SAT Tips & Tricks that ACTUALLY work (minimal studying) in 2024

Summary

This video offers practical advice for acing the SAT without expensive courses. The presenters, recent test-takers with high scores, emphasize the value of practice tests over generic tips. They share strategies like circling questions, guessing consistently, and avoiding distractions. Specific tips for sections like historical reading, science passages, and math problems are discussed, along with pre-test preparation and the importance of not being intimidated by mistakes on practice tests.

Takeaways

• 📚 **Actionable Advice**: The video promises to provide actionable advice for the SAT rather than generic tips or expensive courses.
• 💡 **Practice Tests**: Emphasizes the importance of practice tests, suggesting that they are more beneficial than commercial tutoring services.
• 📝 **Avoid Skipping Questions**: Advises against skipping questions, recommending to circle them and return later for educated guesses.
• 🔄 **Consistent Guessing Strategy**: Suggests guessing the same letter consistently for unanswered questions, rather than random guessing.
• 👀 **Avoid Distractions**: Stresses the importance of focusing on one's own test and not being affected by the actions of others in the testing room.
• 📖 **Read Thoroughly**: Encourages reading questions and passages carefully to avoid silly mistakes and to understand the context better.
• ✏️ **Check Your Work**: Recommends checking work immediately after answering a question to ensure accuracy and avoid second-guessing.
• 📈 **Study Triggers**: Suggests studying specific areas like trigonometric functions and mental math for the math section.
• 🎓 **Seniors' Experience**: Features insights from seniors who have recently taken the SAT, adding credibility to the advice given.
• 📘 **Historical Reading Strategy**: Provides a strategy for tackling historical reading passages by focusing on understanding sentence structures and context.
• 📊 **Science Passage Approach**: Offers a method for answering science-related questions by correlating the passage with the data and answer choices.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to provide actionable advice on how to ace the SAT without spending a lot of money on courses or studying for hundreds of hours.

Why do the speakers claim their advice is more trustworthy than others?

The speakers claim their advice is trustworthy because they are recent test-takers with high scores, and they are not selling a course, but rather providing practical tips.

What is the 'circling secret' mentioned in the video?

The 'circling secret' is a strategy where instead of skipping questions, one should put a placeholder answer and circle the question to return to later, ensuring no unanswered questions if time runs out.

Why is it recommended to bubble answers after answering several questions instead of immediately after each one?

Bubbling answers after several questions can save time and allows the brain to focus on the questions first, reducing the cognitive load and potential for errors.

What is the recommended guessing strategy for multiple-choice questions on the SAT?

The recommended strategy is to consistently guess the same letter (e.g., 'C') for all questions you haven't answered, as studies show this can result in a higher number of correct answers.

How can reading the question thoroughly help in avoiding silly mistakes on the SAT?

Reading the question thoroughly helps in understanding the context and wording better, reducing the chance of being misled by attractive but incorrect answers.

What is the significance of checking your work immediately after answering a question?

Checking your work immediately helps in catching and correcting any mistakes right away, ensuring accuracy and saving time from having to revisit the question later.

How can distractions impact SAT performance, and what can be done to minimize them?

Distractions can cause students to second-guess themselves and lose focus, impacting their score. Minimizing distractions involves staying focused on one's own test and not worrying about others.

What is the 'data pipeline' strategy mentioned for answering science questions on the SAT?

The 'data pipeline' strategy involves reading the passage thoroughly to remember content, looking for statements in the answer options that are present in the passage, and eliminating answers that don't match the context.

Why is it beneficial to read historical context passages during SAT preparation?

Reading historical context passages helps in understanding the language and structure of such texts, which can be challenging on the SAT, and prepares students to tackle these types of questions more effectively.

What are some specific strategies for the math sections of the SAT mentioned in the video?

Strategies include using a calculator for plug-and-chug methods, memorizing area and perimeter equations for geometry questions, and practicing mental math and rate over time word problems.

How can practicing the day before the test be beneficial, and what should be the focus?

Practicing the day before can keep concepts fresh in the mind, and the focus should be on areas like trigonometric functions, mental math, and geometric questions that are likely to appear on the test.

What is the advice for the order of tackling reading passages on the SAT?

The advice is to identify the type of passage that is easiest for the individual and start with that one to build confidence and ease nerves, as reading is the first section.

What is the perspective on making mistakes during practice tests mentioned in the video?

The perspective is that making mistakes during practice tests is good as it helps identify weaknesses, and students should not be disheartened by them but use them for improvement.