free retake extension. email help@www.catharsisit.com to get more information.

not a magoosh student yet? no problem. we offer online, self-paced prep for the sat. we’ve helped thousands of students improve their test scores, and we’d love to help you, too.

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

still have questions?

you’re probably not alone. leave us a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer!

the post when do sat scores come out? and other sat score release facts you should know appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

in this post, we’ll give you up-to-date information on both international and u.s. sat test dates and score release dates for the 2022-2023 school year.

2022-2023 sat test dates* (u.s.)

*if you mail in your late registration (rather than register online or by phone), the deadline is a week earlier.

2022-2023 sat test dates (international)

*college board announced that digital sat scores will be released in a matter of days, not weeks, so these scores will likely come out sooner.

2022 psat test dates

these are the test dates for the psat/nmsqt and psat 10 test in 2022:

psat event	date
regular test day	wednesday, october 12, 2022
saturday test day	saturday, october 15, 2022
alternate test day	tuesday, october 25, 2022
online scores available	dec 5-6 (date varies by state)

faqs

 
whew! great job for sticking with us! if you have more questions about sat test dates, let us know in the comments. and if you’re all fired up and ready to start prepping for your best sat test date, well, we can help with our self-paced, online magoosh sat prep.

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

the post sat test dates: your best test date (2022-2023) appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

with schools recently switching from in-class to remote meetings, standardized test prep became increasingly unavailable. the cancellations from numerous testing centers over the past two years has made colleges re-evaluate their approach to including test scores, and as a result, most schools decided to go test optional. however, the test optional policy has resulted in an increase in applications, reducing the acceptance rates of many universities. additionally, despite a university adopting a test optional policy, data from most schools have revealed that the majority of accepted and enrolled students happen to include their test scores, and as you can imagine, the more competitive the school, the higher the score range.

you know what that means… the sat is here to stay! but don’t fret, preparing for the sat can be very affordable. an important factor in college admissions decisions, schools continue to consider the exam not only because it helps them determine academic readiness, but because there are so many low cost and even free options available.

free sat resources from test prep companies

as a matter of fact, free resources for sat prep are in abundance, and some of the best places to look are shared in the list below.

1. college board

the college board administers the sat, among other exams, and makes it easy to prepare for the 3+ hour exam. many of the best sat sources can be found on their website, including various practice exams. the reason why college board should be considered an important source is because they’re literally the source of the exam! all of the practice tests are official, and you can’t get closer to preparing for the actual exam than taking one published by the team. check out their free sat practice exams, with sections split up as you would expect on an official exam.

just make sure that, when you take the free practice exam, you replicate actual exam conditions, with the time limit, a quiet environment without any distractions, and of course, only using a calculator when permitted. besides access to free practice exams and other practice materials, college board can set you up with a 16-week study plan, helping you balance out the abundance of other responsibilities you have during your busy high school academic calendar.

college board may also prove to be a helpful, free resource by aiding you in your college search and accessing free materials for other exams besides the sat, so it’s worth creating an account on the platform.

2. khan academy

khan academy rose to prominence with their video library that broke down the steps to understand virtually any subject, from the humanities to the natural sciences. nowadays, khan academy is also one of the best free sat prep resources available. this goes beyond their sat practice resources, which cover every category, including the lengthy reading comprehension section.

one of the benefits of using khan academy is also available through their classroom mode. by creating a free account, you can set up a classroom with others to keep track of your progress, which includes the sections that you’re advancing in, recent practice exam test scores, and more. as a matter of fact, tutors and teachers enjoy using khan academy’s classroom to also keep track of their students’ progress, as student participation is logged on their platform.

if you’re looking for free official practice exams, khan academy is also a great resource. all practice exams come directly from college board, and once you’ve finished an exam, a score is immediately made available to you, along with recommendations on which video tutorials you should pursue next. the algorithm khan academy offers could be very important to guiding your study efforts and contributing to a balanced study plan.

3. magoosh

magoosh offers one of the most diverse libraries of free sat prep resources that can be found on the internet. this is especially important because the challenge of preparing for the sat can come in maintaining attention – just how many social science reading comprehension passages can you really read? at one point, the repetitiveness of preparing for an important exam can result in procrastination and longer than ideal study breaks.

luckily, magoosh’s diverse offerings can help sustain your attention. one of the most popular sat resources available, the free sat flashcards can be used on your laptop or phone. since you’re going to be on your phone anyway, you can also set reminders to review the flashcards daily.

another helpful resource is the magoosh sat ebook. this is helpful for everybody and is meant to be an incredible substitute to buying a bulky textbook. one of many amazing free resources that magoosh has provided for sat prep, this ebook covers all sections of the sat and contains helpful tutorials that can be viewed over numerous devices, including an e-reader, smartphone, and laptop computer.

in addition to a robust ebook and complete flashcard decks, magoosh provides access to a full-length practice test, sat study schedules, and the popular sat question of the day. the question of the day can easily be set as your homepage to guarantee a question review daily, while the other tools can contribute to a more complete sat preparation program, helping you avoid procrastination or becoming bored from reviewing the same type of material over and over again. finally, utilizing magoosh’s sat youtube channel offers you access to tutorials in all sat covered subjects.

4. princeton review

the princeton review is well-known for prep books that appear in most bookstores and libraries—but are you familiar with their free materials? the company publishes materials that can be used free of charge on their website, as well as free in-person sat info sessions. they also provide a 14-day trial to have access to more of their products.

5. kaplan

kaplan is popular for their sat cram courses, most of which are pursued in the summer in various locations across the united states, but also take place throughout the fall and winter semesters. besides their in-class and now remote courses, kaplan provides access to various free materials, which include some question sheets and an official exam.

6. don’t forget your school’s free sat resources!

many high schools across the country offer free sat resources at their library and online. ask the school librarian if there’s a test-prep section that you can peruse. a typical test prep section will include far more books than the sat, like the ap exam prep guides for example. your librarian may also be able to help you with access to paid subscriptions, where you can use the institutional login information to access sat practice resources for free. there might be a teacher, or group of teachers at your high school that share a google drive with many helpful resources, such as past sat exams, so be sure to ask around. finally, your school might even have an agreement with the local community college and public library, so be sure to ask or look up any partner libraries in the search system to gain access to more free resources.

all magoosh sat prep plans are digital sat ready! start studying today.

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currently, the sat doesn’t stand for anything—it is just the name of the exam. however, that hasn’t always been the case. since its introduction in 1926, the sat has taken on more than one official name. keep reading to learn more about the history of the sat and why it’s no longer associated with those names.

the complete history of what the sat stands for

1926: the scholastic aptitude test

for the majority of its history, from the ‘20s up until the early ‘90s, the test was the “scholastic aptitude test”. so why did they scrap that?

besides sounding like a cold, robotic form of torture (which you may or may not think the test actually is), the original name of the sat didn’t sit right with a lot of people. “scholastic” means academic, and “aptitude” means innate skill; it implied that they were able to test you on how well you were bound to perform in school settings. even if you think the sat is a pretty good measure of iq—and it’s not an iq test—there’s a whole lot more that goes into academic performance than just that, including motivation, social skills, creativity, and more. your “scholastic aptitude” is much more complex than what the sat tests you on. so they changed it! great.
 

1993: the scholastic assessment tests

for years, nobody really understood the change that the college board made. in 1993, the company started giving what we now know as the sat subject tests (initially called the “sat ii: subject tests”). the original sat was renamed the “sat i: reasoning test”, and altogether they became the scholastic assessment tests.

it made sense that they took out the “aptitude” from the original name, since that’s what was causing the problem, but officially the original test was now called a “reasoning test,” which sounds more like an iq test than it does a “scholastic assessment”. and the individual test wasn’t called the “scholastic assessment test i”. that long form was only applied to the tests collectively. so what did sat stand for, then?

years later, the college board finally cleared it up. sat didn’t stand for anything at all.
 

1997 to now: sat is just an initialism

it’s pretty weird to think that an abbreviation could stand for nothing at all, but that’s what the college board says about the sat. the point of it is pretty simple: whatever words they used in the name (like “aptitude”), were automatically a possible target for critics to aim at. by taking away the words, they kept the brand recognition of the letters “sat” but got rid of any other associations.

it’s pretty similar to how kfc took the words out of their logo to avoid having “fried” give them an unhealthy image. but that has to make you wonder: who do they think they fooled?
personally, i think that’s not possible. it’s clearly an abbreviation when it’s all caps like that…. so maybe we should use lowercase and start calling it “the sat”, rather than spelling out the letters when we say it.

really speaking, sat is almost like a brand. the new coke, the new ford mustang. the fact that it once actually stood for something has become a piece of trivia. you’re better off knowing what the test is testing than what it actually stands for. now crack open the new official guide and learn something that is actually useful.

the post what does sat stand for? the full history appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

 
so what will you see in the pdf?

well, 154 questions, to start. but beyond that, the test has…

• sat reading test (65 minutes, 52 questions)
• sat writing and language test (35 minutes, 44 questions)
• sat math section – no calculator test (25 minutes, 20 questions)
• sat math section – calculator test (55 minutes, 38 questions)
• an answer key
• information on grading your test
• links to text and video explanations for every single question on ech section of the test

where to find full-length sat practice tests (even official ones)

there are a few great places to look for full-length sat practice tests! here are our top recommendations:

• khan academy: khan academy has paired up with the college board (they’re the test creators) to offer free online practice sat tests. there are four full exams on the khan academy site, which can also be found on the college board site. after you’ve taken an exam or two, you can then sharpen your skills with practice in different areas with resources on khan academy’s site and elsewhere.
• prep books: but beware! while prep books can be great for lessons, they tend to be better for learning than for full-length practice tests. yes, the college board’s book is awesome, but guess what? those eight tests are the same eight tests you can find on their website, just printed and bound (they’re transparent about this). there are a few great books out there and a few to avoid—you can check them out in magoosh’s post on the best sat books and our review of the princeton review’s practice tests!.
• magoosh prep: you can choose between a live cohorted class with an instructor (which includes all our lessons and practice questions) or access to the self-study option by itself.

why do i need to take a full-length practice test?

to maximize your score on the sat, you’ll need three things:

• lessons
• practice questions
• practice tests

and despite what a lot of students believe, those last two aren’t interchangeable! lessons are super valuable for reviewing content that you might not have seen for a while—or ever. practice questions are great for making sure you’ve mastered (and continue to remember) the lesson content.

learn it, practice it…why the third step? well, first of all, the official sat won’t have an “algebra” problem set or a “geometry” problem set. it’ll have all kinds of question types mixed together within the three sections. that means that studying different content areas is a very different experience from test day, when you’ll be in front of the exam for at least three hours (more if you’re taking the essay). so you need to get ready with multiple practice tests!

how to take an sat practice test

ready to mimic the official experience? fantastic! all students can benefit from taking an sat practice test–unless your test is the next morning, in which case, get your rest! for the rest of you, here’s what to do:

1. set aside approximately four hours of uninterrupted time to take the practice test.
2. take the test in a quiet place where you won’t be distracted.
3. mimic test day conditions by turning off your phone and leaving it in another room.
4. take the test in a quiet place where you won’t be distracted.
5. try to take the entire practice test in one sitting.
6. eat a healthy, energizing snack before taking the practice test.
7. give yourself a brief, 10-minute break after the reading test.
8. give yourself a brief, five-minute break after the math (no calculator) test.
9. use a countdown timer and remember to reset it for each test.

lucky for you, you don’t have to remember half of these steps if you follow our simulated sat practice test below, proctored by magoosh curriculum manager kat.

all you’d need to do is print your test, find a quiet place, set aside a few hours, and press play to simulate a test-day experience in the comfort of your own home!

what to do after practice tests

after the test, it is critical that you check your answers and make note of any questions you missed. in fact, it’s a good idea to spend at least as much time examining your results as you did taking the test. why? well, did you get a question right because you knew the answer, or because you were guessing? did you get a question wrong because you filled in the wrong bubble? (practice tests help a lot with this latter problem, by the way!)

make sure to check the explanations for every question you get wrong, so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes on test day. after you’ve examined your results, do some practice in your weak areas.

signing up for magoosh sat prep is a great way to learn or relearn concepts you need help with and get access to additional practice problems.

after working on your weak areas and brushing up on your strong areas, take another test and do the same process all over again! in the next section, we highlight some resources that will help you structure your sat prep after taking your first practice test.

free practice materials

while free practice resources for the sat may not be as easy to find once you’ve finished the work available here and on the college board site, don’t worry! there are plenty of other online resources–both free and low-cost (including this blog!)–that will allow you to target your weaker areas and keep your strong areas strong.

• magoosh sat ebook
• complete guide to sat scoring
• sat diagnostic test
• sat question of the day
• sat flashcards (prep and vocab)
• magoosh sat 7-day free trial

a final word

you’ve made it this far. congratulations! the sat can have many implications for the college admissions process, which can intimidate students. getting this far shows commitment—the same kind of commitment you need to master the sat.

so what are you waiting for? dig out those #2 pencils, find yourself a quiet corner, and get on it! it’s time to start boosting your test score.

the post free sat practice test with answers and explanations (pdf) appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

*list prices given at time of publication and subject to change. click on the book cover found in each review to see the current price on amazon.

best sat books of 2021-2022: reviews

not all sat prep books are created equal: some you’ll want to use in their entirety (though only a few), others you’ll want to use only parts of, and others you’ll want to steer clear of. this is particularly true now that prices are falling and kindle versions are available—in some ways, that’s awesome, but it can also encourage students to buy a ton of books without seriously evaluating their quality.

to help you maximize your study time (and save your hard-earned cash) i’ve reviewed the options for the best sat books on the market and graded them from most to least helpful. keep in mind that some publishers do a good job on some things (like practice tests or a specific section of the sat) and a sub-par job on other things. this doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t buy the book, but it might mean that you won’t use the book in its entirety.

magoosh’s complete, free sat study guide

i want to start by pointing out that magoosh has a great, free sat study guide! we’ve spent years and years reviewing all of the sat study guides out there. we knew that our experts could cut through all of the unnecessary stuff and give you the best info out there…so that’s what we did! even better? it doesn’t cost you a cent. we even have a free sat practice test you can take after studying!

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sat prep black book: the most effective sat strategies ever published

how the current edition compares to the previous one
this book hasn’t been updated for a while (the most recent version was published in 2017), so steer clear of the first edition: it’s written for a previous edition of the test and won’t help you prepare for the current sat!

things to love

• this book provides in-depth explanations (and we mean really in-depth explanations) of the four official sat practice tests from the college board. the college board’s practice is great—but if you’re struggling to understand why you got questions wrong even after reading their explanations, this is a great place to turn.
• it’s also a great place to get your strategy set for test day. not only does mike barrett give you multiple workable methods to approach questions, but he also goes through possible issues and solutions to every type of everything: passages, questions, answers, even test-taking vocabulary.
• the book even covers what non-native english speakers should focus on (albeit in a slightly perfunctory way).

things to consider
is this the be-all and end-all of sat prep? well, no.

• in the first place, we definitely have some pedagogical (teaching) differences. barrett encourages you not to think about the average time you spend per question, and while we don’t think you should obsess over this, you should definitely be aware of it.
• he also doesn’t encourage taking notes while you read or taking a diagnostic test. those strategies can be helpful for many test-takers.
• in addition, barrett vastly underplays the importance of the sat essay, noting that a lot of test-takers won’t need to take it. while that may be true of some test-takers, more and more schools are requiring the sat essay—particularly the most competitive schools that students aiming for a 1600 are probably targeting.
• finally, you won’t find any practice questions here. barrett has his own arguments for why you should only use college board resources. we definitely disagree with that; for students aiming for top scores, a much deeper pool of questions is important (as long as they’re up to snuff)!

takeaway
at the end of the day, this is a pretty great addition to your sat library, particularly for those students just starting their test prep journey.

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kallis’ sat pattern strategy

how the current edition compares to the previous one
the 2018 kallis book and the previous 2016 edition are similar in many respects, but there have been a few distinct changes. most of these changes are good. the sat reading and sat math practice questions have been updated to better reflect the content of the real sat, with more recently written passages and a more even mix of math topics, respectively. there are a few changes that seem like downgrades though, with less tutorial support for certain topics in sat writing & language and sat math.

things to love

• the content review for each section is thorough, clear, engaging, and most importantly, helpful. of course, many publishers do content review fairly well.
• where most books flounder is in writing the practice tests, but kallis is relatively strong on that front. kallis isn’t perfect—it’s exceedingly difficult to write questions that mimic the real test—but they do a respectable job. and in the newest edition, the quality is more respectable than ever. the sat math practice is much improved–there no more long strings of problems that just focus on one topic, and kallis has added more complex word problems that resemble the college board ones more closely. the sat reading practice also now includes more passages that were written in the last 20 years, compared to the 2016 volume’s disproportionate use of late 1800s/early 1900s readings.
• the amount of practice content is great too: 6 full practice tests!

things to consider

• the writing questions tend to be more difficult than those on the actual test and don’t quite have the feel of those questions.
• the reading passages are sometimes spot-on. other times, they are too stylistic and more reminiscent of the old sat. there’s also slightly more of a focus on trap answers than on the actual test.
• the book does a great job in presenting the content you need to know for the new test. however, it doesn’t do the greatest job of discussing strategies. for instance, it shows you the tedious and not necessarily intuitive way of setting up complex equations rather than the tried-and-true way of plugging in values. likewise, the writing section recommends always reading the question first instead of reading the passage first, or at least a paragraph at a time. i advocate for a nuanced approach, one that takes into account both tactics.
• even with the addition of some more sat-like word problems, most of the word problems in the math section still tend to contain far fewer words than those on the actual exam. the contexts used in the examples are often a little too relatable. gone is the more esoteric fare of the actual test—bacteria in a petri dish, strength of a satellite signal, etc.
• frustratingly, support and advice for certain key writing & language and math topics that were in the 2016 version of kallis’ sat pattern strategy have been removed from the 2018 book. there is noticeably less support and advice for stats and functions, and advice on certain writing features such as passive voice or reporting verbs have been removed altogether.

takeaway
an all-around excellent prep book for the sat, one that is great for the motivated self-studier, especially one who aims to score in the top 20%. i intend to use it to tutor, which is a lofty compliment, given that i say this about very few prep books outside of the official materials.

(quick update: i ended up using this book for my class, and it turns out that quite a few of the writing questions have debatable answer choices or at least wrong answers that aren’t quite wrong enough. for that reason, i’ve lowered the grade from an a- to a b+.)

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ivy global: ultimate sat guide and sat 6 practice tests

ivy global is a lesser-known publisher that produces high-quality practice materials. they have two main books, the ultimate sat guide and sat 6 practice tests, and offer two free practice tests on their website (available to anyone whether you bought a book or not). the ultimate sat guide offers a thorough concept review for each section and three full practice tests. the 6 practice tests book gives a quick run-down of the sections and question types and offers 6 practice tests. each practice test is different from the others from ivy global, so you don’t have to worry about paying for the same material twice. the ultimate sat guide is a more refined version of ivy global’s new sat guide 2.0 but the test material is nearly the same. the only difference is some of the concept reviews and errors from the previous edition were fixed and improved slightly.

things to love

• in both books, the text and layout design are clear and understated. they don’t go for the whimsical or frenetic styles that other test prep books have, which can definitely be a plus if you want something a little more no-nonsense
• in the main book, the new sat guide, the introduction to the sat and test-taking strategies sections are clear and well-formatted.
• the section-specific explanations cover the necessary material and use lots of examples. not enough to teach you a concept if you’ve never seen it before, but definitely enough to help you refresh your memory and fill in any gaps.
• their practice tests are strong. the questions match the difficulty of the real thing, and there’s a good range of difficulty in each section.

things to consider

• the one small weakness is that there are no answer explanations in the back of the book, just the correct answer choices. answer explanations are available online, which isn’t too big of a deal, but it does add an extra step.
• this book might have jumped into the a range if it had more extensive review of strategies and made it clear how they are most advantageous for different topics and situations. similar to the kallis book, this is a great resource, but probably shouldn’t be your only test prep resource.

takeaway
great general-purpose practice source that deserves more attention!

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princeton review: sat premium prep, 2022 (formerly cracking the sat, 2020)

how the current edition compares to the previous one
the 2022 sat premium prep is the new evolution of the cracking the sat series. although it is presented as an update, the 2022 edition matches the 2020 edition aside from a few minor edits. previous reviewers have noted that the 2020 edition is also a near reprint of older editions from 2018/2019 so you may want to consider buying any version since they’re essentially the same over the last 3 years. the benefit of the premium version is that it gives you eight practice tests (four in the book and four online) whereas the conventional version gives you five practice tests (four in the book and one online). the rest of the content is the same.

things to love

• hey, want to learn a lot about sat math? this book has almost 300 pages of material to review, strategies to learn, and practice sets to, well, practice. if you want a total math review with lots of practice, this is a great place to start.
• the verbal sections are really strong in how they introduce the test format, then walk you through progressively more difficult (and sat-like) examples.
• unlike a lot of other books, the verbal here is pretty solid as well. in particular, the princeton review seems to actually understand the college board’s incorporation of graphs into the verbal section on the new sat—a nuanced concept that few publishers get right.
• also, the practice tests here are different than those included in the princeton review’s 10 practice tests for the sat, so if you’ve bought both books, you’ll really get your money’s worth.

things to consider

• what’s that you say? seems overwhelming? it is, a little.
• if you’re looking for practice on reading or writing and language, the book does offer good advice and practice sets—just not very much advice and not many practice sets (think 50-75 pages).
• yes, students do struggle with sat math, but there’s no need to push it on them to the exclusion of the other sections. after all, you need to look at that composite score, too!
• meanwhile, other parts are unnecessarily confusing, mainly because they use a ton of acronyms (including the unfortunate “pood”).

takeaway
a great place to overhaul your math scores if you have a lot of time before the exam. also worth looking into for the use of graphs in the verbal sections.

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pwn the sat: math guide

how the current edition compares to the previous one
the most recent edition of this book is from 2016, when the sat changed—so definitely don’t get earlier editions! they won’t prep you for the current test.

things to love

• many test prep books make the mistake of being dry—really dry. and that’s a problem when your subject matter is already dry to begin with. mike mcclenathan steers clear of any such aridity, injecting a “hey-we’re-in-this-together” voice as he takes you through all the important parts of the sat.
• you never feel like he’s writing this book to meet some deadline. it’s clearly a labor of love. his affection for the material and the test comes across in nearly every page. but it isn’t that he just wants to geek out on the material—he genuinely seems to care that students improve their score.
• luckily, the book gives us a clean breakdown of every question type in the official guide. that way, you can practice a concept on real sat questions and have a rough idea of how difficult they are (the difficulty of these questions depends on where the question shows up in the section—easier questions are at the beginning; harder questions at the end).
• overall, a strong book for the self-studier who needs an accessible refresher of the math tested on the sat.

things to consider

• this book alone isn’t enough to improve your score—though it is a good start. you’ll want to make sure to complement it with the official guide (as the author encourages). even then, i recommend a book like barron’s 1600 math book so you can get lots of extra practice questions.
• the questions in the pwn book, while okay, don’t quite impart the flavor of the current test. it seems that some of them are still steeped in the old-sat-style of asking questions.
• another issue is there is no indication of whether a question in a practice set is ‘easy,’ ‘medium,’ or ‘difficult.’ this is problematic because, often, the section that introduces the topic uses clear, easy-to-follow examples. then there’s a jump in difficulty in the problem sets, often because what you learned at the beginning of the chapter isn’t enough to answer the harder questions. for students who are just starting out, they might get easily frustrated and think, as they are wont to do, that they aren’t good at math. the problem sets would have been improved had they included easier questions and broken up the questions into discrete difficulty levels.

takeaway
on its own, this book isn’t enough to prepare you for test day. in combination with a few other resources, though (namely, the official guide), it’s a great resource for students aiming for top math scores.

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500+ practice questions for the new sat

how the current edition compares to the previous one
this book hasn’t been updated since 2015, but it does focus on the “new” (i.e. 2016-onwards) sat. so don’t get earlier editions, but this one is geared towards the current test.

things to love

• the princeton review has created questions that, while perfectly legitimate, aren’t quite as complex and nuanced as those found on the actual test. and you know what? that’s not necessarily a bad thing—if you are just starting off.
• unlike kaplan’s books, for instance, which—at least for verbal—are much easier than the real test in an inaccurate way, the princeton review mostly stays true to the underlying subtleties of the questions and answer choices. it just doesn’t have the hard-level questions that make up 15-20% of the actual test.

things to consider

• you’ll have to pick up another book to help you with strategies and to review the fundamentals.
• you’ll need a book that also has practice tests, since this book is made up of just one drill after another.

takeaway
as a companion guide to a book of strategies and fundamentals, this book is a great place to start.

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10 practice tests for the sat, 2022 edition

note: the practice tests in this book are not the same ones that appear in the princeton review’s cracking the sat (reviewed above). all commentary here applies to the 10 practice tests book alone.

how the current edition compares to the previous one
there are no changes from the 2020 edition (which had four new practice tests added and some older passages updated) to the 2022 edition. tests 1-6 are the exact same six tests seen in the 2017 book. the two new passages were written in 2008 and 2014, while the older essay prompt readings were from the early-to-mid 20th century.

things to love

• the verbal sections here are pretty strong, and there are also great medium- and low-level math items. the science passages in the reading section are outstanding, and so is the princeton review’s use of graphic stimuli in these sections. these types of problems are going to be a new kind of challenge for many students on test day, and here we have difficult, test-like problems! woohoo!
• answer explanations are also pretty good. the explanations of wrong answers are brief or even missing, but the clear explanations of why the right choice is right make this a relatively small issue.
• the upgrades from the previous edition are nice. 10 practice questions are literally greater than 6! and the two modernized essay prompts a minor but nice improvement.

things to consider

• the math here verges on the easy side, but not so much so that it’s unfaithful to the test. it’s just missing those tough problems that you’ll need to answer correctly for a 700+ sectional score. if you’re looking to get your score up in the top percentiles, you’ll want to supplement the tests with practice problems from books like the college board’s official guide.

takeaway
a good book for most students. if you’re hoping to score in the stratosphere (90th percentile or above), you might begin here, depending on where you are now, and move on to more challenging materials as you master these problems.

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barron’s sat, 31st edition

how the current edition compares to the previous one
the 2021 edition has been updated with few new changes compared to the 2020 edition. the most major change is the removal of all guides related to the sat essay that has been recently removed from the test. the second update that might prove more meaningful is the addition of an index at the end of the book. the index allows you to go straight to the page for nearly every concept on the test which is helpful if you’re looking for targeted practice. aside from the essay removal and index addition, the book is nearly identical to the previous edition.

things to love

• the math is great! the strategies are solid and helpful, the concepts are broken down well, and it hits that goldilocks sweet spot of around 200 pages—enough to help you enormously without being overwhelming.
• answer explanations are great on the practice sets (though less so on the practice tests…see below).
• there’s a flashcard app! this is exciting.
• the index makes it easier to find the content you want to review.

things to consider

• how long do you think it would take you to memorize 74 pages of word definitions in teensy-tiny type? is there enough time before test day? if not, and you’re looking for verbal help, you’d better look elsewhere. other than those 74 pages, there are only about 60 pages of reading test help here, and ditto for writing and language. furthermore, writing and language is full of lists that made even my eyes glaze over. how helpful is a list of conjugated irregular verbs when you’re studying for the sat? well…sorry, i just fell asleep there for a moment. those lists are not helpful at all.
• practice test answer explanations are really weak (“a is the right answer because xyz. b is not the right answer because it is not xyz”).
• yes, there’s a flashcard app…but is your time going to be best spent studying the 3,000 words the book claims are on that app? definitely not.

takeaway
this is great for math practice and really, really not student-friendly for the verbal.

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the official sat study guide 2020

how the current edition compares to the previous one
there are a few small, inconsequential changes to the math support in the official sat study guide (2020), compared to the previous 2018 version. a few example problems have been changed, with one algebra equation replaced by another, a geometry question replaced with a different geometry question on a similar topic, and so on. again, very minor changes, likely due to feedback or analysis that the college board received regarding the prior version of the book. the truly big change here is the eight practice tests: two of the practice exams are brand new, while the other 6 also appeared in the 2018 sat og.

things to love

• the questions in this book are mt. sinai level. the sat gods part the skies and give us a taste of what to expect when the test debuts in a couple of months. all the nuances, all the traps, all the idiosyncrasies are there for us to behold, and the more you understand them, the better prepared you’ll be come test day

things to consider

• the practice questions in this book are available for free online, and, since the questions are by far the best thing about this book, you might rightly start to wonder whether you need to actually purchase this book. what follows might indeed make you think you don’t need the book at all.
• the explanations are really weak. how weak? well….hi, i’m going to play pretend today. i’m going to pretend i’m the person or people who wrote the explanations for the questions.choice (a) is the best answer because the information in the passage best supports (a). lines 11-13, <insert quote here> show this.(b), (c), and (d) do not specifically answer the question.to be fair, the explanation of the right answer is often more thorough. as for why the wrong answer is wrong, forget about it. that is about as specific as it gets. in the end, you are likely to find these explanations laconic to the point of infuriation. this is problematic, since understanding your mistakes is one of the best ways to improve.as a result, i’ve put together video explanations to the official sat study guide questions. you can check them out for free in our magoosh sat youtube channel.
• the strategy tutorials leave a lot to be desired. admittedly, i like the way the book breaks down the test so and covers all its components and aspects. however, there is so much terminology that i imagine students getting bogged down thinking they have to know what nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements are, or that these needlessly complicated terms are known as “conventions of punctuation.”as indicated in my example above, the strategy support for sat writing & language is particularly frustrating. what we don’t get is a solid explanation of grammar concepts and how they relate to the test. nor do we get strategies on how to approach these questions. in fact, i feel like the first few hundred pages are more for people like me—people who want to understand how the test is constructed—and less for students, who need help understanding how to solve the actual questions.

takeaway
in sum, you don’t need to buy this book. for review, you are much better off going with any of the major publishers on the market. for practice questions, there is no better source than the college board, but the fact that they have made this content available for free online makes this book unnecessary, if not unhelpful. now let’s hope the clouds don’t part and the college board strikes me down with lightning. (my alternative grade for this book? ‘r’ for redundant.)

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using the best sat books in your studies

there you have it, the best sat books to use in your prep. for more information on how to put the best sat books to use in a complete study plan, check out our study schedules for the sat!

questions, comments, concerns? leave me a comment, and let’s get this discussion on the best sat books started!

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