Awful at SAT Math

SATmonkee
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 11:19:06 +0000

Buck up, Buttercup! I used to think I was bad at math and performed accordingly. You will perform at the level you expect of yourself, so you need to start thinking positively.

I am still not great at math in general, but I rock at SAT math. I had to learn there was a difference, and that SAT math is basic math that tests critical thinking, not complex concepts. You only need average math skills to do well!

Buy the books suggested above (I think Chung’s is more for the student who has a good grasp of the concepts) or start to categorize questions yourself. Find all the cylinder questions in the Blue Book and see what they test. You’ll find patterns that are repeated over and over. You’re either 1) given the volume and the height and have to find the radius to find the area/circumference of the base 2) given the volume and the area/circumference of the base and have to find the height 3) given the volume, height, and circumference/area of the base and have to find the hypotenuse of the right triangle contained within. Once you learn these few things, you can easily master even the hardest cylinder questions.

You can do this!