7 SATs Later, Sharing What I Learned

Updating the Resource Page daily. Attempting to share everything I learned, post-7 SATs.  (I feel like I need a tag line: "I made mistakes so you don't have to,"....or "Do as I say, not as I did,"...or something like that.)

1. OFFICIAL College Board Solutions to the Blue Book. Incidentally, I didn't always find these to be the most helpful.
2. Additional Blue Book Solutions: The Khan Academy, PWNtheSAT Blue Book Solutions, The Blue Book Blog.
3. Have an SAT Question?  Thorough, FREE, and prompt responses from a 2400 scoring tutor.
4. Think your SAT was scored incorrectly?  Here are instructions for Score Verification.   NOTE: See Comment from Akil Bello, Bell Curves. i.e. Score Verification = Not Worth It.
5. There are mistakes in the early printings of the 1st & 2nd editions of the College Board Blue Book.  Here is the Errata Sheet with correct answers. The new edition should be mistake free, as it says: "Updated!"
6. Blue Book Database by Question Type (all 3 sections): PowerScore SAT Prep has a ton of great resources on their website....for free, including this database of all 3 sections of the Blue Book, categorized by question type.
7. Prepping on a Budget: Here is a surefire SAT Prep plan for under $250. You must be methodical with this recipe.  Veer at your own risk.
8. Calculator Advice: I spent a month trying to learn the Ti-89 (it does algebra, if you can figure it out, which I couldn't).  Ultimately, I used the Ti-84 and became very comfortable with all the buttons I needed (e.g. Graphing, Math/Frac, etc.).  That said, an expensive calculator is not necessary and the SAT is "calculator optional."  Read this blog post from Bell Curves that says everything you need to know about calculators and the SAT.

 

If you found these SAT resources helpful, check back in on the Resource Page every once in a while.  I'm attempting to update it daily as I go through my SAT notes over the course of last year.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, Two Highly Recommended, FREE SAT Test Prep Opportunities:

1)  SAT Info Video Chat:

Philip Keller, veteran SAT tutor, and author of The New Math SAT Game Plan, will be discussing  "Going it Alone: Math SAT Prep Without a Tutor or Course" on February 9, 2012 at 3 pm via video chat.

I discovered Keller from "the smart people" (on such matters as math and education).  Added bonus: by registering, you become eligible for $1000 scholarship.

 

2) Awesome SAT Math Book:

To win a free copy of the PWN the SAT Math Guide, follow this link for details.

Incidentally, this book is very highly regarded by 16 year old son, who fortunately, is MUCH better at SAT Math than his mother turned out to be.  One of my favorite aspects of this project was having my son explain the math to me.

 

 

 

Attempting to share everything I learned about the SAT last year (7 SATs in 10 months). Check out the SAT Resources and SAT Tips pages for frequent updates.

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis