Category: Test Preparation

The MCAT (or Medical College Admission Test) is changing in the most meaningful way since it was first implemented. After a review period of three years, the Association of American Medical College determined that the test needed to change to help college admissions departments better select their incoming crop of potential medical students. By doing this, it’s changing about 50% of the test’s content, adding a new section, increasing the test’s length, and changing the score scale.

The specifics:

– A new section called Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior will test the student’s ability to understand various influences on a person’s behavior, emotion, and stress.

– The Biological Sciences section is also undergoing a change. The section will focus more on biochemistry and be similar to what’s taught in first-semester biochemistry classes.

– Every section is going to increase in length and allow for more time.

– Overall, the test time is increasing from 5 hours and 10 minutes to 7 hours 30 minutes.

– Individual sections will use a scoring scale from 118-132 (median 125) and the cumulative score ranges from 472-528 (median 500).

The added duration means the length of time the test takes will increase by about 50%, making it much more challenging. Preparation is key, so effective study habits, material retention, and high-quality assistance should be prioritized for months before taking the examination. It’s an endurance challenge as much as anything, so proper rest, diet, and hydration in the few days leading up to the test are incredibly important.

Image source

At Sandweiss, we help prepare students for a variety of tests. We cover a wide range of standardized test preparation and offer tutoring on many subjects customized to your specific learning needs. We also help students who are struggling with their studying process by offering tips and tricks that can boost academic scores and help them feel more prepared for test day. Here are our 5 study tips to ace your tests:

5. Prepare

This is the most crucial step and one that students very often ignore. By preparing yourself for a long-term studying process, you can better organize the material you need to review and still plan time for extra-curricular activities. In a recent New York Times article, researchers reported that students who regularly reviewed and were quizzed on the course material throughout their Intro to Psych course did significantly better on their final exam than did students who only reviewed the material at the end of the semester, just prior to the final. Why?

…retrieving facts, formulas or concepts is a threefold mental act: finding the sought-after information in the vast catacombs of the brain; bringing it consciously to mind; and finally, storing it. That newly stored memory will be embedded in a host of additional associations and connections and will be much easier to recall later than if you’d merely read it again. 

The author, Benedict Carey, closed the article by stating: “Testing in all its permutations, subtle and otherwise, convinces the brain that the knowledge is useful, and important. And by varying one’s testing strategies, the actual final exam — the dreaded assessment — isn’t nearly as scary.” Practice tests, quizzes, and reviews of the final material over a long-term period haven been shown to increase final grades and improve memory retention in students.

4. Study Effectively

How much time do you spend checking email, your phone, or social media? It may not feel like much because they’re very quick interactions, but they build up throughout the day. Having the discipline to shut off your notifications and internet connection for a solid chunk of time could be the difference between studying effectively and not retaining enough of the needed information. Give yourself 25-50 uninterrupted minutes of studying, then take 5 minutes to goof around on your phone or get a cup of coffee. Taking breaks is important, but only if you’re truly using your time effectively.

3. Eat Well

The worst thing you can do for your brain and your body during intense reading and information processing is to consume unhealthy food. Soda, sugar, and fats feel like a good way to get a quick, easy burst of energy, but they lead to crashes (which many people counteract with caffeine). Throughout the day, make sure you’re eating fruits, vegetables, and healthy sources of protein and carbohydrates. You’re going to be burning a lot of energy, so making sure your body recovers after a long study session is also important. Think of long durations of studying like you would approach sustained athletic activity. Take care of yourself and your brain and body will reward you.

2. Try Different Techniques

Your brain is a muscle and muscles need different forms of exercise to grow and develop. Even if you have a tried-and-true studying technique, it may be helpful to try different strategies when facing tough material. Word associations, singsongs, or analogies that relate to your subjects may help you to remember complicated acronyms or formulas.

1. Get Help

Explaining the material to someone else and verbalizing complex information can help you understand whether you truly know a subject or are just getting by. Speak with your teachers, parents, friends and tutors if you’re struggling.  Find a classmate who is studying the same material as you and talk about it – or argue about it! Exposing yourself to different opinions on academic subjects can broaden your own perspective and open up different avenues of thought. Just don’t rely on Google to answer all of your questions; the Internet is a hit-or-miss resource for many academic subjects.

Sandweiss Test Prep offers individual tutoring and group tutoring on a variety of subjects. We can help you with your studying process or help prepare you for major exams like the ACT, SAT, or AP and SAT subject tests. Contact us today to discuss your academic goals and find out how a Sandweiss tutor or class can help you achieve them.

Image source 

 

Chances are that if you’re a junior in high school or are the parent of one, you’re probably starting to seriously consider college options. A great way to be more appealing to college admissions departments is to boost those SAT/ACT scores.

Why take the tests so early? Giving yourself time to get results back and allow for the possibility to retake them again in the spring will only help with your peace of mind and free you up to focus on other activities.

Students that aren’t prepared for either test shouldn’t feel rushed into taking one. Allowing time to prepare and seek any instructional guidance in advance is better than taking a test multiple times hoping that your score will improve.

The next SAT exam dates are December 6th and January 24th. The ACT tests are on December 13th and February 7th. If you’re going to be taking next available test and you haven’t been studying or you don’t feel prepared, consider enrolling in one of our test prep courses. Courses are still available for the ACT sections and we’re currently offering a condensed SAT course starting Saturday, November 1st for the December 6th exam for $499.

All course prices include a textbook and other study materials as well as access to our weekly Study Hall – perfect for a flexible homework help session! And if you’re unsure which test you should take, we offer diagnostic tests for both the SAT and the ACT. From there, you can prepare for the test that’s best for you.

Totally lost? Here’s a video that explains the differences between the SAT and the ACT tests.

Contact Sandweiss today to discuss your test preparation options and get a head start on the upcoming SAT or ACT tests. Don’t put this off until the last available date – these tests are important and could help determine a student’s future.

So, you got your test results back and you’re not happy with the score. Take a deep breath, there’s no need to panic! College hopefuls can retake the SAT and ACT until they reach their ideal score. Depending on the requirements for your target colleges and your position in high school, retaking these standardized tests may be the right decision. Although it is possible to retake the ACT up to 12 times and the SAT as many times as you want, it is recommended to keep retakes to under 3 times for the sake of how it looks on your applications.

Besides the test fee, there isn’t any penalty to take the test again. It is common for students to take the SAT or ACT for the first time their junior year of high school and again during their senior year. Colleges will look at the best scores from each section of the tests when considering your application, and seeing an improvement after re-takes can be an indicator of your work ethic.

According to the College Board, 55 percent of high school juniors who retook the test as seniors saw an improvement in their scores, while 35 percent had score drops and 10 percent had no change. The lower a student’s initial score, the more likely the score will improve. Juniors who retook the test as seniors saw an average of a 40-point improvement in combined writing, reading, and math scores.

The ACT administration reports that 57 percent of students increased their composite score when retaking the test. It is common for students to take the ACT twice, generally once as a junior and again as a senior.

Another factor to consider are SAT subject tests. These hour-long exams focus on specific areas of study so that you can showcase your strengths and interests to colleges. Many colleges recommend or require subject tests for admission and course placement, or you may choose to take one to showcase a specific area of knowledge. These are the only national admissions tests where you can choose a subject that best fits your achievements. Click here to register for an SAT subject test.

Click here to register for the next ACT on September 13th.

Click here to register for the next SAT on October 11th.

Sandweiss Test Prep offers SAT and ACT prep courses, as well as free diagnostic tests. Contact us to register!

The College Board recently announced significant revisions to the SAT exam. In our last post, we told you about upcoming changes to the writing section. Today we will outline the changes to the Critical Reading portion of the exam. The current version of the SAT contains three scored Critical Reading sections and three scored Writing sections (an essay and two multiple choice sections). On the new SAT, both reading and writing will be combined to produce one score on what will be called the “Verbal” sections of the exam.

The new reading questions will be focused on evidence-based responses to expose students’ factual reasoning and contextual understanding. This means that as they answer questions on the reading portion of the exam, students will be asked to use evidence to support their answer choices. The goal is to measure a student’s ability to analyze the components of an author’s argument and identify the relationship between an author’s claims and the supporting information used to justify those claims.

Additionally, test-takers may need to reference and cite certain parts of a passage in order to demonstrate the ability to recognize ways in which authors support arguments.  The new reading portion of the ‘Verbal’ section is designed to allow test-takers to analyze and reference sources in a variety of disciplines, including literature, nonfiction, natural science, humanities, and social science.

The other major change to the Critical Reading component of the current SAT involves the dreaded Sentence Completion questions, which test vocabulary that students have not and will not likely ever use in their college studies, profession, or day-to-day lives. Students preparing for the current test will often memorize vocabulary for no other reason than to score higher on the SAT. Instead, on the new exam, the vocabulary-based questions will test words people actually use on a regular basis and/or words that most students will encounter in their college curriculum. 

Sandweiss Test Prep recently released a video explaining this and some of the other changes to the SAT. The first students to be affected by the new SAT are going to be juniors in the fall of 2015 who will take the exam in the spring of 2016.

 

Sandweiss Test Prep specializes in exam preparation classes and tutoring, college admissions counseling, and academic tutoring for students of all ages. Visit the Sandweiss Test Prep website for more information about our services.

Featured photo credit Flickr user beggs.

This past March, the College Board announced plans to release a new SAT in the spring of 2016.  Details about the impending changes are being released in stages; however one of the most notable changes since the initial announcement has been to the writing portion of the exam.

While writing and reading are currently separate components of the SAT, they will be combined in a ‘verbal’ section on the new exam. At present, the essay portion of the writing section counts for 30% of the overall writing score. On the revised SAT, the essay score will be reported separately, using a 2-12 scale.

The essay on the new SAT will be labeled as “optional,” meaning that students are not required to complete the essay portion of the exam. This is similar to the current version of the ACT exam, with the essay also considered optional. However, this is a bit misleading, since nearly all of the more selective colleges in the country require ACT test takers to submit an essay score. We expect that many colleges will regard the “optional” essay on the SAT in a similar fashion.

On the current version of the SAT, students are asked to offer an argument in response to a statement. The standard instructions are to “discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree” with the prompt. Essay graders have been instructed not to take into account whether the evidence students provide to support their arguments is factually accurate. It has also been demonstrated that longer essays are correlated with higher scores. Accordingly, many students have adopted a “kitchen sink” approach to the essay, tossing in as many details as they can think of, regardless of the appropriateness of this evidence.

The new SAT essay is intended to end this practice and to focus more on a student’s reasoning and analytical skills. Students will be provided with an argument that they will need to analyze with respect to the quality of the reasoning displayed. For example, students will be asked to identify an argument’s underlying assumptions or to discuss what kind of evidence might strengthen or weaken the logic of the argument.

Student responses on the new essay portion of the exam will be evaluated for both clarity of communication and demonstration of critical thinking skills. In recognition of the increased complexity of the new essay task, students will be given 50 minutes to complete this portion of the SAT, which is double the amount of time allotted on the current exam.

For more information about changes to the SAT, Sandweiss Test Prep released a video explaining the most notable differences.

 

Sandweiss Test Prep specializes in exam preparation classes and tutoring, college admissions counseling, and academic tutoring for students of all ages. Visit the Sandweiss Test Prep website for more information about our services.

Featured photo from Pixabay.com.

Similar to the college admissions process, many private elementary and secondary schools require prospective students to submit scores from standardized admissions tests. Along with other factors, the scores from these exams influence a student’s chance of admission. These tests include the Independent Schools Entrance Exam (ISEE) and the Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT).

The SSAT is the required test for students entering grades 4-12 who are seeking entrance to private schools. It is administered in three levels—elementary, middle and upper—and is designed to measure a student’s critical thinking and problem solving skills. The ISEE is a standardized test is the most advanced form of admissions test for independent schools. It is also administered at three levels for students entering grades 5-12, and is designed to measure a student’s verbal and quantitative skills.

With grade-level private school admissions applications increasing, the SSAT is gaining popularity in the Seattle area. This influx of prospective students is driven in part by two of the Northwest’s top independent institutions, Lakeside and Overlake. “The collective wisdom and experience in our office indicated that the SSAT is the best independent school admission test on the market,” said the Director of Lakeside School in a statement. “SSAT is focused on the future… the SSAT organization is committed to holistic evaluation—just as Lakeside is. That’s why the SSAT is a good fit for Lakeside.”

At Sandweiss Test Prep, we strive to create a comfortable environment for students and cater our teaching styles to each individual’s needs. Our qualified SSAT and ISEE tutors have extensive experience working with school-aged students.

Register here for a free ISEE or SSAT diagnostic test, which provides the student with an idea of what the test is like and shows us which areas your child needs the most help in. Take a look at a list of which exams are required for entrance to Seattle area schools.

Featured photo found here. 

This past spring, the College Board announced major changes to the SAT. The changes will be implemented in the spring of 2016, so those who will be entering their junior year of high school in the fall of 2015 will be the first to have the opportunity to take the new SAT.

Test prep businesses and academic organizations of all types have been buzzing about the changes and what they mean for students and colleges. The exam’s math section is one area where the new SAT will be a little bit different.

As before, the math section will measure a student’s familiarity with concepts typically covered in high school math courses up through sophomore or junior year (depending on when a student takes Algebra 2). Two significant changes are that the new SAT will place more emphasis on algebra (and correspondingly less emphasis on geometry), and students will only be able to use a calculator on one of the math sections.

Students should now focus on studying algebra with extra attention, knowing that it will be more heavily featured on the exam. The no-calculator portion of the math section will be worth one-third of the math score for the exam. The purpose of this change is to test a student’s ability to recognize how certain math problems can be solved more efficiently by utilizing a logic-based approach, rather than relying primarily on a calculator to perform routine computation.

The College Board has decided based on research that problem solving and data analysis  are the most important aspects of mathematics  to prepare students for higher education and for the workplace of the future, so we can expect the new SAT to place more emphasis on quantitative reasoning skills and less emphasis on memorization and rote learning.

If you are interested in more of the changes coming for the SAT, check out this video from Sandweiss Test Prep.

Sandweiss Test Prep specializes in test preparation, academic tutoring, and admissions consulting. Visit the Sandweiss Test Prep website for more information about our services.

Featured photo from Wikipedia Commons.