How do I study for the SATs?

ChopinsMuse

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Hi,

I'm not sure if this type of question is appropriate for this forum - since it's more personal than about my story, but seeing as there are quite a few Americans on this site, I thought I'd give it a shot. :)

I'm from Australia, going into Year 11. That would make me 16 years old, in junior year. I'm looking at the admissions for Yale, and they need 2 SAT test results.

1) I'm guessing I can choose between the Verbal, Writing and Math?
2) Side note: What is "ACT Composite"?

Regardless, I plan on taking the SATs but the problem comes in studying for it. Like,

3) Is it similar to the HSC (Higher School Certificate) in Australia?
4) Will going by how my school teaches the HSC suffice?
5) Or should I buy different textbooks separate to my HSC work?
6) What is the most appropriate and efficient time of month to take the test, seeing as though I'm enrolling to go there in 2019?

ETA: Just found out there's only one SAT that includes all three subjects. Which sucks, because I hate math, and I thought I got rid it off in the subject selection for my HSC. Oh, well.
 
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remister

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I did SATS eons ago so things probably have changed.

Personally, I don't see how the heck one could specifically study for SATS, unless you can memorise the dictionary for that bit on vocabulary.
 

MaeZe

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I did SATS eons ago so things probably have changed.

Personally, I don't see how the heck one could specifically study for SATS, unless you can memorise the dictionary for that bit on vocabulary.

It does help to learn a few tricks. I couldn't do those stupid questions "if Sam is sitting next to Betty and Betty is not next to ... in what order is each one sitting" until I learned how to diagram it.

To study for the SATs find some sample tests, there are many out there. Then make sure you can solve problems in the same categories.
 

Brightdreamer

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I never did SATS, but I've seen snerkloads of SAT/ACT prep books go through the library where I work. Do a Google search for some titles. (Note that I have no idea how "good" they are are preparing you for for the tests: I'm just saying the books exist, at least here in the States, and they get fairly heavy circulation, FWIW. So you might check your library for info, or if there's an online lending option or something...)

Good luck!
 

remister

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It does help to learn a few tricks. I couldn't do those stupid questions "if Sam is sitting next to Betty and Betty is not next to ... in what order is each one sitting" until I learned how to diagram it.

To study for the SATs find some sample tests, there are many out there. Then make sure you can solve problems in the same categories.

There are all kinds of study books for the SATs. The Princeton Review books are good, and usually include practice tests.

Why! Maybe that's why my SATS are so so! :ROFL:
 
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Haggis

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I never did SATS, but I've seen snerkloads of SAT/ACT prep books go through the library where I work. Do a Google search for some titles. (Note that I have no idea how "good" they are are preparing you for for the tests: I'm just saying the books exist, at least here in the States, and they get fairly heavy circulation, FWIW. So you might check your library for info, or if there's an online lending option or something...)

Good luck!
This.

i used them a hundred years ago when they were chissled into stone tablets. Can't hurt to try the libraries.
 

Loverofwords

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I took the SAT this last summer. I didn't study, but I agree with others that there are books you can study. Also, some of my friends took SAT prep classes where someone (a teacher, I think) would teach them valuable things to know for the test.
 

cornflake

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Hi,

I'm not sure if this type of question is appropriate for this forum - since it's more personal than about my story, but seeing as there are quite a few Americans on this site, I thought I'd give it a shot. :)

I'm from Australia, going into Year 11. That would make me 16 years old, in junior year. I'm looking at the admissions for Yale, and they need 2 SAT test results.

1) I'm guessing I can choose between the Verbal, Writing and Math?
2) Side note: What is "ACT Composite"?

Regardless, I plan on taking the SATs but the problem comes in studying for it. Like,

3) Is it similar to the HSC (Higher School Certificate) in Australia?
4) Will going by how my school teaches the HSC suffice?
5) Or should I buy different textbooks separate to my HSC work?
6) What is the most appropriate and efficient time of month to take the test, seeing as though I'm enrolling to go there in 2019?

ETA: Just found out there's only one SAT that includes all three subjects. Which sucks, because I hate math, and I thought I got rid it off in the subject selection for my HSC. Oh, well.

So there are two tests for college entrance in the U.S. -- the SAT I and the ACT. There are also SAT IIs, of which Yale requires two, if you take the SAT I.

The SAT I includes reading, grammar, math, and an essay (in which you dissect the way a presented argument [like they give you an article to read] was built). The ACT includes all that, plus a science section - the essay is a bit different, it wants you to present an analysis of three different positions on a topic and then make your own. The SAT is, I think, about 3.5 hours, the ACT more like 4ish.

The SAT IIs are subject tests - each takes one hour, you take them separately from the SAT I (like you can't take them the same day as you take the SAT I). There are tests in most languages (besides English, as it's covered on the I), two math tests ( I and II, the II is decently harder), Chemistry, Physics, Bio, U.S. History, World History, and English Literature. All the SAT IIs are just multiple choice, no essays.

I don't know from the HSC so I've no idea. The SAT and ACT math are pretty close, with questions like... ok, if this is the HSC, somewhat like this, but often with more written component. The grammar is stories that have questions throughout asking about the grammar, punctuation, word choice, etc. The reading is passages with questions. The ACT science has.. I think seven experiments laid out and a bunch of questions about each.

You can try practice SAT questions here.
 

cornflake

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Oh, also there's not a time of the month to take it -- they're offered on specific days only (in the U.S., and I'm pretty sure overseas as well), a few times a year.

You must take it on that day, in a test center that offers it, and you should likely register early to get into the closest one.

Most people take the test more than once -- you can take it as many times as you wish, but some schools, possibly including Yale, require you to submit ALL scores, not just your best one, so be judicious.

As well, I'm not sure how much research you've done, but Yale is incredibly competitive, and you'll need stellar SAT scores to be considered (along with everything else). Everything should be over 700, at least (and at least 750 is much safer), to be in the ballpark.
 

GeorgeK

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This.

i used them a hundred years ago when they were chissled into stone tablets. Can't hurt to try the libraries.
You had stone tablets and had chisles? Real honest chisels?! Why if I only had it so good! We had to hike down to the river and fight off alligators to collect the river mud and then slog it back up the hill avoiding the smilodons then work it into clay, inscribe it using boar tusks and bake it in mammoth bone fires making tablets. It was stoneware, not actual stone. Chisels...sheesh! See my avatar? I slew the beast
:)
But yeah to the OP there are prep courses for virtually any standardized test out there.
 
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blacbird

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I teach university classes currently, and also did so back in the late 1970s as a teaching assistant. In both histories, I was heavily involved in administering standard multiple-choice exams. One of the major things I have learned is that doing well on standardized exams is a skill, and one that can be learned and improved. It is by no means a direct reflection of intelligence. I've seen many very smart people have a hell of a time with such tests, because they haven't developed the necessary thought discipline to handle them. You need to be very careful about reading the questions and answers, and be good at eliminating answers that are clearly incorrect. Panic and hurry are your enemies.

Now, all that said, you obviously also need to know the subject matter well. But my point is that I have seen people who probably did know the subject matter well, but couldn't reflect that on their examinations.

caw
 

ChopinsMuse

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Oh, also there's not a time of the month to take it -- they're offered on specific days only (in the U.S., and I'm pretty sure overseas as well), a few times a year.

You must take it on that day, in a test center that offers it, and you should likely register early to get into the closest one.

Most people take the test more than once -- you can take it as many times as you wish, but some schools, possibly including Yale, require you to submit ALL scores, not just your best one, so be judicious.

As well, I'm not sure how much research you've done, but Yale is incredibly competitive, and you'll need stellar SAT scores to be considered (along with everything else). Everything should be over 700, at least (and at least 750 is much safer), to be in the ballpark.

I understand Yale's competitive, but I have a list of other colleges that I'm quite interested in, too.

This question might be out of some folk's limits - But if I get a law degree in the States, and hypothetically want to return to Australia to practice law, will I be able to with the degree earned internationally?
 

ChopinsMuse

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As an international student, you should be aware that generally speaking, a J.D. from a US law school will not prepare you to practice law in your home country, as US law schools teach the common law based on the British system.

This is from http://www.internationalstudent.com/study-law/

I'm pretty sure Australia and British are similar, if not outright tied in their laws and practices. So would that be a "yes" to my question?
 

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I understand Yale's competitive, but I have a list of other colleges that I'm quite interested in, too.

This question might be out of some folk's limits - But if I get a law degree in the States, and hypothetically want to return to Australia to practice law, will I be able to with the degree earned internationally?

You'll have to undertake additional training.
 

mccardey

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This is from http://www.internationalstudent.com/study-law/ As an international student, you should be aware that generally speaking, a J.D. from a US law school will not prepare you to practice law in your home country, as US law schools teach the common law based on the British system.

I'm pretty sure Australia and British are similar, if not outright tied in their laws and practices. So would that be a "yes" to my question?

If your question is
if I get a law degree in the States, and hypothetically want to return to Australia to practice law, will I be able to with the degree earned internationally?
that would seem to be more of a not necessarily. Because based on =/= same as. But let's not decide your future based on the prognostications of a writers' bulletin board. Call your University Law School and ask them to give you the info.
 
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Cath

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This question might be out of some folk's limits - But if I get a law degree in the States, and hypothetically want to return to Australia to practice law, will I be able to with the degree earned internationally?
The answer to this question affects the rest of your life. I strongly suggest that you don't rely on a writer's forum to answer it for you.

Find a professional organization responsible for law and lawyers and Australia and ask them.
 

mccardey

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The answer to this question affects the rest of your life. I strongly suggest that you don't rely on a writer's forum to answer it for you.

Find a professional organization responsible for law and lawyers and Australia and ask them.

+1
 

be frank

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This question might be out of some folk's limits - But if I get a law degree in the States, and hypothetically want to return to Australia to practice law, will I be able to with the degree earned internationally?

Someone in my family's just been through this. His problem is having gained his law degree in the US, and even if he does all the necessary extra study/examinations in Australia, he has no contacts here. Given how many thousands of students study law in Australia (far more kids do law degrees than there are legal jobs available. FTR, just about every person I know has a law degree), it's hard enough to get employment if you've studied here/done intern work/done articles here, let alone if you've been overseas the whole time. And those articles placements are nigh on impossible to gain nowadays.

FWIW, this guy is now resigned to moving back to the USA if he wants to work in law.

IBut let's not decide your future based on the prognostications of a writers' bulletin board.

The answer to this question affects the rest of your life. I strongly suggest that you don't rely on a writer's forum to answer it for you.

Also, ^^ this.
 
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mccardey

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( just about every person I know has a law degree), it's hard enough to get employment if you've studied here/done intern work/done articles here, let alone if you've been overseas the whole time.
This is the thing. My son did law, and all of his friends did law and I'm not sure my son-in-law doesn't have a degree in law. Most of them are comedians, and most of them - the comedians - work for the ABC. Which won't be around for very much longer.

A law degree is not what it was when your dad was a pup - unless your dad has gilt-edged connections to Allens or Claytons et al.
 

Helix

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If you haven't already considered this, maybe have a look at law as a p'grad degree in Australia. That means you're free to pursue a different (or broader) first degree, which will give you different opportunities, while you think about law as a career.
 

Marissa D

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If you're definitely wanting to do your undergraduate studies in the US, you wouldn't be studying law yet anyway--that comes in a graduate degree after you've gotten a B.A. or B.S. If there's a branch of law that you're especially interested in, you can tailor your undergraduate studies toward that. I have friends who got engineering degrees then went on to law school to study patent law, for example.
 

ChopinsMuse

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If you haven't already considered this, maybe have a look at law as a p'grad degree in Australia. That means you're free to pursue a different (or broader) first degree, which will give you different opportunities, while you think about law as a career.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking of doing. I'll just study from here on and see how it goes.