How to crush the SAT (from 1580 scorer)
Summary
TLDRIn this video transcript, Vivien, a Stanford computer science graduate and founder of acle AI, shares her SAT preparation experience and strategies. She scored a 1580 on the SAT and offers tips to help students excel in the test. Vivien emphasizes starting early, focusing on reading and writing skills through higher-level reading, and understanding the test's tricks. She also discusses the importance of practice, using a Desmos calculator, and number sense for the math section. Vivien advises taking mock exams under realistic conditions and planning to take the SAT multiple times to reduce stress and improve scores.
Takeaways
- 📚 Start Early: Vivien suggests starting SAT preparation early to reduce stress and build up skills gradually.
- 🎓 College Focus: The founder of acle AI emphasizes the SAT's importance for college admissions, especially for selective colleges.
- 📈 Improve Gradually: Engaging in regular reading and writing activities can naturally enhance SAT scores.
- 🕵️♀️ Understand the Game: The SAT is designed to trick test-takers; knowing how to navigate the questions is crucial.
- 👀 Focus on Key Information: In lengthy questions, only a few words matter; learning to identify them can improve accuracy.
- 📉 Skip and Return: If a question seems difficult, skip it and return after answering easier ones.
- 📚 Read at a Higher Level: To excel in the reading and writing section, read complex texts over an extended period.
- 🧮 Math Hacks: Use tools like Desmos calculators and develop number sense to tackle math sections effectively.
- 📈 Plan Ahead: Most students benefit from taking the SAT multiple times to improve their scores.
- ⏱️ Practice Under Pressure: Simulate test conditions during mock exams, including timing, to prepare for the real test.
- 🏋️♀️ Train Hard: Practicing mock exams in half the official time can make the actual test feel easier and less stressful.
Q & A
What is the speaker's name and what did she study in college?
-The speaker's name is Vivien, and she studied computer science in college.
What was Vivien's SAT score when she took the test?
-Vivien scored a 1580 on the SAT, which was out of 2400 at the time. When calculated using the new scoring system, her score remained a 1580.
What is the name of the AI tool Vivien founded?
-Vivien founded an AI tool called Acel AI, which helps high school students prepare for college.
Why does Vivien believe it's important to start thinking about the SAT early?
-Vivien believes that starting to think about the SAT early reduces stress and allows for a more gradual and less intense preparation process.
What was Vivien's approach to studying for the SAT during high school?
-Vivien started studying for the SAT as a sophomore in high school with the help of a private college counselor. She took one math and one reading and writing section per week for about a year.
How did Vivien's reading habits contribute to her SAT preparation?
-Vivien's love for reading, especially through honors English classes, helped her improve her vocabulary and understanding of grammar and sentence structures, which in turn helped her do better on the SAT.
What is one strategy Vivien suggests for dealing with long, complex questions on the SAT?
-Vivien recommends reading through the question, identifying the key words, and eliminating extraneous information to focus on what's important for answering the question correctly.
Why is it difficult to cram for the reading and writing section of the SAT, according to Vivien?
-Vivien explains that cramming is ineffective for the reading and writing section because it requires a long-term improvement in reading comprehension and vocabulary, which can't be achieved quickly.
What tips does Vivien give for the math section of the SAT?
-Vivien suggests practicing with a Desmos calculator to get comfortable with reverse-solving multiple-choice questions and developing number sense to quickly eliminate incorrect answer choices.
How does Vivien recommend students approach taking the SAT multiple times?
-Vivien advises taking the SAT more than once to familiarize oneself with the testing environment and to have the opportunity to combine the best scores from different attempts.
What practice strategy does Vivien suggest to simulate test day conditions?
-Vivien recommends taking mock exams in a quiet environment, simulating the entire test experience, and paying close attention to timing to ensure all questions are answered.
How does Vivien view the SAT in terms of future life preparation?
-Vivien sees the SAT as a way to set oneself up for future success, not only by potentially getting into more selective colleges but also by developing skills like time management and self-discipline that are valuable in later life.
Outlines
📚 SAT Preparation Insights
Vivien, a Stanford computer science graduate and founder of acle AI, shares her personal experience and tips for acing the SAT. She emphasizes the importance of early preparation and regular study to reduce stress. Vivien suggests that students should focus on reading and writing skills through engaging in honors English classes or reading high-level materials like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. She also advises on test-taking strategies, such as ignoring extraneous information in questions and skipping difficult questions to return to later. Vivien's score of 1580 on the old SAT scale (equivalent to the same on the new scale) highlights her credibility.
🧠 Mastering the SAT Math Section
In this paragraph, Vivien discusses strategies for the math section of the SAT. She recommends practicing with a Desmos calculator to familiarize oneself with the tools provided during the test. Vivien also suggests developing 'number sense' to quickly estimate and eliminate implausible answer choices. She encourages students to take advantage of the lack of penalty for guessing, as it can significantly increase the chances of answering correctly. Additionally, she advises planning and taking the SAT multiple times to become more comfortable with the test environment and timing.
🚀 Setting Yourself Up for Future Success
Vivien wraps up the video script by encouraging students to view the SAT as a stepping stone for future success, not just for college admissions but also for life skills. She stresses the importance of self-discipline and time management, which are crucial for both the SAT and future endeavors. Vivien suggests practicing mock exams under time constraints that are more stringent than the actual test to build confidence and ensure that the real test day feels manageable. She invites viewers to ask further questions and express interest in other topics they'd like her to cover.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡SAT
💡Stress
💡Vivien
💡Acle AI
💡Test Prep
💡Reading and Writing
💡Math Section
💡Mock Exams
💡Selective Colleges
💡Planning Ahead
💡Desmos Calculator
Highlights
The SAT doesn't have to be a stressful experience.
Vivien, a Stanford computer science graduate, scored 1580 on the SAT.
She founded an AI tool, acle AI, to help high schoolers prepare for college.
Students should start thinking about the SAT earlier to reduce stress.
Private college counseling can be beneficial, especially in competitive schools.
Starting SAT preparation in sophomore year can be effective.
Reading and writing skills can be improved through honors English classes.
The SAT is designed to trick test-takers, so understanding question structure is key.
Skipping questions and coming back to them can be a good strategy.
Reading at a higher level for an extended period improves SAT performance.
Practicing with a Desmos calculator can help with the math section.
Developing number sense can improve SAT math scores.
Planning ahead and taking the SAT multiple times can lead to better scores.
Mock exams should be taken in a testing environment to simulate the real test.
Practicing mock exams in half the official time can improve test day performance.
The SAT can be seen as a way to set up for future success.
The skills learned for the SAT can be beneficial in later life.
Transcripts
okay here's the honest truth about the SAT I know that it's something that a lot of people
are really stressed about but you don't need to make it a stressful experience so I'm going to go
over a little bit about my experience studying for the SAT some tips that I have for students
who really want to crush the SAT and also how to make it a little bit less stressful so my name
is Vivien I went to Stanford and studied computer science and I got a 1580 on the sat back then it
was out of 2400 but when I calculated my new score using the new test I got a 1580 and I'm also the
founder of acle AI which is an AI tool that helps high schoolers get ready for college right now
we're focused specifically on test prep and so I do work at a SAT prep company I will disclose
that and so you can take this video with a grain of salt but I really just want to help students
understand why the SAT is important and also how they can do better on tests like the SAT some of
these tips are going to sound a little bit intense because I'm really focused on helping you get the
best score that you can for people who are looking to go to a little bit less selective colleges you
can also just spend your time studying Reading Writing doing all of these things that you enjoy
doing and that's actually going to help you do better on the SAT so my main thing is that
I think students should start thinking about the SAT earlier because then it's a lot less stressful
to prep for it beforehand if you are looking for A600 you will have to be pretty intense because
the SAT is a bit of a game and you just have to understand how the game works in order to get that
perfect score okay here's my story about studying for the SAT so I actually got a private college
counselor when I was a freshman in high school which is a super privileged thing that I was
able to do um I grew up in a really competitive High School uh in paloalto and I went to a public
school which again public schools in my town were really great but they had you know we had
about 300 graduating seniors every year and one college counselor for all of them so they really
couldn't get to know you that well and frankly a lot of the times they were helping out students
who were at the average or below average and helping them sort of graduate from high school
and maybe not as focused on the kids who are looking to get into really selective colleges
and I actually started studying for the sat with that counselor when I was about a sophomore in
high school um I actually know other people who took the SAT when they were in middle school or
freshman because they wanted to go into really selective summer programs I was not one of those
students but I started studying for the SAT when I as a sophomore because the philosophy that we
had was that the earlier that we started we could do a little bit each week and then sort of build
up from there and so I took uh one math and one reading and writing section per week for about a
year and then by that point my average score when I took a mock test was you know in that 90th 95th
percentile and so I was feeling really good going into the test and I didn't have to cram as much
and during that time one of the most important things that I did was that I actually just loved
reading and especially if you're already taking uh you know honors English classes or things like
that that can really help improve your reading and writing score because you start to learn a
lot of vocabulary you start to see these grammar sentences and the ways that things are constructed
and that can really help you do better on that sat intuitively so you don't have to memorize
a bunch of things okay so here's one honest truth about the SAT which is that it's really built to
trick you it's not always about knowing all of the material but sort of more how the questions
are asked and a common thing that I see is that a question is maybe three or four sentences long but
really there's only a few words in that sentence that actually matter for you to get the question
right and so what I always recommend is that if you're getting stressed during the test just read
through the question and if something doesn't strike you right away you can just skip to the
next question and come back to this one most of the time those really long questions most of the
information is just there to lead you off off track so I recommend taking a beat closing your
eyes taking a deep breath and then rereading the question and making sure that you eliminate all
of that extra information so I'll show an example problem here where there's a ton of information
and they give you a lot of numbers like 35% or 5,000 and there's a bunch of mixed signals that
you're getting from the question but if you read what it's actually trying to get you to do you can
write out some really simple equations that can help you get to the answer so so the main thing
here is to just remember that these questions are kind of set up to overwhelm you a little bit but
as long as you take a step back you can go ahead and Crush that question okay the second honest
reality that I have about the SAT is that the reading and writing section is really hard to
cram for if you want to get a good score on that reading and writing section I would recommend just
reading at a higher level for a long period of time before you take the SAT and that's going
to make things a lot more straightforward for you so for example when I was in high school I took
mostly honors English classes and we would read you know some of these American Classics we would
read books that were written in older grammar or older English so that I could start getting
used to the different sentence structures and so other than taking those uh AP classes or honors
English classes you can always just read more in your spare time I would read things like the New
York Times or the Wall Street Journal books or non-fiction pieces that you can learn different
kinds of sentence structures from vocabulary from and that's actually the best way to prep for the
SAT but also for later life because you can reuse a lot of those words in your day-to-day remember
that a lot of the skills that you learn for the SAT should help you in your career later down the
line and they're not really just this Sprint for the SAT but it's really a marathon of learning
over your lifetime okay and so as I mentioned before the reading and writing section A lot of
the times it just takes a lot of years of reading and writing but for the math section there are
actually a lot of hacks that you can do that will help you take the SAT in a much more effective
way so one of the things that I would recommend is getting a ton of practice with a Desmos calculator
because a lot of the times if the answers are just written out as a multiple choice you can reverse
solve the question by plugging the answers back into the equation I'll put a question here where
you just see that out the other hack that I have is learning more number sense so this is really
just around understanding the T-shirt size of a number so for example is 10,000 way too high but
is one way too low you'll see a sample question question that I have here where the order of
magnitude between the answers here is really big you have one answer that's in the hundreds and
then one that's in the tens of thousands which one are they actually looking for that would let
you eliminate half the answers and if you're able to eliminate two answers then you could
actually just guess between the remaining two and remember there's no guessing penalty so each time
you have about a 25% chance of getting the right answer so you should always guess and if you can
eliminate even one or two answers that's going to up your probability of getting the right answer
a lot more okay and another unsurprising reality about the SAT is that it really favors people who
plan ahead there are going to be people who can take the SAT on their first go and get an amazing
score and good for them but for the majority of people you want to plan ahead so that you're not
stressed leading up up to the test and so for most people you really want to take advantage of the
fact that you can actually take the SAT multiple times I don't usually recommend taking the SAT
three times because that's sometimes Overkill but you can always take it once to get a better sense
of the testing environment and then take it again and you can also supercore those two different
tests that you took so you could take the better score that you got on either section and add them
up depending on the college if that lets you and I would really recommend if you're taking mock exams
to act like you're in the testing environment sit in a quiet place take the entire test
front to back make sure that you understand that the timing is really really critical
because skipping ahead to certain questions is going to be better for you because there is no
guessing penalty you want to make sure that you get to every question and that you have enough
time to answer the harder questions which might be at the back or you just can triage yourself
a little bit better so you can spend more time on the questions that you needed extra help with okay
and related to planning ahead is that the more times you can practice a mock exam the better
and I want you to think about taking the mock exam in about half the official time that you're
allowed to take the mock exam so this sounds like a really intense tip here but what I'm
really trying to help you do is understand how the test day will feel and practice at such a
level that the test day will actually feel really easy for you because you actually practice on hard
mode and if you're able to take the test in half the time that'll give you a ton of time to go back
review your answers make sure that you're happy with everything you did make sure you didn't skip
any questions whatever have you and just having that extra padding if you don't don't actually
know how to do a question that's totally fine and just skip it and come back and at the end
if you still don't know how to do it then just go ahead and guess so the way that I think about
this sort of halftime thing is like you would be an athlete training for the Olympics right if you
were training in Denver or Colorado at way higher altitude when you actually go to the Olympics you
would be in a lot better position than a lot of your competitors because you are training on hard
mode okay and my final reality check about the SAT is that I know that it's stressful but you
can really think about it as a way to help you set yourself up for success in the future that is both
through getting into more selective colleges if that's your goal but also having this constrained
thing that you're practicing for that you're really putting a lot of effort into will help
prepare you for later life as well the reality is that life doesn't get easier after high school
you'll have to set your own calendar you'll have to set your own schedule you won't always have a
boss telling you exactly what to do and a lot of the times in high school your teacher is telling
you what to do but the SAT is one different thing where you can start practicing setting your own
schedule being your own boss and understanding how long it will take you to do something like the SAT
and having something to work towards so I hope you found this video helpful thanks for watching and
let me know if you have any other questions about the SAT and what other topics you want me to cover
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