MICHAEL LEBLANC, Staff Writer
With the 2024 year coming to an end, the questions about SATs and even PSATs start to form with rising students looking for an easier college application process. But what are SATs? And how do they actually work when applying for colleges? The PSAT and SAT are key tests for high school students, especially those aiming for college. The PSAT is usually taken by 9th, 10th, and 11th graders in October and helps prepare students for the SAT while offering a chance to qualify for National Merit Scholarships. The SAT, which is often taken by juniors and seniors, is typically offered multiple times a year, with the most common dates in the spring and fall. This year's SAT is coming to an end, wrapping up the fall tests as students prepare for the spring ones in 2025. Both tests are given at school, and students must register online. Colleges use SAT scores to evaluate applicants, so it’s important to prepare early. There are plenty of resources, like prep books and online practice tests, to help boost scores and build confidence.
Now that you’ve gotten your seat for the SAT. It’s time to consider how to study and prepare for your test. This step is the most important as studying properly, being on top of all of the information, and being prepared for test day could potentially boost your score way higher than if you came in blind. Here are some websites you can go to as a way to study for any upcoming SATs.
Khan Academy:
Khan Academy is a great place to get started with SAT prep, it’s a free website for math, reading, science, history, and many more subjects just within one website that you can use. Khan Academy also offers SAT specific practice supported by College Board (The Organization that hosts the SATs), Along with that it also offers a different set of difficulties around what will be presented on the SAT for those to get started or to challenge themselves if they’re going again for a better score.
The Princeton Review:
The Princeton Review is a website fully dedicated to SAT and even ACT prep and courses, a great alternative to Khan Academy if what you’re looking for is just SAT/ACT prep. The Princeton Review provides many courses and classes for the SAT/PSAT/ACT and many more things for your test taking needs. The Princeton Review also features a search to allow those who are interested in a certain college to see their options and research the requirements to apply to the colleges of their choice.
CollegeBoard:
And what’s with SAT practice without the main website itself? Why not tackle the source of your SAT studies with the official SAT website itself? The CollegeBoard website not only contains multiple ways to study for the SAT but supports practice tests to familiarize yourself with how the SAT works and how everything is graded and functioned, giving you confidence in your understanding of the SAT before you even step foot into the testing grounds.
In the end, it's best to keep things at your own pace and to familiarize yourself if taking the SAT will really help you apply to a college of your choice, while the answer is almost always yes sometimes it’s good to take a step back and see where you’re at before applying to college. And for those who are ready to take the next step into college, now is the time to kick start your testing adventure with the SAT and use your score to do the heavy lifting in your college application.
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