{"id":2380,"date":"2014-07-23t09:00:52","date_gmt":"2014-07-23t16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/?p=2380"},"modified":"2021-01-06t14:34:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06t22:34:48","slug":"when-should-i-start-studying-for-the-sat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/when-should-i-start-studying-for-the-sat\/","title":{"rendered":"when should i start studying for the sat?"},"content":{"rendered":"
in other words, the knowledge you gain from school in itself is very helpful in preparing for the sat. grammar rules, essay tips, geometry and algebra ii skills\u2026much of it is very applicable to the sat!<\/p>\n studying, then, often means brushing up on these skills, becoming familiar with the types of questions that appear on the sat, and learning test-taking strategies. when you should study for the sat, and how long you should study, all depends on your current situation and readiness. the quickest and easiest marker of when you should start sat prep is your age. which situation are you in right now? if you\u2019re an underclassmen, then you have plenty of time to study for the sat. typically, it is recommended that you study for the sat the summer before your junior year. this is because junior year gets very busy very fast, and senior year will be a mess of college apps and other genres of chaos.<\/p>\n if you study the summer before junior year, then you can take it early in the school year and get it over with.<\/p>\n there are even students who begin studying the summer before sophomore year. the psat<\/a> is an excellent gauge of where you are and how much you have to improve. sign up for a psat your sophomore year. an added bonus of studying intensely the summer before your junior year is that you can take the psat a second time\u2014and possibly qualify for the psat\/nmsqt scholarship if your score is high enough. pretty cool. (did you know that the psat exam has changed? learn more.<\/a>)<\/p>\n though preparation is always ideal, keep in mind that \u201cthe earlier the better\u201d is not necessarily true in this case. if you start studying too early, you may run out of steam early as well. you may lose concentration, and your studying may be so spread out and dilute, so to speak, that it won\u2019t be nearly as effective as a more condensed time frame. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n if you didn\u2019t have time to study during the summer, there are lots of people who study during the school year, as well. this is a bit more difficult because junior year<\/a> is a stressful year (seriously!), but it can still be done. split up your time wisely, and dedicate some time every day for sat review, and use winter and spring breaks for more intensive review. it\u2019s usually more ideal to devote a different summer to sat just because the one before senior year is normally very busy. if you haven\u2019t taken the sat at this point, you definitely should start studying. studying during the first semester of senior year is possible, but not ideal. sats piled onto college apps<\/a> piled onto a first semester workload would be enough to cause spontaneous, stress-induced combustion.<\/p>\n with all of that said, age, however, isn\u2019t always an accurate gauge of when to start studying. probably the most important factor to consider is this: how far away are you from your goal? some people are fine with an average sat score<\/a>, while others want a near-perfect one. it all depends on your future goals and how much work you\u2019re willing to put in! if you\u2019re aiming for a non-competitive state university, for example, you might be fine with a 1200. if you want to attend an ivy league, a 1500+ score would be more suitable.<\/p>\n to find out where you are now, try taking a practice sat test<\/a>. you can take the official college board psat, an online practice test, one from an sat prep book<\/a>, or one mandated by your high school. in any case, the purpose is to get a sense of how far you are from your goal. once you know your score as of now, you can create an sat study plan.<\/a> if you are hundreds and hundreds of points from your goal, you\u2019ll most likely want more than just a summer to study. it\u2019s difficult to raise your score from 1000 to 1400, for example, but it\u2019s most certainly possible; and, with some hard work, you can make it happen. at this stage, you\u2019ll have to cover a lot of basic material (i.e. vocab words, formulas, grammar rules\u2026), so studying a little each day six months to a year in advance isn\u2019t a bad idea. then again, these time frames are very relative to how intensively you\u2019re studying. one very intensive summer study program could also boost your score considerably\u2026you would just be a lot more rushed! this is a little bit more manageable and can be done over a summer. again, the summer before junior year is the most ideal. alternatively, this study plan could also be fulfilled during the school year over the course of a few months. if you\u2019re at this point, you probably need to cover a bit more of the basics and brush up on details.
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\nthis post has been updated for the new sat that was launched in march 2016! so our answer here is fresh, fresh, fresh! \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/strong>
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\nwhen should i start studying for the sat? it\u2019s a commonly asked question\u2014but not one with a clear-cut answer. the sat is a test of knowledge, and a lot of it is composed of content that you are already familiar with\u2014content that you\u2019ve learned over the entirety of your academic career. this is particularly true with the new sat, which tries to mirror its content to the same material you’ve been learning in school. <\/strong><\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nwhen to start studying for the sat, based on your age<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nthe underclassman<\/h2>\n
the upperclassman<\/h2>\n
during junior year<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\nsummer before senior year<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\nwhen should you start studying for your sat, based on your goal<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nneed lots of work (300+ points from goal)<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nneed moderate work (100-300 points from goal)<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nalmost there (100 points or less from goal)<\/h2>\n