They key thing that you must understand about the SAT is that it is very limited. Because the test is standardized, there are only a few particular tricks that the College Board can use on it. It has to use the same tricks as it always has, because if it started to implement new techniques to confuse test-takers, colleges would no longer be able to compare today’s scores to those of a year ago – if the students who took the test were up against two different sets of these ‘tricks,’ then it isn’t useful to compare their scores.

This is very important when it comes to preparing for the SAT. You must realize that because you can buy copies of real SATs written by the College Board (which are only available in the Official SAT Study Guide), you have examples in advance of everything that the College Board can throw at you on test day. That’s a huge advantage that few people make use of.

You might think “Well, sure, I have copies of old SATs, but how can I know which words will appear on the test that I take?” If you pay close attention, though, you’ll see that unusual words aren’t frequently a problem on the SAT. They show up, but they are often in places where you don’t actually need to know what they mean, or where you can figure out enough of what they mean from the context and the meanings of related words. If you really learn from the copies of the test that you have, you’ll see that learning to use word roots and context will serve you much better than memorizing lists of words that probably won’t even appear on the test you take.

So remember: the College Board has its hands tied. It can only test so many thing in so many ways, and the tricks it can use are limited. Make sure that you only study with real SAT practice tests written by the College Board, and you’ll become familiar with all the different ways that the College Board tries to confuse you.

If you only practice with real SAT questions and you thoroughly review your wrong answers, you’ll be on your way to a very high score. It’s simple, but it works

John Tutor has been a private SAT tutor for more than a decade. He has developed his own unique approach toward the SAT which focuses on strategy and standards, not memorization or formulas. His goal is to teach students everywhere how to beat the College Board at its own game and get the highest SAT score possible with a minimum of time invested. Another article on SAT prep perfect score 2400 high College Board Official Study Guide real practice questions, click here.

Author: John Tutor
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The National Center for Fair and Open Testing lists over 730 four-year colleges in the United States that no longer require the SAT I or ACT for admission. Thats right — over 730 colleges! Moreover, a rising number of colleges are beginning to place a bigger emphasis on grades and personal accomplishments over scores.

The belief that youll never get into a good college and youll never be successful in life if you dont master the SAT is a total myth. Ill give you a personal example: Both in our twenties, my husband and I are not SAT success stories. I scored a mere 1070 on the SAT in 1996 and never bothered to retake the test. I hate standardized tests and never do well on them. Yet I still went to an excellent college in Western New York on an academic scholarship and graduated at the top of my class. Today, Im an accomplished writer with national and regional credits. My 27-year-old husband never even took the SAT! He went to a two-year college for graphic design that didnt require the SATs. After he received his Associates degree, he transferred to a four-year college and earned his Bachelors degree with honors. Today, hes a successful print/web designer. We are not the exceptions to the rule.

Im certainly not telling you to waltz into the SAT exam room with an I-dont-give-a-s#@$ attitude, but keep things in perspective. Whether you ace the SATs, fail them big-time, retake them three times, or decide never to take them at all, you can be successful in life. I will repeat that: You CAN be successful in life with or without the SAT, or the ACT for that matter.

Questions to think about:

• What SAT score or ACT score do you consider good enough?
• Do you plan to retake the SAT or ACT if you dont get the score you hoped for?
• Do you believe that you can be successful in life regardless of your SAT score?

Maria Pascucci is the President of Campus Calm (http://www.campuscalm.com). She helps high school & college students achieve balance, reduce stress, increase self-confidence and gain perspective in our hectic, achievement obsessed world. Free reports for students, parents and educators available with subscription to Campus Calm Connections. Maria lives in Buffalo, New York with her graphic designer husband, Shaun, who shares the homepage of their personal writing/design website (http://www.creativetypeco.com). Contact her at maria@campuscalm.com.

Author: Maria Pascucci
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For those who don’t know what the SAT is, it is short for Scholastic Aptitude Test. It is given to young high school students who desire to get into a college after they have received their high school diploma.

The test itself is administered by the college board. This is a non profit organization that is dedicated to doing all it can to prepare students for the challenges they can expect to meet when attending a college. The college board itself was founded in 1900 and now has over 3,800 colleges and universities as part of its organization. The college board helps over 3 million students in over 22,000 high schools each year connect with over 3,500 colleges.

To take the SAT you have to register beforehand. You can either do this online or through your local high school by contacting your guidance councillor. After you have registered and paid your registration fee you are then contacted with the date, time and place where the test is being administered.

The SAT itself covers many aspects of knowledge including math, reading and writing skills. After the test is completed, the scores are calculated and are then made available to you to send to any colleges you wish to apply to for admission.

The verbal section of the SAT includes 19 analogy questions, 19 questions where sentences need to be completed with the appropriate word or phrase and 40 critical reading questions where a paragraph is presented and the student must answer questions pertaining to the material just read. This type of test requires that a student think quickly as there is no time to prepare for these questions.

The math portion of the SAT includes 35 multiple choice questions where the student has to choose one of four possible answers, 15 quantitative comparison questions and 10 open ended questions. These are questions where a scenario is given and the student must not only give the correct numerical answer to the question but also explain his answer. The math portion of the exam requires a student to know basic Algebra, Geometry and also have some logical reasoning skills.

To prepare for these exams, students have many options to choose from. The most commonly used are workshops where they take practice exams. These are usually held at schools or other public buildings. There is a fee for these workshops and some of them are rather expensive.

Another option a student has is to take the PSAT, which is the Pre Scholastic Aptitude Test. This gives the student a chance to take an actual exam that doesn’t count towards his SAT scores. This is a great way to get a feel for what the SAT will be like as the two are very similar.

Students who complete the SAT and score well are way ahead of the game as far as getting considered for the college of their choice. Many times a good SAT score can mean the difference between a student being accepted to college or not.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to College
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Author: Michael Russell
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SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California’s recent eligibility reforms are breeding distrust for the institution among Asian-Americans, several scholars and community leaders said Friday.

UC should rescind or delay the changes until Asian-American and Pacific Islander groups comment on them, several speakers said at an Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education conference in San Francisco’s Japantown. The UC Board of Regents adopted the changes last month; they are set to take effect in 2012.

Several groups have expressed concern that the new freshman standards will limit the number of Asian-American students attending the 10-campus system.

“How can we not be concerned?” said Patrick Hayashi, a retired UC Berkeley and systemwide leader. “The projections show our community will be decimated. We have to keep in mind that these numbers represent real people.”

The new criteria will eliminate a requirement for SAT single-subject tests, which university leaders have said are a barrier for underprivileged applicants. The reforms also guarantee admissions for fewer students but will allow more to have applications reviewed by admissions officers.

Lawmakers and others have said the university did not seek enough public input before last month’s decision, and many have criticized UC for not adequately explaining how they might affect Asian Americans. Legislators plan to hold a hearing on the issue Tuesday in Sacramento.

UC has estimated that the changes will lead to a smaller percentage of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the pool of eligible applicants. White students stand to benefit most.

The university believes the new system is fairer to disadvantaged students, said Nina Robinson, UC’s director of policy and external affairs for student affairs. The unhappiness of the Asian-American community is unfortunate, she said.

“It’s not a surprise that a community that has been so deeply engaged and supportive of UC would be concerned,” Robinson told the Bay Area News Group after the conference discussion. “The president would not have supported the policy had he not felt it was fair and created opportunity.”

Several panelists criticized the university for changing the fundamental structure of UC admissions without first speaking to the Legislature or other groups. The 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education outlined goals for California’s public college and university system, making the top one-eighth of high-school graduates eligible for UC.

“This is a departure from the Master Plan,” said Steve Boilard, higher-education director for the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. He said that the university’s constitutional independence should not allow it to make changes without a public mandate.

The independence “doesn’t mean you can do anything and say it’s the top one-eighth,” he said.

Some criticize this decision by the UC regents as a move to get around the voter-approved ban on using race as a factor in public college admissions.

He had used the Blue Book from the College Board to prepare for the SAT.  With so many SAT prep schools and classes, I felt almost obligated to send him to one of those classes or find him a tutor to help him prepare for the SAT and PSAT.  Not having enough financial resources, however, and feeling confident about my son’s self discipline to study on his own, I had him study the Blue Book.  So far, it seems to be working.  He still has many weaknesses that he needs to work on.  Both I and my son feel that preparing for the SAT is something that he can do alone at home.

What would you have done?  Or what are you doing to help your child prepare for SAT, PSAT or other standardized tests?

Some colleges require 2 or 3 SAT II subject tests.  I understand that these tests are something that high school students learn in their classes as well.

With the ACT, students have the option of not reporting the test results to colleges, but all SAT I scores are reported to colleges.  So, if your student takes SAT I insted of ACT, make sure that your student is prepared for the test.  I have not looked into preparing for ACT, so I can not say much about it.  Preparing for SAT requires a lot of hard work.  The most basic item you student needs to have is the “Blue Book” published by the College Board, The Official Guide.  Have your student go through all the questions in the book.  Have them study again all the questions that they miss or do not understand.  If your student has hard time going through the book on his/her own, you should consider helping him yourself or consider hiring a tutor.  That Blue Book is that important.

I send my children to a small christian school where AP classes are not offered and top few students from the school’s middle school transfer to a large public school when they start 9th grade.  My older son did not want to go to a large public school where he can easily become just a number.  So, he is staying with his small school, in a way deprived of some opportunities found in bigger schools.  To provide my son with the opportunities that he is missing out, I decided to home school him while he is still attending his high school.  What?  Let me explain.

I believe that parents should be in charge of their children’s education, not the school or the state.  Parents send their children to school to fulfill the requirements for graduation from high school, and parents send their children to different after school programs after school, taking music lessons, art lessons, sports or whatever, or send them to different summer programs.  That is not much different from what home schooling parents are doing.  Even if you send your children to regular schools, do not fool yourself thinking that you have given your children all the opportunities they deserve.

I live in a small town.  I send my children to a small school.  But I am taking charge of their education.  I select the best music teachers I can afford for them.  No AP classes at school?  I and my older son are going to prepare to take some AP tests after preparing at home.  It won’t be easy.  But I think it will make my son stand out more if he goes beyond what was available to him.  In a way, I am homeshooling my children.  All of us are homeschooling our children.  What do you think?