PSAT the Practice SAT

 College Education Ideas  No Responses »
Oct 132008
 

PSAT – Practice SAT

Next week my oldest daughter takes the PSAT/NMSQT which is a practice test, except they use the score to place kids on the list for the National Merit Scholarship Award.  This award is worth about $1,000 for one year. I found this and other things out about the getting into college process last night at her school.  The college guidance counselors had a meeting for parents to fill them in on the process and answer questions.

You can a free practice SAT – a PSAT if you like at Princeton Review online.

My kid goes to a college prep school, Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, MI, and they have a great “get into college” support team for the kids. I’ll share what I learn with you along the way in case your out of the loop on that process. Or in case you kid doesn’t tell you.

One piece of advice for the SAT and ACT test reporting is not to send them out automatically when the test results are processed.  Yes. You can save a few dollars and perhaps some time this way but if your kid wants to retake a test or perhaps doesn’t want to send a particular test score to a certain college then you are safe.  You can make the decision after you find out the scores.

Taking the practice tests will not improve your intelligence but it will help to figure out how much time to spend on each section; figure out how to skip a question and go back later without messing up the order of the answers, and see where you need to improve the test taking process in general.

I’ll share more as I find out. Hope this helps. Practice your SAT with a PSAT.

 


Princeton Review Offers Free Test Practice

 College Education Ideas  No Responses »
Oct 022008
 

Practice Your ACTs and SATs with the Princeton Review

princeton reviewIf your 11th grader is thinking about college, you need to know that the Princeton Review gives your kid the chance to take a free SAT or ACT college prep exam about 2 – 3 times per year. All you need to to is call their toll free number and set up the test date in a location near you.

There is also an option to get a test sent to your house to take at home. This might be OK if you have the discipline to time the test and provide a location with no distractions. However, it’s probably better practice to take the test at a location away from home to better mimic the actual testing environment.

Once you get your results back, you’ll be able to see where your study efforts are best spent. No sense studying for math if you got them all right.

I’ve also read that kids who over study or study too close to the test date do worse than kids who just take it in stride. So don’t overdo it or the results could backfire.

Princeton Review Offers Coaching

The Princeton Review also coaches kids in particular areas or they can take a course to prepare for either the SAT or the ACT. You can find local professionals and teachers at your school that can help coach your kids through the process.

It’s a good thing to try and do well on these tests since better scores may help your child get scholarships or get into their preferred college.

They also have an option to take online tests. Check them out at Princeton Review  http://PrincetonReview.com