ACT vs SAT?

Lots of parents ask me which test their child should take and what's the difference?? A generation ago, the answer was easy -- geography  The students in Midwest generally took the ACT. If you lived on the coasts -- or dreamed to attend a highly selective school -- you took the SAT.

ACT Test 

1. The ACT is more straightforward. The questions are easier to understand on the first read.
2. Vocab is easier on the ACT.
3. ACT has science. which tests your  reading and reasoning skills, based upon a given set of facts. Not for the science-phobe.
4. ACT has trig, Algebra I, II, and geometry. Questions are more straightforward not necessarily harder.
5. 30 minute Writing test is optional.
6. Tackle each content area (Eng, MA, Sci) in one chunk.
7. Colleges concerned about your composite score.
8. Concentrates on grammar, punctuation and syntax.

SAT Test

1. On the SAT, one needs to spend more time on what the question is asking before one can begin to solve it.
2. SAT is of the ardent wordsmiths. College level words. Critical Reading requires strong working vocab.
3. No science sections.
4. No trig. Tests Algebra I, II and geometry.
5. 25 minute writing essay is required.
6. SAT has more (10) sections.
7. Colleges concerned about how you did on each section.
8. Measures verbal skills and focuses on vocab.

Great test takers are great test takers. But you can learn the strategies! Get an edge! Call and sign up for some classes starting March 30 and April 2, 2013.

For more info.... visit 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-37241433/sat-and-act-which-is-the-better-test/

SAT Word of the Day....

Word of the Day

Despondent: gloomy, depressed.

        Alex was despondent after his car accident.

Look at the beginning of the word.. "despond"... Think to yourself this word is like" respond" which means to react, to act positively... Continue thinking... 

The prefix "de" means down.. so to act down.. drop your head....sad.... depressed.... Think despondent...

Tip of the Day

Remember all questions can be answered without a calculator . Use your own  calculator to do math you can not do in your head or if you can do it quicker with a calculator --  like long division or changing percents to fractions.

SAT Word of the Day

Word of the Day

Conflagration - big fire. (noun)

My Mother remembers the chaos that occurred the night of  the conflagration at the Coconut Club in Boston.

Picture this.... Fire and smoke on Oak St. last Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Workers holding "'flags" -- conflag  (with flags) to warn drivers of the fire and to re-route traffic on Oak St.

Tip of the Day

Draw a diagram with ALL geometry problems! If a drawing is provided,  TRUST it.... unless it says NOT drawn to scale. Then redraw it......

SAT Word of the Day

                                 Word of the Day

Benevolent - generous, charitable. Adjective.

• Ex. Mrs. Harding was a benevolent employer and made Christmas merrier for her employees.

Think of the word  benefit-- to help, to promote, profit, do good.

• Same root... ben meaning good and volv meaning to roll (revolve, evolve)

SAT Tip of the Day

Understand ALL the directions for the test BEFORE the test. Don't waste time reading the directions on test day! Focus your precious time on getting correct answers.

SAT Word of the Day

WORD of the Day
Abridge.. to shorten.
Remember it this way... We cross a river over a bridge.. It's so much faster than swimming!
Picture that in your mind.

An example...  Books are abridged... an abridged dictionary. Shorten, condensed and easier to use.

SAT TIP of the day
Answer every question you can UNTIL you reach one you can't or you're not sure of it... Leave that blank and go on to questions you CAN answer... If you have time, return to the unanswered ones....
Focus on the ones you KNOW or are mostly likely to get right! Why waste time on a question you don't know when you can  get points on questions you do know!

SAT's Explained

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT's) is a standardized test that most high school students take before applying to college. About two million students take this exam yearly. Usually high school juniors take this test for the first time. One out of every two students take this test twice -   typically in the spring of their junior year and again in the fall of their senior year.

The SAT score predicts how students will do academically as a college freshman and is a means to compare. The SAT assists college administrators to make acceptance decisions. Administrators also look at your academic record, your involvement in a school activities, your essay, and your letters of recommendation.

The SAT  tests in three areas: Critical Reading, Math,  and Writing. The SAT has eight types of questions in sections on Critical Reading, writing, and math. You have 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the SAT. You should plan to spend 4 ½ - 5 hours in the testing room.

The Math section includes multiple choice and grid-ins and totals 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section). The math section totals 54 questions.

The Critical Reading sections include sentence completions and passage based reading and totals 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section). Total Critical Reading questions total 67.

The Writing section includes identifying sentence errors, improving sentences, improving paragraphs and an essay. This section totals 60 minutes (one 25-minute essay, one 25-multiple choice sections, and one 10-minute multiple-choice section). The writing section totals 49 questions and 1 essay.

Your SAT scores are based on nine sections although the test contains 10 sections. One section is used for future tests and is in the same format as other sections so you have no way of knowing which section is the experimental one so you must do your best on all sections. 

Why are they important? Students have difference experiences, come from a wide variety of schools with different requirements, different grading systems,  and different academic standards. The SAT's are one of the tools college administrators use to predict your chances of success in the college classes you take.

Call us today at 508-821-7770 to learn the strategies and tips to improve your chances of admission to your first choice! Visit  our website for current SAT Prep classes at learningmagic.net.

SENIORS....SAT Prep for March 2013

We're offering an accelerated SAT prep class during Feb. school vacation. Tues. - Fri., 9-1PM for $395. Text included! Limited class size.
Call now  508-821-7770 and visit us at http://www.learningmagic.net/sat.htm.