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I never knew what SAT’s were and the point of taking it until I went to the US for an exchange program. People started talking about ACT/SAT during advisory class and I really had no idea what they were. In Indonesia, there is no need to take both tests unless you study in International School or you apply for college in a foreign country.
A year after coming back home, I decided to sign up for SAT because I wanted to apply for Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern University Doha Campus, Qatar where they both require applicants to submit their SAT scores.
Frankly I did not know how to prepare for my first SAT test. I went to a public school where normally no one would take any American based tests included ACT, SAT, or AP tests. No one to ask even my English teacher! Nonetheless, I only had less than two months before sitting for exam. You should make a note that cramming and short-term prep may not work on this type of test!
For those who want to score higher in SAT and get admitted in to prestigious colleges, not only do you need to master all subjects, but you also can use your own tricks to get your business done. Here they are:
- I highly suggest that you do not take the special prep classes because it would be costly. The best way for me is to purchase SAT prep books, namely College Board blue book, Princeton Review and Kaplan.
- For all sections arranged in order of ascending difficulty; Do the easiest questions first, then move on the easiest questions in another section. Leave hardest questions and long readings for last.
- Make sure you answer all the ones you know first. That definitely helps!
- Do as many as you can, but if you have no idea at all about the questions, don’t bother doing them. It’s a minus system.
- Finally – Don’t be nervous and good luck.
