Hey,
I’m a Junior right now and I’m planning on taking my SAT and ACT sometime before May. Does anyone have any tips to get started. It’s just seems like a huge mountain to climb and I don’t know where to start. 
I think the keys to SAT prep are: 1. knowing the test and how to approach it. and 2. Practice.
For #1, I suggest the book Up your Score; the Underground Guide to the SAT. https://books.google.com/books/about/Up_Your_Score_SAT_2018_2019_Edition.html?id=kWAVDgAAQBAJ
It was written by a bunch of kids who got perfect scores on the SAT, and it’s all about strategies for taking and beating the test.
For #2, I suggest either any SAT book on the market-- Barrons is fine-- and one hour a week to start. Do at least one section per sitting. When you’re done, take a look at the answers. But, more than that, take a look at the grid at the end of each test that tells you which type of problems you’re getting wrong, and keep notes. After a while, you should start to see some patterns-- you always get the circle problems wrong, or the statistics ones. That will point you in a direction for future prep.
And another thing to add is that it’s more so quality, not quantity, when it comes to SAT/ACT prep. You can bang your head against a wall by just taking practice tests and getting the same types of questions wrong, wasting time and getting yourself more stressed. Instead, you should find out what specific problems are tripping you up—arc length, probability, series and sums, etc.—and relentlessly go after the gaps in your knowledge.
When all of that is said and done, then yes, there are strategies for taking the different sections of the SAT/ACT that save you time and get you a higher score. But you can only really take advantage of those if you don’t have content gaps.
Hey!
ERICA MELTZER ERICA MELTZER ERICA MELTZER!!! Her books are by far the best for the reading and writing portions on the SAT.
Also, pick a semi-difficult novel to read for the reading section. I read the Scarlet Letter and it helped tremendously with my reading score.
For math, I did not really prep because I did AMC/AIMES. However, I think that Barrons is the way to go.
Lastly, go to Cracksat. They have TONS of practice!
Good luck! I remember all of the stress that I carried last year and everything still turned out fine!
A subscription to Uworld SAT prep. It is both from content and technological perspective the best platform I’ve researched. It will give you solid review of things you may have forgotten and then can be tailored to focus in on areas of weakness. The price is fantastic, too. If you look into it now and make it part of your daily habit, I suspect you will be solidly ready for a 1st SAT in March and a 2nd if needed during the summer.
For the math portion, the thing that helped me the most was doing a lot of practice problems-- I mean A LOT! The SAT has so many nuances that can’t be adequately described in words, but rather they are best learned through experience that one can only attain through a multitude of practice problems. After I finished the 8 practice tests, I felt that I needed more practice, and as such I went out and looked for some other source to practice with. I found UWorld on Reddit with a free trial code and I found like 500 SAT Math problems that were almost the same as the 8 practice tests. So, I would recommend that you look through Reddit to find the UWorld free trial code (if you can’t find it just message me and I will find it for you). UWorld and the 8 practice tests are all you need to achieve a 750+ on the SAT. After a 750-770, it is really about luck and the test that you are given honestly.
Source: 790 SAT Math. 760 PSAT Math
I’m more inclined to say it’s more a matter of avoiding silly errors like misreading the question, writing a “1” instead of a “7,” etc.
To the OP, what are you currently scoring? That might help gauge what to review, or whether you need to prep more in one subject than another. Also, you shouldn’t need to take both the SAT and the ACT (not counting subject tests) - schools typically accept either test.
Thanks so much!
@MITer94 I’m an A student when it comes to english and history (I’m currently taking AP Lang and APUSH) and a B student in math and science (intro to Calculus and Anatomy). I would say I struggle more in science though. I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the ACTs are a waste of time. What do you think?
@artktat The ACT does have a science section; however it’s more focused on general topics such as data collection/analysis, the scientific method, etc. I’m not too familiar with the ACT since I only took it once with barely any preparation. Try a practice test (or some sample problems) so you can see whether the ACT is a better fit, or the SAT.