<p>My son is currently studying in grade ten.After his grade ten we are planning to put hm in UWCSEA,Singapore, for his IB.He has a very long vacation after his grade ten which is about 4 months.After completion of IB he is willing to join MIT(USA) and pursue Mechanical Engineering over there.</p>
<p>I want my son to utilise these 4 months to the best.Can you suggest some preparation that can be done in these 4 months that is especially in SAT and Chinese.We are located at Coimbatore>Tamil Nadu>India>Asia.We also have few more questions:</p>
<p>My son has studied in an Internationl school for 8 years where English is the spoken language.</p>
<p>1.Should he give the TOEFL,SAT,MAT,CAT,ILETS?</p>
<p>2.What is the required score in the above examinations to enter the MIT?</p>
<p>3.What are the other preparations you advise him for better score?</p>
<p>Four months should be sufficient for the SAT (I don’t know anything about the TOEFL, but I can’t imagine it needing any more than four months either). However, MIT requires either the SAT or TOEFL (or ACT); the others are not valid standardized tests for MIT. There’s also no hard cutoff either on any of these tests. They tend to use these scores as a confirmation rather than a decision-making factor; that is, if you score “highly enough”, you’ve passed the academic qualification in that area. “Highly enough” varies based on other qualifications - for example, they would probably dismiss either a marginally lower writing or critical reading score for your son as compared to domestic applicants if his grades or IB results otherwise demonstrate him to be a capable student. That said, don’t expect good grades and IB results to make up for desperately low (i.e., sub 1800) SAT scores. A solid, non-worrisome SAT score would be 2000 or up.</p>
<p>Studying for the SAT is done through two gospels: The Blue Book and Direct Hits. </p>
<p>The Blue Book’s real value is that it has real SAT tests (it’s made by CollegeBoard), which are legitimately different from the Princeton/McGraw Hill copies. Direct Hits is the best book for vocabulary prep.</p>
<ol>
<li>SAT or ACT and TOEFL</li>
<li>25th - 75th percentile
</li>
<li> Have him take a diagnostic SAT and ACT exam. See which one he does better one.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you choose SAT I recommend:</p>
<p>Mathematics: practice tests from BlueBook, use Gruber’s SAT Math Guide, and look at the SAT Prep forums 1-2x a day because many people post the most difficult questions from BlueBook and other prep books. Not only will you be exposed to the hardest math questions, but posters like myself tend to give in-depth solutions on how to solve these problems.</p>
<p>Critical Reading: practice tests from BlueBook, Direct Hits Volume 1 & Volume 2, and read periodicals like The New York Times.</p>
<p>Writing practice test from BlueBook, <em>silverturtle’s SAT Grammar rules, and *</em>AcademicHacker’s essay guide.</p>
<p>Here is something that I said in some other forum to be competitive:</p>
<p>Here is a four point program for you and stick with it:</p>
<p>1) Take the toughest classes the school has to offer, and make it all As. Make sure that your curriculum is balanced. May be take a foreign language all four years!</p>
<p>2) Get the highest possible scores in your standardized tests (ACT/SAT/SAT subject). Ensure you score high in PSAT and become national merit scholar!</p>
<p>3) Get involved in ECs that you are passionate of, and create some new passions along the way. Ensure you get into some noticeable leaderships positions. Make sure that you win a few state completions in science and math competitions along the way. Balance your ECs, ensuring some service. Ensure you have a thread to connect a theme!</p>
<p>4) Make sure that some of your teachers would give the best recs possible.</p>