Help with SAT and PSAT?

Question

Im going into 9th and im starting to worry about this stuff...my parents were born in india and are no help cuz they have less clue then i do on how this stuff works?! I have figured out a lot by looking at other ppl who asked questions but i still have some...

1) What are the best books to study for the SAT I ...if i want to be a neurologist which SAT II should i really take?

2) IF anyone has taken SAT prep courses at Kaplan or the such do u think it helped any? is it worth it?

3) Are there any free sites i can practice on?

4) If i take the PSAT in 9th grade and completely suck, then will colleges ignore me? is it better to not take it...or is it truly only practice and helps out on the REAL PSAT?

5) Anything else that u think is important to know?

plz help me out..i really have no1 to ask and well..i havent met my Counsler for highskool yet but if the middle skool ones were anything to go by they wont help, to racist...

Answer 1

1.) You can go to  a bookstore or library and you'll find tons of books to help you with your SATs

If you want to be a neurologist you should take the Biology test but also keep in mind that these scores are to help you get into college and they won't really help you to become a neurologist or get into med school

2.) I haven't taken it but i have taken the SATs and it probably would help to take a class for it but you can also study independently.

3.) collegeboard.com offers free practice tests and tips. If you google "SAT pratice" you'll also find alot of websites that can help

4.)PSATs don't count. AT ALL. Colleges don't bother looking at those scores. It's only practice. It gives you and insight on what the real thing will look like. I took it twice before taking the SATs and it didn't help much. Oh and if you take it and you do well on it (you have to get almost a perfect score) you'll be able to get a scholarship for college.

5.) STUDY! Make sure you learn a new vocab word (from a list of most commonly used words on the SATs) at least 3 times a week (it'll really help). And time yourself when your taking the practice tests.

Good luck

Answer 2

take it easy you're only in the 9th grade. Start reading books to improve your vocabulary. And if you go to a local book store like Barnes and Noble they probably have SAT Vocabulary books. Kaplan classes are good but you should take them right before you take the test or else you'll forget everything.

Answer 3

1. The best books to study with are the TutorFox SAT guide, Princeton Review Guide, and Kaplan

2. Sat prep courses cost a lot of money, and I don't think they are good.

3. Free sites are usually useless, just get a guide from #1.

4. Colleges do not see the PSAT scores.

5. not much.

Answer 4

1) I think Barron's has some really good SAT prep books.  Although their practice questions can be more difficult than the actual questions on the test, it only helps to make you more prepared!  Also, Barron's has clear explanations and answer keys.

If you want to be a neurologist, you should definitely think about taking the SAT II Math Level 2 test and maybe some science SAT II (like biology or chemistry) since neurology is in the science field.

2)  I've never taken any SAT prep courses from Kaplan, but I have bought their SAT prep books, and I don't think I would take classes with Kaplan.  Kaplan only goes over the really basic concepts in the subject and the book that I bought had some wrong answers in the answer key.

3)  If you want to practice some real SAT questions, you can go to the College Board website and sign up to get the free SAT practice questions.  They come in your e-mail everyday after that.  The College Board also sells books with official questions from past SAT tests.

4)  The PSAT really doesn't affect college's opinions of you.  The PSAT is just to help you see how well you are doing and give you pointers on what to improve on before you take the actual SAT.  However, doing well on the PSAT qualifies you for the National Merit Scholarship I think.  Colleges really like that, so sometimes they'll give National Merit Scholars scholarships and stuff like that.

5)  I agree with the person who posted ahead of me too.  Definitely improve your vocabulary: it helps enormously in the critical reading section.

Good luck on your SATs!