{"id":4056,"date":"2015-08-06t16:47:21","date_gmt":"2015-08-06t23:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?page_id=4056"},"modified":"2018-03-20t17:37:26","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21t00:37:26","slug":"two-month-sat-study-schedule","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/two-month-sat-study-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"two month sat study schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"
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note: this two month sat study schedule was updated for the new version of the sat that launched in 2016.<\/em> \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n if you’re reading this, you probably have at least two months left before you plan on taking the sat. that’s great news! two to three months<\/a> of studying will put you right in the sweet spot for being well-prepared.<\/p>\n you have just enough time to become an expert on the test and not let your grades suffer (especially if you\u2019re on summer break). but with this amount of time, it can be tough to stay focused. so what’s the best way to stay on track?<\/p>\n with a study schedule!<\/strong><\/em> it’s your lucky day, because we’re happy to share (*drumroll*) our two month sat study schedule<\/strong>. so you have exactly what you need to ace the test!<\/p>\n if you have less time before your test, you might want to check out the one month schedule<\/a> instead. otherwise, keep reading for a step-by-step guide for the two months leading up to your sat, plus a list of all the materials you’ll need to succeed!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n this plan is broken up on a weekly basis.<\/strong> the intention is not for you to knock everything out in one sitting. rather, you should spread the prep out over the week, studying in 45- to 90-minute chunks. some weeks are lighter than others, but as the test approaches, we\u2019ve ramped up the study sessions. in the beginning, you might only be spending 4-5 hours per week on the study schedule; as the test nears you might be spending as many as 8 hours per week.<\/p>\n you should not feel that you always have to study math and verbal separately.<\/strong> in fact, it is advantageous to make sure that each study session contains a mixture of the two, since it is good to get in the habit of having your brain switch back and forth between math and verbal, the way it will on the real test. so while the plan breaks up math and verbal into separate sections, this is just to help you keep your schedule organized.<\/p>\n the sat study plan is broken up between \u201creview\u201d and \u201cpractice.\u201d<\/strong> don\u2019t feel your study sessions should<\/em> be broken up this way either. you\u2019ll want to do a little review and then a little practice. that practice doesn\u2019t always have to relate directly to what you\u2019ve just reviewed \u2014 that\u2019s why we\u2019ve assigned magoosh prep questions at random. otherwise, you’ll always be too comfortable because you know which concept each question is testing (i.e., the concept you\u2019ve just drilled). with random questions, you\u2019ll be ready for whatever the test throws at you.<\/p>\n one last thing: if you can\u2019t finish everything in the first week, don\u2019t despair.<\/strong> you can move on to the following week without having to complete all the work. i\u2019ve arranged the weeks so that they focus on one area. i try to give you as much practice as i think is helpful in a one-week period. falling a bit short won\u2019t hurt you. in fact, you can always revisit previous weeks later on — a good way of reviewing.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n that\u2019s us! our new sat prep<\/a><\/strong> includes lessons and questions that you will work through, thereby increasing your sat efficiency.<\/p>\n you can also access our sat study plan on your phone. our sat test prep app<\/a> makes taking your studying on-the-go easy for both iphone and android users.<\/p>\n an invaluable (and free!) resource. if you want extra help on a section or general advice, you can search for posts relating to the new sat. (make sure you don\u2019t click on posts relating to the old sat!) this section of the blog<\/a> is completely dedicated to the redesigned (new) sat.<\/p>\n this is the sat bible \u2014 questions created by the writers of the test (the college board). you\u2019ll have plenty of practice tests and content to give you a sense of the actual difficulty and complexity of the test (it\u2019s more difficult than the content found in the other books). find it on amazon<\/a> for under $20.<\/p>\n we also have official sat study guide video explanations<\/a> to the college board questions. check them out!<\/p>\n this is a free resource offered in conjunction with the college board, which is the company that designs the sat. perhaps the best part of the college board\/khan academy partnership<\/a> is that it brings us practice materials that are completely free. these free materials include the same practice tests offered in the official sat study guide<\/em>. really, the only new things you are paying for when you purchase the the official sat study guide<\/em> are the explanations that come in the back of the book (which aren\u2019t that great anyhow). so…<\/p>\n *unless you like working offline and\/or just love the smell of books, you might want to stick to the free practice tests, and not purchase the official guide<\/em> — which, again, contains the exact same tests found on the khan academy site.<\/strong><\/p>\n here is a direct link to the free practice tests<\/a>.<\/p>\n yes, this book is intended for the the updated psat exams<\/a>. the psat is virtually identical to the sat. the content might be a tad easier, but this is good preparation for when you take the college board tests that come later in this study schedule. find this book on amazon<\/a> for about $10. <\/p>\n as we mentioned, doing well on this new sat isn\u2019t just about cracking open an sat prep book and practicing. you\u2019ll also want to do a lot of extra reading. the point is to expose yourself to the types of ideas and syntax that might appear in an sat article.<\/p>\n the following articles come from the new yorker<\/a><\/em> and the new york times<\/a><\/em>. the articles below give you a taste for the length and tone of the pieces you should be reading. it is best to stick with the science & tech and business sections of the new yorker<\/em> since they best mirror the kinds of passages that you\u2019ll see on the test.<\/p>\n for the first few weeks of the two month sat study schedule, we’ve provided you with enough reading. but after that, you\u2019ll have to hunt the passages down yourself. (just google \u201cnew york times business,\u201d for instance, to get you to that section).<\/p>\n the new yorker<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n the new york times<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n one other resource is the electric typewriter<\/a><\/strong>. this website has pooled excellent writing from many sources (including the two above) and broken them down into easy to navigate categories. if you are struggling to find reading from the new yorker<\/em> or the new york times<\/em>, i highly recommend this website. here are some articles that might be interesting:<\/p>\n when you read these articles, you should be in a quiet place. you shouldn\u2019t just be skimming to finish the articles — you won\u2019t improve this way. instead, force yourself (yes, it won\u2019t be easy at first) to come up with a quick mental summary of each piece. something along the lines of:<\/p>\n the article talks about the power of ancient tsunamis to dramatically alter the landscape, but that scientists can\u2019t determine if these big waves have global implications, the way volcanos or global warming does.<\/em><\/p>\n if you struggle to come up with a mental summary, write or type a quick one the way i just did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n magoosh has many, many lesson videos…so not all of them were included. what we’re trying to do is to include math that is more on the advanced side, and (of course) aligned with what the new sat is testing. the videos we didn’t tend to include were the ones that tested more basic concepts (roots, integer properties, percents and ratios, etc.). these concepts will definitely be tested. in fact, they’ll be all over the math section. so if you need a refresher or your math is a little shaky, weave these basic lessons into the study schedule. to make sure your fundamentals are strong from the get go, you’ll want to cover these videos in the first couple of weeks.<\/p>\n ready to study? let’s get started!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n up until now, you haven\u2019t touched any college board stuff in this sat study plan. there simply isn\u2019t that much content from the college board, so you want to use it wisely. so far you\u2019ve cut your teeth on practice content.<\/p>\n the hope is you\u2019ve gotten yourself up to the level where you are ready for the slightly more sophisticated stuff the college board is going to throw at you on test day. there is only one way to find out…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (the college board test #1, pg. 334)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n choose three medium-length articles or one long article (you can break this up over 2-3 sittings) from the sources at the beginning of the study schedule.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n (college board test #2, pg. 452)<\/p>\n just follow the same format as week 3. good luck! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n assuming you have a better sense of the format, and therefore that the whole process won\u2019t take as long, here are some magoosh videos to watch:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n no supplemental reading<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n (college board test #3, pg. 564)<\/p>\n follow the same format as weeks 3 & 5.<\/p>\n assuming you have a better sense of the format, and therefore that the whole process won\u2019t take as long, here are some magoosh videos to watch:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n read three medium-length pieces or one long piece.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n (college board test #4, pg. 564)<\/p>\n follow the same format as previous weeks.<\/p>\n assuming you have a better sense of the format, and therefore that the whole process won\u2019t take as long, continue with mixed practice and supplemental reading. plus, you’ve reached the final week of the two month sat study schedule \u2014 can you believe it?! so let\u2019s make a final push to keep studying here at the end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n use however much time you have left to read articles (two suggested).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nhow this sat study plan is organized<\/h2>\n
materials & resources<\/h2>\n
magoosh new sat prep<\/h4>\n
magoosh high school blog<\/h4>\n
*the official sat study guide (2016 edition)<\/em><\/h4>\n
official sat practice by college board + khan academy<\/h4>\n
barron’s strategies and practice for the new psat\/nmsqt<\/em><\/h4>\n
\n<\/p>\nsupplemental reading<\/h2>\n
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one quick note:<\/h4>\n
week 1:<\/h2>\n
math<\/h3>\n
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verbal<\/h3>\n
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supplemental reading<\/h3>\n
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week 2:<\/h2>\n
math<\/h3>\n
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verbal<\/h3>\n
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supplemental reading<\/h3>\n
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week 3:<\/h2>\n
practice test #1<\/h3>\n
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week 4:<\/h2>\n
math & verbal<\/h3>\n
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supplemental reading<\/h3>\n
week 5:<\/h2>\n
practice test #2<\/h3>\n
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week 6:<\/h2>\n
math<\/h3>\n
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verbal<\/h3>\n
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math & verbal<\/h3>\n
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week 7:<\/h2>\n
practice test #3<\/h3>\n
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supplemental reading<\/h3>\n
week 8:<\/h2>\n
practice test #4<\/h3>\n
mixed practice<\/h3>\n
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supplemental reading<\/h3>\n
the day before your sat:<\/h2>\n
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test day!<\/h2>\n