What about Summer?
Thinking about a blissful summer sojourn, not the summer SAT? Perhaps a six week program with Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, the Young Writer’s Camp at UCSD, playing some Park and Rec club soccer or tennis, jet setting around the globe, or just gaming with friends next door?
Perhaps, we should reconsider the summer plan, or at the very least, make some room in the schedule; the College Board is finally offering the golden ticket- an opportunity to tackle the SAT over the summer for the first time!
First, let’s put it on the calendar, August 26th, 2017! More importantly, let’s list why summer preparation is better than the alternative, cramming it into an already inundated and stressful school year.
5 Benefits of the Summer SAT and Test Prep
- Minimize Test Prep’s Competition, with..
- Sports and athletics
- AP courses and exams
- Rigorous academics
- Clubs and extracurricular activities
- Increase Preparation, Decrease Stress
- Schedule routine practice 3-4 times per week
- Meet with a qualified Test Prep instructor as needed
- Simulate the exam and take full practice tests
- Take some time out- meditate, hike or nap. It is summer after all!
- Focus on College Preparation as a Whole
- Target your “match” and “reach” college prospects
- Align your target exam score with your target universities
- Think scholarships: Higher SAT scores and GPA’s = more funding!
- Create or research college planning checklists, which include testing
- Use the SAT Essay as a College Writing Resource, because it requires
- reading comprehension and analysis
- citing evidence and providing relevant commentary
- effective grammar usage and word choice
- classic essay organization and structure
- quality revision and editing
- Time- There’s so much more of it!
- Drag your books to the beach or pack em’ in your suitcase
- Haul them out on work breaks or while riding the bus
- If you have no other homework, summer is the time to focus!
Spare just some of that precious summer time; chances are, it’ll be harder to master the SAT during the school year with one more high stakes ball to juggle, especially as an 11th grader. Avoid amplifying the school year’s nail biting pressure by attempting a summer test prep program. Whether it’s self-study, light weight tutoring or a comprehensive curriculum, you’ll likely be better off for it!