McGraw hills SAT 2014 edition black, christopher anestis, mark

SAT Format Table: This handy chart shows the test structure at a glance: question types, time limits, and number of questions per section.. 3 Study What You Need to Learn with the Lesson

Welcome to

McGraw-Hill’s SAT

Congratulations! You’ve chosen the SAT guide from America’s leading educational publisher You

probably know us from many of the textbooks you used in school Now we’re ready to help you takethe next step — and get into the college or university of your choice

This book gives you everything you need to succeed on the test You’ll get in-depth instruction andreview of every topic tested, tips and strategies for every question type, and plenty of practice exams

to boost your test-taking confidence To get started, go to the following pages where you’ll find:

How to Use This Book: Step-by-step instructions to help you get the most out of your test-prep

program

Your SAT Action Plan: Learn how to make the best use of your preparation time.

SAT Format Table: This handy chart shows the test structure at a glance: question types, time

limits, and number of questions per section

The 50 Top Strategies for Test Day: Use this list to check your knowledge, or as a last-minute

refresher before the exam

The 9 Core SAT Essay Themes: Find out the most common SAT essay themes, based on the SATs

from the past 5 years

The 5 Top SAT Calculator Tips: Learn some smart ways that your calculator can help you.

Getting the Most from the Free Online Practice Tests and Problem-Solving Videos: Log on to

the companion website for more test-taking practice and to view videos demonstrating the use ofproblem-solving strategies to answer SAT questions

ABOUT McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION

This book has been created by McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment, and reference materials in both print and digital form McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65

languages With a broad range of products and services — from traditional textbooks to the latest in online and multimedia learning — we engage, stimulate, and empower students and professionals of all ages, helping them meet the increasing challenges of the 21st century

knowledge economy.

How to Use This Book

This book is designed for students who want an effective program for the most dramatic SAT scoreimprovements It is based on the College Hill Method™, the elite training system used by the tutors

of College Hill Coaching since 1990 It focuses on what works best in SAT prep: mindful training

in the reasoning skills at the core of the SAT, and not just test-taking tricks or mindless drills

This book provides all the material you need to score well on the SAT It will teach you theknowledge that is required for this difficult exam, including information about each type of question

on the test It also provides ample practice for you to refine the skills you are learning and then testyourself with full-length practice tests For best results as you work your way through the book andthe accompanying online tests, follow this four-step program:

1 Learn About the SAT

Don’t skip Chapter 1 In it you’ll meet the SAT and learn exactly what academic skills it tests.You’ll also find valuable test-taking strategies and information about how the test is scored

2 Take a Realistic Practice SAT

Take the SAT diagnostic test in Chapter 2 of this book Take the test strictly timed, in one sitting,and proctored if possible Then use the answer key to evaluate your results so you can learn yourstrengths and weaknesses Fill out the “College Hill SAT Study Plan” at the end of the test to

analyze the strategies, concepts, reasoning skills, and vocabulary that you need to learn

3 Study What You Need to Learn with the Lessons, Exercises, and Videos

If you miss a question on your practice SAT, read its answer explanation at the end of the test If itrefers to a lesson in chapters 4–15, make that lesson part of your weekly review

First read each Lesson carefully, underlining important ideas or writing notes in the margins.

Then move on to the Concept Review worksheet, which reinforces the key ideas in the lesson.

Try to answer these questions without peeking back at the lesson Circle any tough questions asyou go so that you can review them later Check your answers with the Answer Key

Then move on to the SAT Practice worksheet, which gives you questions as they might appear

on the SAT Work through these questions as if you were taking a real SAT

When you’re done, read all of the explanations in the Answer Key, even for questions that you

got right Why? Because very often, there are many ways to get a question right, and some may

be much more efficient than the one you used!

To learn more about how to use SAT problem-solving strategies, view the videos on the

companion website at MHPracticePlus.com

4 Repeat the Cycle Until You’ve Surpassed Your SAT Score Goal

Take the practice tests at the back of this book and on the companion website, trying each time tosimulate actual testing conditions After you take each test, fill out the College Hill SAT Study Plan

at the end of the test to help you analyze your results If you are still having problems, go back andreview the corresponding lessons in chapters 4–15

Your SAT Action Plan

To make the best use of your SAT preparation time, you’ll need a personalized action plan that’sbased on your needs and the time you have available This book has been designed for flexibility; youcan work through it from cover to cover or you can move around from one chapter to another in theorder you want based on your own priorities and needs However, before you jump in, maximize theeffectiveness of your preparation time by spending a few minutes to develop a realistic action plan.Use the tools provided in these pages to help you focus on the areas where you are weakest, plan yourstudy program, and gain the discipline you need to pace yourself and achieve your goals

The College Hill SAT Study Plan

Each time you take a practice SAT in this book, on the CD (if you have purchased the book-CD

version) or online, take a few minutes to fill out the College Hill Study Plan once you are finished Acopy of the plan is shown on page 4A Blank Plans appear at the end of each test; for the CD or onlinetests, make your own copy of the plan The Plan shows you your progress and provides an action planfor improving your score over the next week Here’s how to fill it in:

Scores

Write your raw and scaled scores in the box at the top, following the directions in the Score

Conversion Table at the end of each test These provide a record of your weekly progress

Questions About the Test

1 What were your test conditions? Did you take your practice SAT as you would take a real

SAT? Were you sitting at a desk and at a neutral site? Did you time yourself strictly? Did you takethe test all at one sitting? If your conditions were not realistic, make sure that they are more

realistic next time Also, note any conditions that may have affected your performance, like

“broken clock,” “noisy radiator,” “freezing room,” or “phone interruption.” Learning to deal withdistrac -tions and with the length and time limits of the SAT is very important to peak

minutes of yoga.”

3 Did you attack the questions you need to attack? The table on the upper right of the worksheet

shows you what percent of questions you should plan to attack, and what percent you should getright, in order to achieve particular score goals Set an aggressive but realistic score goal foryourself on each section: Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Then, after taking the test, noticehow close you came to the percentages you need on each section The “attack” percentage is thetotal number of questions you answered (right or wrong) divided by the total number of questions

on that section (There are 67 total Critical Reading questions, 54 total Math questions, and 49

total Writing questions.) The “get” percentage is the total number of raw score points you got on

each section divided by the total number of questions on that section For instance, if you’re

gunning for a 600 math score, you’ll have to get 67%, or about two-thirds, of the available points

on that section Of course, you should attack more than 67% of the questions to give yourself room

for error, but don’t answer too many questions so that you rush and make a lot of careless

mistakes A good compromise is to attack about 85% of the questions and leave the hardest 15%(about 3 of every 20) unanswered, hoping to get 67% of the available points

College Hill™ SAT Study Plan

Be sure to attack the easy questions first On every subsection except the Critical Reading

passages, the questions start easy and get harder If your plan involves skipping questions, make surethey are the hard ones at the end, not the easy ones at the beginning However, don’t get bogged down

on any question, even one that is supposed to be “easy.” Your job is to maximize your points, so if aquestion seems challenging at first, move on and come back to it later if you have time

4 Did you rush to complete any section? Although it’s always better to skip tough SAT questions

rather than get bogged down by them, it’s also never good to rush After you complete a practiceSAT, ask yourself: did I make any careless errors because I was rushing? Remember: because ofthe SAT’s wrong-answer penalty, skipping a question is better than getting it wrong!

5 How many more raw points do you need to make your score goal? Again, the table at the top

right of the worksheet provides your guide Just look up your score goal for each section and find

the corresponding raw score needed for that goal, and then subtract your actual raw score for

each section This tells you how many more questions you’ll need to pick up

6 Did you make educated guesses on any questions? While some students are very reluctant to

leave any question unanswered, others have the opposite feeling and think that they should neverguess on a question unless they are absolutely certain But this is a bad strategy too Educatedguessing usually helps your score; if you can eliminate just a couple of wrong answers, take yourbest guess When reviewing your test, look at the questions you guessed on, and notice whetheryou picked up points from them

7 Study Plan This is the real key to improving your SAT score Go to the answer explanations and

carefully read the explanations for the questions you missed Then notice the lesson(s) listed aftereach explanation, and list these lessons on this part of the Study Plan If you need to improve yourreading skills, include “Chapter 4, Critical Reading Skills.” If you need to work on sentence

completion strategies, include “Chapter 5, Sentence Completion Skills If the multiple-choicequestions on the Writing section are giving you trouble, include “Chapter 14, How to Attack SATWriting Questions.” If you are struggling with the essay, then include “Chapter 12, Writing a GreatEssay” or “Chapter 13, Essay Writing Practice.” Next, from the sentence completion explanations,list the vocabulary words that gave you trouble and make flashcards (using the method described

in Chapter 3) to study in the coming weeks

College Hill ™ SAT Weekly Study Schedule

Your Weekly SAT Study Schedule

Once you have a plan, it’s time to start studying Be diligent, but don’t overwhelm yourself Yourschoolwork should take priority over SAT prep — colleges care a lot about those grades, and forgood reason! But if you make a manageable plan to work for at least 30 minutes every weeknight onyour SAT review, you will see great results in just a matter of weeks

Page 6A shows a suggested Weekly SAT Study Schedule Most students find this schedule both

manageable and highly productive Of course, you will need to adapt it to your own schedule, butremember that it is more productive to do some work every day rather than a lot of work just one day

on each week’s post-test Study Plan

Notice also that the plan includes studying 30 new vocabulary words each week and reading the

op-ed page of a major national or international newspaper like The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, every day Good newspaper opinion pieces provide excellent all-around SAT

preparation: they immerse you in important contemporary issues and ideas, reinforce college-levelvocabulary, and serve as (usually) good examples of persuasive prose One of the best ways to

improve your persuasive essay-writing skills is to read lots of good op-ed pieces

How to Stick to Your Study Plan

Believe it or not, about 20 minutes of aerobic exercise is a great warm-up before you sit down to

do your homework Exercise doesn’t help just your muscles; it also helps your brain When yourbrain is well oxygenated, it works more efficiently, so you do your work better and faster If youdon’t already have an exercise routine, try to build up to a good 20- to 45-minute aerobic workout

— running, rowing, swimming, biking — every day Your routine will also help you enormously

on test day; exercising on the morning of the SAT will help you to relax, focus, and perform!

If you start to get nervous when you think about the SAT, try learning “focusing” exercises, likedeep breathing, meditation, or yoga Such exercises will also help enormously on test day

Prepare your space Many students waste a lot of study time because they don’t prepare their workspace properly Find a quiet, clean place where you can stay focused for a good stretch of time,away from the TV and troublesome siblings Sit in an upright chair at a table or desk with goodlighting Also, make sure that all the tools you will need are within easy reach: a dictionary, notecards, calculator, and pencils with erasers Turn off your cell phone and close the door!

Sit up straight when you work Don’t work on your bed, on the floor, or in a reclining chair Whenyour body tilts, your brain goes into “sleep mode” and has to work harder to focus

Whenever you feel fatigued from studying, take a 10-minute break Get a quick snack or listen to acouple of your favorite songs

SAT Format

The table below shows the format of a typical SAT The order of the 10 sections varies from test totest, except that Section 1 is always the Essay, the 25-minute sections always precede the 20-minutesections, and the 10-minute Writing section is always last.

About the “Experimental” Section: Every official SAT includes one 25-minute “experimental”

section, which is used to field-test questions for future SATs, and does not count toward your score.You will not know which section is experimental, however, because it will be inserted randomly intothe test and will have the same format as one of the other 25-minute sections; it could be a math,

critical reading, or writing section Each test in this book omits the experimental section, and so

contains 9 sections rather than 10

50 Top Strategies for Test Day

When it’s almost test day and you’ve read this book and taken the Practice Tests, make sure you

review this page and the pages that follow Here you’ll find 50 essential strategies that can definitelyhelp you earn more points on the SAT You’ll see longer explanations of some of these strategies,along with examples, in the review portions of this book The purpose of these pages is to provide ahandy, all-in-one, last-minute reminder of these valuable concepts Use this review to check your testreadiness and make sure you’re prepared to do your best — and get your best score

General Test-taking Strategies

1 Take control Not every student will ace the SAT, but any student can take charge of it Go into

the test with confidence and the game plan that you’ve determined from using this book

2 Lay everything out the night before Sleep easy the night before the SAT knowing that you’re

ready to go Lay out three #2 pencils with good erasers, your calculator with fresh batteries, your

admission ticket, your photo ID, and a snack

3 Have a good breakfast Your brain can’t work well without fuel.

4 Know where you’re going If you’re taking the SAT at an unfamiliar school, acquaint yourself

with it before test day Take a trip there in the days before the test

5 Dress properly Dress in light layers so you’ll be comfortable whether the testing room is

sweltering or frigid An uncomfortable body makes for a distracted brain

6 Get a good two nights’ sleep A rested brain is a smarter brain The nights before the SAT are

for sleeping, not for all-nighters Get a good eight hours each of the two nights before your SAT

7 Get some exercise Most teenagers are pretty foggy in the morning, so get a leg up on the

competition by waking your brain with exercise Twenty minutes of cardio will keep you alert

8 Bring a snack Your brain burns calories when it’s thinking hard Bring a granola bar, banana, or

energy bar to the SAT to refuel during the break

9 Know what to attack As you begin each section of your SAT, know how many questions to

attack For instance, if you’ve got a realistic shot at breaking 700, you should be attacking everyquestion But if your goal is 600, you can skip about 15% of the questions, and if it’s 500, you canskip the toughest 25% The “College Hill SAT Study Plan” at the end of each practice test in thisbook provides you with a solid guide for building your game plan

10 Take a “two-pass” approach If you’ve built a smart game plan and practiced with it, you

should have enough time to tackle all of your “must answer” questions, then take one more passthrough them, checking for common mistakes Once all of your “must answer” questions havebeen double-checked, you can approach the hardest questions carefully

11 Shut out distractions If you have a game plan and have practiced it, confidently shut out

everyone else during the test Don’t speed up just because the girl next to you is racing throughher test — ignore her She’s probably rushing because she’s nervous Stick to your game plan.Also, if you are easily distracted by noises around you like tapping pencils, sniffling testers, orclanking radiators, bring a pair of wax earplugs

12 Watch the clock — but not too much If you have taken enough practice SATs, you should go

into the test with confidence in your ability to pace yourself But for insurance, bring a silent

stop-watch (not one that beeps) Check it occasionally to make sure you’re on pace.

13 Work briskly, but not carelessly Don’t get bogged down on tough questions: if you get stuck on

a question, circle it on your test booklet (so you know where it is if you have time to come back

to it later) and move on (Make sure that you skip that space on your answer sheet as well!) Onthe other hand, rushing is never a good strategy Optimize your score by working briskly enough

to attack all of the questions you need to, but not so quickly that you make careless errors

14 Don’t worry about answer patterns Some SAT takers refuse to make certain patterns on their

answer sheet For instance, they won’t mark (C) — even if it’s clearly the best answer — if they

already have three (C)s in a row Bad idea Bottom line: always pick what you think is the best

answer, regardless of any answer patterns

The SAT Essay

15 Be ready for the essay On SAT day, you need to go in with a clear understanding of what SAT

essay readers are looking for: a clear and consistent thesis, specific and well-explained

examples, logical organization, and good language skills

16 Put aside 6 minutes to plan When the essay section starts, take 6 minutes to think carefully

about the question, consider your examples, develop an interesting thesis, and write a quick

outline You should still have plenty of time to write a solid essay, and it will flow much moreeasily

17 Get your examples before your thesis Don’t put the cart before the horse Don’t pick a thesis

until you’ve considered what the most interesting examples actually say about the question.

Remember to look at the question from all sides

18 Write at least 4 paragraphs According to The College Board, a good SAT essay “is well

organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas.”This means that you must use paragraphs effectively Think of your paragraphs as the “steppingstones” of your argument Two or three steps isn’t much of a journey, is it?

19 Have at least five “high-yield” sources ready Have at least five (but preferably about a

dozen) “high yield” examples from literature, history, and personal experience ready to discuss

in your essay Specific and relevant examples earn big points on your essay

20 Know the common essay themes The SAT essay questions tend to focus on nine basic themes,

which are listed on page 13A in this insert Although there is no guarantee that your essay

question will be on this list, there’s an excellent chance that it will Be ready to write on any ofthese questions, and think carefully about how to use your “high-yield” examples on each one

21 Focus like a laser on your thesis As you write your essay, never lose sight of your central

purpose: to articulate, support, and explain your thesis For each example you present, explainclearly how it supports your thesis

22 Write a real argument Every argument has more than one side Don’t just list reasons why your

thesis is correct Also remember to consider any viable counter-arguments to your thesis andexplain why they’re wrong

Sentence Completion Questions

23 Read the whole sentence first On sentence completion questions, read the whole sentence,

saying “blank” in place of the missing words, and try to understand the logical gist of the

sentence Don’t even look at the choices before you understand the whole sentence

24 Come up with your own word If you understand the sentence and its structure, you should be

able to generate your own word or phrase for each blank Write them down if it helps

25 Work by process of elimination Once you have your own word(s) in mind for the sentence, go

through the choices and eliminate those that don’t convey the same idea in the sentence

26 Focus on tone Pay attention to the tone of the words (positive, negative, or neutral) as you try to

complete the sentence, and eliminate those choices that give the wrong tone

27 Analyze for roots and prefixes If the words in the choices are tough, try to guess their

meanings based on their prefixes and roots Important word roots and prefixes are covered

Chapter 3

Critical Reading Questions

28 Don’t psych yourself out on the reading sections When you get to the critical reading portion

of the SAT, don’t say, “Oh no, more boring and obscure science passages.” Instead, take a

positive attitude and tell yourself that you’re going to learn something interesting

29 Focus on the 3 key questions The key to good reading comprehension is answering three key

questions discussed in Chapter 4: What is the purpose? What is the main idea? And what is theoverall structure of the passage?

30 Get your own answer first On the reading questions, don’t jump to the choices too quickly.

Instead, read each question carefully and think of your own answer first, then find the choice thatbest matches it This will help you avoid the “traps.”

31 Deal with your “space outs.” Many students “space out” on the reading because they get

overwhelmed or disoriented when reading about topics like paleontology or primitivism If ithappens to you, don’t panic and don’t rush Just continue from where you left off

32 Be selective on the reading questions Unlike the other SAT sections, the reading questions

don’t get progressively harder Instead, they follow the sequence of the passage: the first

questions focus on the beginning of the passage, and the last questions on the end If you get to atough reading question, skip it and move on; the next one might be easier

33 Don’t fall for the traps Always read critical reading questions very carefully Many choices

are “traps:” they make true statements about the passage, but they are not “correct” because they

do not answer the question asked You won’t fall for them if you get your own answer first

34 Know how to attack the “paired passages.” On the “paired” passages (Passage 1 vs Passage

2), it is generally best to read Passage 1 and then go right to the questions that pertain to Passage

1 before moving on to Passage 2 If you try to read the passages back-to-back, it may be harder torecall and distinguish the key information from the two passages Don’t let them run together

Math Questions

35 Mark up the test The best test takers do a lot of scratch work on the SAT, particularly on the

math section Write down what you know and show your steps Mark up diagrams, write

equations, and show your work so that you can check it when you come back later

36 Look for patterns and use them One important skill the SAT math section tests is “pattern

finding.” Always pay special attention to simple patterns or repetitions in a problem, becauseexploiting them is usually the key to the solution

37 Keep it simple If you’re doing lots of calculations to solve an SAT math problem, you’re

probably missing a key fact that simplifies the problem Always look for the easy way

38 Know the basic formulas Most of the formulas you will need for the SAT are given to you in

the “Reference Information” at the beginning of each math section Even so, get fluent in them soyou can easily recognize when to use them Also, there are several others that good test-takersneed to memorize, like the slope formula (Chapter 10, Lesson 4), the rate formula (Chapter 9,Lesson 4), and the average formula (Chapter 9, Lesson 2)

39 Check your work There are many ways to make careless mistakes on the SAT math Give

yourself time to go back and check over your arithmetic and algebra, and make sure everything’sokay

40 Consider different approaches If you’re stuck on a math question, try working backwards from

the choices, or plugging in numbers for the unknowns

41 Watch out for key words Pay special attention to words like integer, even, odd, and

consecutive when they show up, because students commonly overlook them And make sure you don’t confuse area with perimeter!

42 Don’t overuse your calculator Your calculator can be handy on the SAT, but the best

test-takers hardly use it at all If you’re doing a lot of calculator work for a problem, you’re probablymaking it too hard Keep it simple, and only use the calculator as a check

43 Re-read the question Before finalizing your answer, re-read the question to be sure you’ve

answered the right question If it asks for 5x, don’t give the value for x!

Writing Questions

44 Know the 15 key grammar rules Go into the SAT writing with a solid understanding of the 15

key grammar rules If you can’t explain parallelism, dangling participles, or pronoun case errors,make sure you study Chapter 15 carefully!

45 Trust your ear (at least at first) If you’ve read a lot of good prose in your life, you have

probably developed a good ear for standard English grammar On the easy and medium writingquestions, then, your ear will be your best guide: bad phrases will “sound” wrong On harderquestions (the last third of them), however, your skill in analyzing sentences will come into play

46 Know how to analyze the tricky sentences Chapters 14 and 15 provide tons of exercises to

help you to recognize the most relevant grammar mistakes, and to analyze sentences like a pro.Without these skills, you will struggle to figure out the toughest sentences on the writing sections

47 Don’t fear perfection On SAT writing questions, the “no error” choice should be correct

roughly 1/5 of the time over the long term, or roughly 3-4 questions out of the 18 “identifyingsentence errors” questions Bottom line: don’t shy away from “no error,” but choose it only aftercareful analysis

48 Make sure it’s a real mistake On “identifying sentence errors” questions, a word or phrase

isn’t necessarily wrong just because you might say it differently For instance, if the word since

is underlined, don’t choose it just because you prefer to say because— the words are

interchangeable Make sure that you know how to fix the mistake — and that it’s a real

grammatical or semantic mistake — before choosing it

49 On “improving paragraphs” questions, pay attention to “in context” questions You can

attack some “improving paragraphs” questions (those at the end of the 25-minute writing section)without having to read the passage in detail However, if the question uses the phrase “in

context,” or asks about paragraph transitions or cohesiveness, you must understand the logical flow of the passage to get it right For these questions, read the two previous sentences, and

understand the logical gist of the paragraph in question

50 Read it again to check Before choosing an answer on a writing question, always re-read the

entire sentence, including the correction, to make sure the sentence flows smoothly and logically

If the whole sentence doesn’t sound better, it’s wrong.

The 9 Core SAT Essay Themes

To ace the SAT essay, you have to know what to expect Although you can’t know exactly what

question you’ll be asked to write on, you can study those that have appeared on previous SATs Tomake it easier, we’ve categorized the nine most common SAT essay themes below, based on theSATs from the past 5 years We recommend prepping for the SAT essay by writing at least one 4- or5-paragraph essay, giving specific examples and clear explanations, for each of the sample questionsbelow

1 Independent Thinking vs Conformism

Should we learn for ourselves or learn from others? What is the value of creative thinking?

What and how can we learn from our failures? What is success, and how can we achieve it?

6 Learning from Different Perspectives

Are our biases harmful? Can we benefit from the perspectives of others?

7 Responsibility

What are our responsibilities to ourselves and to our society?

8 Evaluating Modern History

What do you think of the world today and how it’s changing?

9 Decision Making

How can we make sound decisions? What guides our decision-making process?

The 5 Top SAT Calculator Tips

1 Don’t Overuse the Calculator

Even though calculators are allowed on the SAT, don’t let them think for you The SAT is a reasoningtest, not a calculation test If you pick up your calculator more than three times per math section, youneed to wean yourself off of it and start working on your thinking skills!

Of course, smart calculator use is occasionally helpful, as the following examples show

2 Know How to MATH FRAC

Let’s say you’re solving an SAT math problem about probabilities and you get 34/85 as an answer,but the choices are

Did you mess up? No — you just have to simplify Here, a TI-83 or similar calculator with

might save you time Type “34/85” and enter, then press the MATH button and then Like magic, it will convert the fraction to lowest terms: 2/5 Sweet!

On “grid in” questions, it’s also a good idea to MATH any decimal answer you get tomake sure that it gives a fraction that can fit into the grid If not, you’ve probably done somethingwrong!

3 Know How to Get a Remainder

Consider this math question: The tables at a wedding reception are set up to accommodate 212

people There are 24 tables, some seating 8 people and the rest seating 9 people How many 9-seattables are there?

Without getting into the details, the answer is simply the remainder when 212 is divided by 24.You could do this by long division, but you can probably do it faster with a calculator:

So the answer is 20! Memorize this handy procedure to streamline “remainder” problems

4 Beware of “Killer Program” Gimmicks

Don’t believe your friends who tell you they have a killer “SAT-busting” calculator program Theydon’t These are usually gimmicks that waste time rather than save it Again, if you’re depending onyour calculator to do anything but check basic calculations, you’re thinking about the SAT in the

wrong way

5 Get Fresh Batteries

Even if you don’t use your calculator much, you won’t be happy if it dies halfway through the SAT.Put in a set of fresh batteries the night before!

Getting the Most from the Free Online Practice Tests and Videos

Visit MHPracticePlus.com/SAT for your free access to more SAT study materials You’ll find

additional complete SAT practice tests that you can take on your computer, with automatic timing andscoring You’ll also see videos in which SAT coaches demonstrate how to use the problem-solvingstrategies in this book to answer SAT questions And you’ll get a list of other SAT study resources

available from McGraw-Hill.

Accessing the Online Practice Tests and Videos

Visit MHPracticePlus.com/SAT for your free access to additional complete SAT practice tests andproblem-solving videos At the website, click on the words “SAT Center.”

Taking the Tests

On the Main Menu, when you move the cursor over “Practice Test 1” or “Practice Test 2,” you will see a list of the test sections Choose a section by moving the cursor over it, then click on the Start Section button (or, under Analytical Writing, on the name of the writing task) You have the option of

taking each section as a timed test or as an untimed test If you choose the timed test mode, a

countdown clock will appear at the upper right corner of the screen

You will then be shown the View Instructions screen for that test section It presents the

directions for each question type When you close the View Instructions screen, the first question

will appear

Answering Questions

To answer questions, click on the answer circle beside the letter of your choice At the bottom rightcorner of the screen you will see a note such as “2 of 20,” telling you how many questions are in thesection and which question you are answering After answering each question, click on one of the twoarrows at either side of that note to go to the next or previous question

At any time you may roll your cursor over the Question Status at the bottom left corner for the

screen to see the total number of questions in the section and which ones you have answered or notanswered

Menu Options

Roll your cursor over the Menu to see these choices:

Exit Program: Choose this option if you wish to exit the program entirely If you relaunch theprogram, you can complete the section that you exited or restart it from the beginning

Score and Exit Section: You may choose this option at any time You will get a new dialogue boxthat will tell how many questions in the section you answered correctly and allow you to review the

questions, your answers, the correct responses, and the explanations.

Save and Exit Section: This option takes you back to the Main Menu Your work will be saved,

and later you can complete or restart the section that you exited

View Instructions: Choose this option if you wish to see again the instructions for the questiontype(s) in the section in which you are currently working

Scoring the Practice Tests

After you answer the last question in a section, if you have not answered all of the preceding

questions, you will be prompted to roll your cursor over the Question Status button to see which

ones you have not answered You can then return to them and answer them if you wish Then return tothe final question in the section

You will then be asked if you wish to score and exit the section If you click “Score and Exit,” youwill see a new dialogue box that will tell you how many of the questions in the section you answeredcorrectly You will then be asked, “Would you like to review the section now?” If you click “yes,”the questions will appear one by one on the screen as shown at right

There will be an “X” next to every one of your answers and a “+” next to every correct answer.For each question, you will also see an inset panel with the explanation (“rationale”) for the correctanswer You may then navigate away or close the program

Viewing the Problem-Solving Videos

At the SAT Center on the companion website, you will see a selection of short videos In each one, anSAT coach demonstrates how to use one of the problem-solving strategies in this book to answer atypical SAT question Click on a video to begin

Each video begins by showing an SAT question chosen specifically to demonstrate a solving strategy You will hear the SAT coach explain the solution process step by step, and as youlisten, you will see each step appear on screen By the end of the video, you should be able to

problem-understand how to use the problem-solving strategy and how to apply it on your own to problems youencounter on the exam

Copyright © 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education LLC All rights reserved Except as permitted underthe United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed

in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior writtenpermission of the publisher

SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which does not endorsethis book

College Hill Coaching® is a registered trademark under the control of Christopher F Black

Visit the College Hill Coaching Web site at www.collegehillcoaching.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of those who have contributed to this enormousproject and have been committed to its success This project would not have been the same withoutthe help of so many of our close friends and relatives: Elizabeth Black, the world’s greatest teacher

of mathematics, for her many years of patience, wisdom, and gracious support; Sarah and Anna Blackfor their constant inspiration and marvelous good humor; Stephanie Anestis for her invaluable efforts

in reading and editing the text and for her incredible love and support; and Robert, Janice, Michael,and Matthew Anestis, who also gave their insight on the work in progress We would also like tothank Brigid Barry, Aulden Kaye, Peter Obourn, Kristoffer Shields, and the brilliant tutors of CollegeHill Coaching for their thoughtful and valuable assistance We appreciate the hard work of those atMcGraw-Hill who made this project work and the thoughtful help of our agent, Grace Freedson.Finally, we would like to thank all the students of College Hill Coaching who have contributed to thegrowth of these materials over the years; their insight and experiences have thoroughly inspired andinformed this book

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CHAPTER 1 Conquering the SAT with the College Hill™ Method

What Does the SAT Really Test?

The Eight Key Reasoning SkillsThe College Hill Coaching SAT Power Reading ListFAQs About the SAT

CHAPTER 2 Diagnostic SAT

A Complete Diagnostic SAT to Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses

CHAPTER 3 Building an Impressive Vocabulary

The College Hill Method for SAT Word PowerThe 2,000 Key SAT Words and 200 Key SAT Roots: Vocabulary Units 1–7

CHAPTER 4 Critical Reading Skills

Mapping What the SAT Critical Reading Is All AboutAnalyzing the Purpose and Central Idea

Finding Patterns in the Structure of the PassageSimplifying the Passage

Connecting the Questions to the PassageFinding Alternatives in Attacking the QuestionsThinking Logically About the Questions

Checking That You’ve Nailed the Answer

CHAPTER 5 Sentence Completion Skills

Verbal InferenceThe Four Logical RelationshipsStructural Keys

Simplifying the SentenceUsing Context IntelligentlyThe Toughest Sentences

CHAPTER 6 What the SAT Math Is Really Testing

Mapping ProblemsAnalyzing ProblemsFinding PatternsSimplifying ProblemsConnecting to KnowledgeFinding AlternativesThinking LogicallyChecking Your Work

CHAPTER 7 Essential Pre-Algebra Skills

Numbers and OperationsLaws of ArithmeticFractions

Ratios and ProportionsPercents

NegativesDivisibility

CHAPTER 8 Essential Algebra 1 Skills

Solving EquationsSystems

Working with ExponentialsWorking with Roots

FactoringInequalities, Absolute Values, and Plugging InWord Problems

CHAPTER 9 Special Math Problems

New Symbol or Term ProblemsMean/Median/Mode ProblemsNumerical Reasoning ProblemsRate Problems

Counting ProblemsProbability Problems

CHAPTER 10 Essential Geometry Skills

Lines and AnglesTriangles

The Pythagorean TheoremCoordinate GeometryAreas and PerimetersSimilar Figures

Volumes and 3-D GeometryCircles

CHAPTER 11 Essential Algebra 2 Skills

SequencesFunctionsTransformationsVariation

Data AnalysisNegative and Fractional Exponents

CHAPTER 12 Writing a Great Essay

Map the SAT Essay AssignmentAnalyze the Assignment CloselyBrainstorm Your Alternatives CreativelyConnect to Your Knowledge with “Source Summaries”Write a Strong and Creative Thesis

Organize Your ThoughtsWrite Logically

Write ClearlyWrite ConciselyWrite ForcefullyWrite Masterfully

Finish with a Bang

CHAPTER 13 Essay Writing Practice

20 Practice SAT Essay Assignments

CHAPTER 14 How to Attack SAT Writing Questions

Mapping: What Do the Writing Questions Want from You?Attacking “Improving Sentences” Questions

Attacking “Error ID” QuestionsAttacking “Improving Paragraphs” Questions

CHAPTER 15 Essential Grammar Skills

Subject-Verb DisagreementTrimming Sentences

ParallelismComparison ProblemsPronoun-Antecedent DisagreementPronoun Case

Dangling and Misplaced ParticiplesOther Misplaced Modifiers

Tricky TensesIdiom ErrorsDiction ErrorsOther Modifier ProblemsIrregular Verbs

The Subjunctive MoodCoordinating Ideas

CHAPTER 16 Practice Tests with Detailed Answer Keys

CHAPTER 1

CONQUERING THE SAT WITH THE COLLEGE HILL ™ METHOD

1 What Does the SAT Really Test?

2 The Eight Key Reasoning Skills

3 The College Hill Coaching SAT Power Reading List

4 FAQs About the SAT

1 WHAT DOES THE SAT REALLY TEST?

Contrary to popular opinion, the SAT does not merely test how well you can take a multiple-choice

test or write a formulaic essay Also, it is not designed to predict your college grades (because

grades are too subjective and unstandardized) But neither is it a test of overall intelligence nor of themajor subject material you’ve learned in high school Instead, it is designed to do what your schoolgrades rarely do directly: assess a very particular set of academic skills that are central to your

success as a college student These skills include thinking under pressure, writing cogently and

fluently, understanding complex prose, and tackling a wide range of quantitative problems Of course,there are many other skills that are important to college success: creativity, organization, social

intelligence, perseverance, and so on But those skills are almost impossible to assess with a

multiple-choice test So, college admissions officers look elsewhere in your application—your

essays, your recommendations, your extracurricular activities, and so on—to evaluate those qualities.But don’t take the SAT lightly or cynically: critical reading, writing, and math skills are central tosuccess in college and beyond

2 THE EIGHT KEY REASONING SKILLS

Students who ace the SAT are adept at eight core reasoning skills: mapping problems, analyzingproblems, finding patterns, simplifying problems, connecting to knowledge, considering alternatives,thinking logically, and checking their work If you practice tackling SAT problems with these skills inmind, you will find that you can break through even the toughest questions Let’s look at these skills alittle more closely

Mapping Problems

Mapping a problem is the first step to solving it Mapping means orienting yourself to the problem and representing its information It’s called mapping because it is like pulling out a map to start a

trip The map doesn’t tell you how to get to your destination (you still have to find the best route), but

it orients you to the problem by showing where you are and where you are going, and it representswhat you can use to get there

If you have the wrong map at the start, you’ll never solve the problem—on the SAT or anywhereelse Many students struggle on the SAT because they don’t realize what it is really testing For

instance, many students try to tackle SAT math questions with rote procedures or heavy calculationsrather than looking for the elegant, simple solutions that emerge from seeking patterns and analyzingproblems from different angles They forget to read the math problems carefully, so they miss

essential facts and restrictions that make the problems easier to solve Chapters 6–11 show you how

to find quick, simple, and elegant solutions to SAT math problems On the critical reading section,

students often don’t pick up essential information from the passages because they use testtaking tricksrather than solid, active reading skills Chapter 4 teaches you how to read actively so that you can

pick up the essential information and ace any questions that follow On the essay, many students think

they need to plug lots of big words, complicated language, and Shakespearean references into a

standard five-paragraph formula Surprisingly, this approach usually leads to mediocre essays To

practice the real skills that the SAT graders are looking for, read Chapters 12 and 13 On the writing

section, many students think that they have to apply dozens of obscure grammar “rules” like “never

start a sentence with but or because” or “never use verbs in the passive voice” or “never end a

sentence with a preposition.” In fact, none of these is a rule of standard English, so don’t waste yourtime looking for these “violations” on the SAT The SAT writing only tests your understanding ofabout 15 standard grammar rules, and they’re all discussed in detail in Chapter 15

Analyzing Problems

Once you understand the problem, you must look at its parts and think about how they fit together

This is called analysis To fix a watch, you have to analyze its parts and see how they work together.

To solve a tough SAT problem, you have to analyze the parts of a math problem, a sentence, a writing

prompt, or a reading passage Make sure to mark up the test booklet—draw on the diagrams,

underline the passages, cross out wrong answers, write out your equations, and so on

On math problems, analyzing means understanding how equations work, what unknowns represent,and how parts of geometric figures relate to one another Chapter 6, Lesson 2; Chapter 8, Lesson 7;and Chapter 9, Lesson 5 are particularly helpful for honing your analytical math skills On sentencecompletion questions, analyzing means understanding the parts of the sentences: the clauses, the

parallel elements, the modifying phrases, and so on, as discussed in Chapter 5 On the essay,

analyzing means examining the issue from different angles, carefully defining your terms, and creating

a cohesive outline, as discussed in Chapter 12 On the critical reading section, analyzing means

seeing how the paragraphs fit together into a coherent whole, as discussed in Chapter 4

Analysis even helps with your vocabulary You can tackle tough vocabulary questions much more

easily once you learn the common Latin and Greek roots Knowing the meanings of the parts of a new

word helps you to make a strong guess about its meaning Chapter 3 gives you nearly 200 of the mostcommon SAT roots and affixes, with lots of examples of how they are used

Finding Patterns in the Problem

After analyzing a problem, look for patterns—simple rules that relate the parts For instance, if a SATquestion gives you a sequence like 3, 8, 13, 18,…, you should recognize a simple pattern—add 5—that lets you keep track of the terms without memorizing every single term Similarly, formulas such

as distance = rate × time show important relationships between the parts of a problem: for instance,

as the rate increases for traveling a given distance, the time decreases Mathematical patterns arediscussed throughout the math chapters in this book, but especially in Chapter 6, Lesson 3; Chapter 7,Lessons 2 and 4; Chapter 10, Lesson 6; and Chapter 11, Lesson 1

Language patterns such as parallel structure help you to understand complex passages and to

write fluently This simple but ubiquitous language pattern is discussed in Chapter 4 (Lesson 3),

Chapter 5 (Lessons 3 and 5), Chapter 12 (Lessons 6 and 7), and Chapter 15 (Lesson 3) Also, good

readers and writers always pay attention to paragraph structure—how one paragraph links logically

with the next Solid paragraph structure is key to writing high-scoring SAT essays Chapter 12

(particularly Lessons 6, 7, and 12) gives you lots of practice in structuring a top-scoring essay

Simplifying the Problem

Another key to SAT success is simplifying tough math problems, tough essay assignments, and toughreading passages Your working memory holds only between five and nine pieces of information at atime If you can reduce the amount of information in a problem, you make it easier to solve If youever struggle to simplify tough SAT math problems, be sure to review Chapter 6, Lesson 4; Chapter

7, Lessons 1 and 2; Chapter 8, Lessons 2, 3, and 5; and Chapter 10, Lesson 5 Simplification is alsoenormously important to success on the SAT critical reading and writing sections Chapter 4 showsyou how to summarize complex essays so that they don’t overwhelm you Chapter 15, Lesson 2 showsyou how to simplify sentences so that you can analyze their “core structure” and catch common errors

Connecting to Knowledge

Even though the SAT mainly tests flexible reasoning skills, you still need to have plenty of memorizedfacts and procedures—word and root definitions, reading strategies, basic math formulas, and

grammar rules—at the tip of your brain

Don’t worry—you don’t need to memorize a ton of facts (in fact, every SAT math section givesyou most of the common formulas you’ll need), and this book will make it as easy as possible

Everything you need to memorize is right here: Chapter 3 provides an organized list of over 2,000high-frequency SAT words and nearly 200 key word roots; Chapter 4 will hammer home the three

“key questions” you must ask to understand any reading passage; Chapters 6–11 discuss all of themajor math facts and formulas you’ll need (and even a few that go beyond the “reference information”

on the test); and Chapter 15 discusses all of the grammar rules you’ll be expected to apply on theSAT

Considering Alternatives

On SAT math problems, students often perform the first procedure that pops into their heads—

distributing whenever they see parentheses, solving equations whenever they contain a variable, and

so on Big mistake The SAT math isn’t testing your memorization of rote skills as much as it is testing

your mental flexibility Every SAT question is unique, and many can be solved in several different

ways Good test-takers consider their alternatives before diving in

Some SAT math problems that look like algebra problems can be solved more simply with

numerical or geometric methods, and some that look like geometry problems can be solved moresimply with algebraic or numerical methods To find the simplest method, you have to consider youroptions Don’t assume that someone else’s favorite method is always the best one for you Chapter 6,Lesson 6 discusses multiple approaches to solving SAT math problems, as do Chapter 7, Lesson 1;Chapter 8, Lesson 6; and the many answer explanations for math worksheets throughout the book

Similarly, many students think there is just a “formula” for writing a good SAT essay with pre-setliterary examples, and so don’t take advantage of their own unique abilities or the differences from

question to question (As great a book as Huckleberry Finn is, it probably won’t work so well as the

basis of an essay about modern communication technology.) In fact, there are hundreds of differentways to approach any given essay question that will get you a perfect score Carefully consider yourown unique perspective and knowledge before deciding what point of view to take Chapter 12 walksyou through the writing process so that you can adapt any SAT essay assignment to your personalpoint of view

Thinking Logically

Logic is one of the most powerful reasoning tools you can use on the SAT: sentence completion

questions ask you to analyze the logical structure of sentences, critical reading questions often ask you

to make logical inferences or examine logical assumptions based on the claims made in a passage,

and SAT math questions often require you to figure out what must be true based on some given

assumptions All of these are exercises in logic

Chapter 6, Lesson 7 discusses three logical methods for solving tough SAT math problems;

Chapter 4, Lesson 7 teaches you to analyze critical reading questions logically; Chapter 5, Lessons 2and 3 help you to analyze the logical structure of sentences; and Chapter 12, Lesson 7 helps you tostrengthen your essay with logic

Checking Your Work

Everyone makes dumb mistakes now and then Good students, however, always check their work forerrors Don’t wait until you’re completely finished with a problem, and don’t merely repeat the samesteps to check (because you’ll probably just repeat the same mistake you made the first time) Instead,

as you solve an SAT math problem, ask: Am I getting closer to my goal? Is there a quicker way to

get to my goal? Do I need to find something else before I can get to my goal? Then, after you’ve found an answer, ask: Did I show my steps clearly? Are they correct? Does my solution make sense when I reread the problem? Is there another way I can look at the problem to check my answer?

On SAT math questions, estimate whenever you can to check your work If you can make an easyestimate of the answer, then you can eliminate choices that are way off base, as well as check yourwork when you do it “the long way.” This and other mathchecking strategies are discussed in Chapter

6, Lesson 8 On sentence completion questions, always reread the sentence one more time with youranswer “filled in,” and check that it works logically On the critical reading section, check that yourresponses make sense, given the overall purpose of the passage Chapter 4, Lesson 8 discusses someother checking strategies for critical reading On the writing questions, check that any error you find is

really one of the legitimate grammatical errors listed in Chapter 15, and not just something that

sounds a little strange

3 THE COLLEGE HILL COACHING SAT POWER READING LIST

Students who ace the SAT have one important thing in common: they read a lot Good reading habitsgive you an enormous advantage in life and on the SAT One of the best ways to prepare for the

critical reading section of the SAT is to dive into books like those below, which deal with the world

of ideas you will explore in a good liberal arts education: philosophy, the arts, history, biography,science, and the humanities Read books that challenge your thinking and introduce you to new ideas

Internet Resources

Set your homepage to one of the following, and save bookmarks of the others Some of these sites mayrequire a subscription, but most provide a good deal of their material free of charge

The New York Times: www.nytimes.com

Read the op-ed page every day, the Science Times on Tuesdays, and the Week in Review on

Sundays

The Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com

Read the features and the Atlantic Voices.

Slate Magazine: www.slate.com

Read the News & Politics section.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, G Garcia-Marquez

The Painted Bird, Jerzy Kozinsky

Candide, Voltaire

Macbeth, William Shakespeare

The Wall, John Hersey

Growing Up, Russell Baker

The Best American Short Stories of the Century, John Updike, editor

Baby, It’s Cold Inside, S J Perelman

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

The Color Purple, Alice Walker

The Life of Pi, Yann Martel

Metamorphosis (and other stories), Franz Kafka

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Night, Elie Wiesel

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

The Stranger, Albert Camus

Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin

Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner

Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Tom Jones, Henry Fielding

Arguments

Drift and Mastery, Walter Lippmann

The Best American Essays, Robert Atwan, editor

The Norton Reader, Linda H Peterson, John C Brereton, and Joan E Hartman, editors Walden, Henry David Thoreau

Lanterns and Lances, James Thurber

The Chomsky Reader, Noam Chomsky

The World Is Flat, Thomas L Friedman

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf

Up from Slavery, Booker T Washington

Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov

The American Language, H L Mencken

Selected Essays, 1917–1932, T.S Eliot

The Nature and Destiny of Man, Reinhold Niebuhr

Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin

Aspects of the Novel, E M Forster

Patriotic Gore, Edmund Wilson

Analyses

1776, David McCullough

A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking

QED, Richard Feynman

The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen J Gould

The Lives of a Cell, Lewis Thomas

The Republic, Plato

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud

The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker

A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn

Freakonomics, Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner

How the Mind Works, Steven Pinker

Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond

The Double Helix, James D Watson

The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith

The Ants, Bert Hoelldobler and Edward O Wilson

The Civil War, Shelby Foote

The Age of Jackson, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham

The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, John Maynard Keynes

4 FAQS ABOUT THE SAT

How Much Studying Should I Do for the SAT?

We expect our private SAT students to spend about 30 minutes every weeknight doing homework, aswell as 4 hours every Saturday morning taking a practice test, for 8 to 10 weeks This is a lot of

work, but it pays off very nicely, if it is done well Even if you only have a few hours per week toprepare, this book will help you to get the most out of it At the very least, try your best to set aside 30minutes at least four times per week to do the work in your weekly “SAT Study Plan,” and set aside3.5 hours on the weekend to take a practice SAT

What Is “Score Choice” and How Do I Use It?

Colleges that accept the SAT Score Choice option allow you to submit certain SAT and SAT SubjectTest scores while withholding others According to the College Board, this option is “designed toreduce student stress and improve the test-day experience.” But keep in mind: not every college

allows Score Choice Some will require you to release all or none of your SAT and SAT SubjectTest scores Check with the colleges to learn their policies on Score Choice Find out more aboutSAT Score Choice by visiting www.collegeboard.com

SAT Score Choice can help you to simplify your testing profile by submitting only the scores youlike For the SAT, you can choose which tests to submit, but not which individual subscores Forinstance, if you like the Math and Writing scores from your first SAT, but you like your Critical

Reading score from your second SAT, you may not submit just the Critical Reading score from thesecond test without also submitting the other subscores In that situation, it is likely best to just submitall of the scores from both tests, because most colleges simply take the top individual subscores fromall SATs you submit They call this “superscoring.” (For instance, if your first SAT scores are

570CR 430M 600W and your second SAT scores are 520CR 500M 560W, and you submit both sets

to a college, then that college will most likely give you credit for a 570CR 500M 600W SAT score.)

So what’s the point of Score Choice if most colleges will just maximize your SAT score for youanyway? Basically, it keeps students from freaking out too much about taking any particular SAT Ifyou bomb it, no one will have to know!

So here’s our advice:

1 Go to the websites of the colleges you like, and find out what their policies are on Score Choice

2 If your favorite colleges allow Score Choice, you can relax and remind yourself that you don’thave to ace any particular SAT

3 Even if they don’t, no worries—they probably “superscore” anyway

4 Plan to take the SAT at least twice, preferably in your junior year, well before any possible

college application deadlines, so that you can maximize your testing profile

5 Don’t—we repeat, don’t—release your scores until you’re satisfied with your overall score

report

What Do Colleges Do with My SAT Scores?

Your SAT scores show college admissions officers how ready you are to do college work They