When should I begin studying for the SAT? How can I do well?

Question

I recently purchased a Kaplan SAT book to begin studying for the SAT. It's August (obviously) and I will be starting school on Sept. 2 (Junior), so how many months in advance should I start studying? The vocab section seems pretty hard to study for since there are many words in English. How can I do well on my SAT? I'm already scared/stressing out. I really want to be above average. What score is considered above average now that the score is 2400 instead of 1600? I've been super busy this whole summer taking Trig, and working so I didn't have time to start in the beginning of summer...what tips do you have? Is Kaplan a good study guide?

Answer 1

The average score for the country is always about 1500-1550. Dont worry about it. If you think you need to study, study. I didn't and did fine, 2020, but i dont normally study. Just study like you normally would. Just think about it like a normal test. If you don't like your score, retake it.

Id say taking it as soon as you can sign up for. Its the best way to find out what its like and what you'll need to study for next time. The hardest part for me was writing the essay. I only got 2.5 paragraphs written

Answer 2

Cracking the SAT is a good book for preparing for the SAT. It is a book  on how to take the test. Studying to improve your knowledge  is not that useful unless you have a lot of time, but you can improve your score by knowing when to guess, and how to best  allocate time to each question. That is improve your test taking skills instead of trying to learn more if you  only have a limited about of time to prepare.

All your scores are sent so if you take it for practice and feel you did not do well, you  have the option of canceling your results before you leave the test site, and no one will see your "bad" score.

Average scores  for 2007 College-Bound Seniors'  

    * Critical reading: 502

    * Mathematics: 515

    * Writing: 494

Answer 3

RELAX. Seriously, don't stress too much about it. I didn't study at all and I got a 2090. However, I've heard Kaplan is very good. I think they give you a list of the most common words on the vocab section if you're worried about that part. There are also SAT classes you can take to help you on the math and reading sections. I took a class for the writing one and it was pretty helpful. Good luck!