How to Prepare for the SATs and College Applications By Uday
In the midst of one of the most chaotic times in all of our lives, it seems almost impossible to think about college during this hectic time. But I assure you, there will come a day when you will cry tears of joy when you earn that acceptance letter to your dream school. To best prepare for that joyous moment, you have to go through the struggle that comes with making the best college application, including your SAT score. But don’t worry, it’s totally achievable. In this article, I’m going to outline some of the strategies I used to make my college application worthy of admission to UCLA.
1. The SAT Maybe the biggest test you’ll take in high school, the SAT is one of two tests used to demonstrate your college readiness when it comes to math and English (and writing if you choose to take the essay portion). Although many schools may be taking away the SAT as a requirement for college applications, I still highly recommend that you take the test because a great score only boosts your chances of getting into your desired school. Here are two strategies I used when I was studying for the SAT. ● Practice, Practice, Practice When you’re studying for the SAT, treat practice tests like they are the new rolls of toilet paper (sorry, bad quarantine joke). Practice tests provide the best way for you to showcase your mastery of certain problems while exposing you to your weaknesses, which you can work on through doing those problem types again. You don’t have to take full-length tests immediately, in fact, I highly discourage it. Instead, take sections of a practice test and build up to eventually taking the full test. When I first took a practice test, I scored a 1210. But slowly I practiced more and more and scored a 1540 in two months. So, practice clearly does wonders for your test score. ● Read Often For me, I found the reading strategy to be the hardest part of the test. The section consists of five different passages with 52 questions and 65 minutes to answer them (that’s about 10-11 questions per passage, using approximately 12 minutes per passage). The toughest part of the entire test, for me, was when the test included some passage from the 1800s because the passage was riddled with long sentences and complex vocabulary, so it was really easy for me to lose the meaning of the passage. Now, most people’s struggles aren’t just confined to this passage, meaning they can struggle with the science passage or social studies passage. To tackle this problem, I recommend that you start reading some books or articles that may have the language of the passage that you struggle with the most. When you repeatedly expose yourself and try intently to understand the text, you’re sharpening your ability to read. This sharpness will come handy during test conditions when you are pressed for time while reading because you will naturally understand the source language due to repeated exposure. And this always means a higher score on your reading section and your grammar section. 2. The Application The main entree if you will, the application is the culmination of all your high school activities. Most universities use the online Common Application for their prospective applicants, but the UCs use their own set of essay questions and application. In terms of essays, you will be required to write four essays of 350 words from an option of eight prompts (here’s a link for the prompts: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/personal-insig ht-questions.html). Here are some tips to keep in mind when you fill out your UC application and essays. ● Before filling out your activities section, make an activities resume! On the application, you are going to be asked to detail some of your high school activities such as community service, sports, or other extracurriculars. Instead of trying to go through all four years of work when working on the application itself, I HIGHLY recommend that you make a seperate activities resume that details your most important activities. With each activity, you should include a rough estimate of how many hours you spend in a week and for how many weeks you participated in the activity. You also should include a description of all your activities, but the wording of the description is absolutely key. MAKE SURE TO USE ACTION VERBS. For example, if you developed a novel idea for a new school function as an ASB member, try saying something like this: “Implemented new school initiative to reduce plastic consumption by 20% via classroom-classroom competition”. By saying that you “implemented” instead of some weak verb like “made”, you are showing the admissions officer that you took initiative as a leader in making change that would benefit the school and environment. Basically, the activities resume is an excellent opportunity for you to practice your ability to showcase yourself professionally. ● Put the “Personal” in Personal Statement Your Common App personal statement is the only way that you can talk to your admissions officer. Think about it: a piece of paper is supposed to capture some unique facet of your personality for the admissions officer to see. Keeping this mind, you have to personalize your essay. What I mean by that is make sure you pick a topic that really resonates with you, something meaningful that captures who you are. Bring in details from an event. Let your heart pour out onto the paper. Be one with the essay. Best way to think about it is this: the essay should represent what the admissions officer would see, think, or feel if they were inside your head. Take this in mind when you write those 650 words of rich, meaningful writing. I hope this information did not scare you, but prepared you for what lies ahead. I know things may be uncertain right now, but if college is in your future, it will happen for you. Good luck and stay safe!
How to prepare for the ACT By Jennifer
To high school juniors and seniors, college applications can often be a long process, and standardized tests such as the ACT is one of the critical components. In addition to your grades and extracurriculars, standardized testing is just another way to boost your college applications, giving you an opportunity to stand out among the rest by showcasing how well-rounded you are. Here are several tips to help you score well on the ACT!
1. English The beginning portion of the exam is 75 questions and 45 minutes long. Although that might seem like very little time for so many questions, it is actually one of the easiest parts of the ACT, as long as you know all the strategies. This portion is essentially all about grammar and sentence structure, so make sure you brush up on all the rules of commas, apostrophes, hyphens, and colons/semicolons (know the difference! The phrase that comes after a semicolon must be a full sentence, while it doesn’t have to be for a colon). Also, pay attention to clarity and conciseness. A longer sentence isn’t always a better sentence, and look to take out unnecessary and repeating information.
2. Math The next portion is math, with 60 questions and 60 minutes long. The highest level of math that the questions can ask is algebra 2 and trigonometry, so if you’re currently learning or have learned the material, you’re all set! If you haven’t, don’t worry! The ACT is known to be very predictable and repeats many of the same style of questions, so you’ll just need a little bit more practice. You’re allowed to use a calculator, but make sure you use it as a tool, not depending on every single function of a graphing calculator. Usually, the last 5-10 questions will be the hardest, so if you’re practicing with previous exams, try solving the last several questions to find a relative estimate of your knowledge.
3. Reading The reading portion is 40 questions and 35 minutes, comprising 4 passages. For most people, this will be one of the most time-critical tests, so manage your time wisely. If you’re stuck on a question, move on to the next one, and return if you have time left over. Try to expand your vocabulary as much as possible before the exam, since this is the best way to fully comprehend the passage. If a question says “In the passage,” the passage will say the answer directly, so skim for key phrases. The reading portion will always have at least one question asking about the main idea of the passage. If you are stuck between two answer choices, check to see if one of them is relevant to any paragraph in the passage. If not, the other choice will be correct. In addition, you will be asked an inference question, where an idea is not directly stated in the passage. However, look for context clues that will support the inference, such as the connotation of words, characterization, tone, mood, and diction. Last tip: I remember how bored I used to get while reading these long passages and felt burned out by the time I got to the last passage. To trick your brain, try reminding yourself how “fun” and “interesting” the information is! This actually worked for me, giving me more energy to push through until the very last question.
4. Science The science portion is also 40 questions and 35 minutes, making it a time-critical test as well. This portion is unique to the ACT, since the SAT only has math and english/reading. However, surprisingly, you don’t have to “know” science to do well in this portion! It’s actually very similar to the previous reading section, except with a little bit of easy math and more graphs and tables. Unlike the other portions of the ACT, read as LITTLE as possible for the science section. Instead, go straight to the questions first, and then look for the answers within the given explanations or figures. As cliche as it may sound, the answer is always hidden inside the question. Look for trends and relationships between the independent and dependent variables in the graphs and tables. If a question asks about the controlled variable, it is most often in the explanation above the figures or tables. If you see a word in italics in the explanation, that term will be defined, so don’t worry if you see an unfamiliar term.
Here are just several tips and strategies on scoring well on the ACT! One of most important things is to practice, practice, and practice! After you have finished with any practice exams, review any mistakes and incorrect answers to make sure you completely understand the material. But most importantly, take care of yourself before the test! Get a good night’s sleep, stay calm, and think positive thoughts. Know that in the end, a single score does not determine your intelligence or self-worth. Good luck!