|
Once you have worked out your high school schedule, making sure that you are taking all the required classes necessary to graduate and get in the college of your choice, and you have gone to the NCAA Eligibility Center website, then it is time to make sure you take the PSAT and then schedule for the ACT and SAT, depending on which tests are needed for your top five college choices. That by the way, is called your short list. You can start with a long list of ten, and then narrow down to your short list as you get closer to recruitment time. |
| |
| The websites below will give you those relevant dates, and also help you to get prepared to take the tests. I definitely recommend that you take practice tests to see where you might have learning holes, and also to just gain confidence in taking and understanding the way the tests are set up. It is important to know these things, as you will do better on them. They are timed, so taking them as practice and timing yourself while taking them, is a must. For example, the reading sections can take too long to actually read completely for comprehension, so being able to skim read, while gaining as much comprehension as possible, is a needed skill. Also, making sure you know your grammar rules, and can distinguish them in written text, is also a necessary skill. Vocabulary is probably the most necessary skill. |
| |
| I remember as a young teen, not caring about vocabulary tests—well, I was good at them, but basically just from memorization. I remember my father having an extensive knowledge of vocabulary, and he was fluent in two languages, and English wasn’t his first language. I used to roll my eyes at him, when he used his “big fancy words” that I didn’t care about. I wished later on, during college and beyond, that I would have paid more attention to him, and learned his “big fancy words” better. It is very wise, especially for these standardized tests, and life and language in general, to know as many words as possible. They come in handy for thinking and speaking and writing, and understanding content, especially when you don’t necessarily have time to read word for word, and over and over again. |
| |
| Practicing your math and science will also prove beneficial on these tests, so taking as many practice tests as you can find, will give you many sample questions, and again allow you to figure out in advance, what holes you have in your learning, so that you can refresh yourself or get tutoring help. Also, timing yourself on these questions and becoming familiar with how they are setup, will definitely help improve your scores. |
| |
|
Don’t skip taking any section of the practice tests. It is likely that if you skip one of the sections, that will be the section that lowers your scores, so even if you think a particular section/subject is your strong suite, don’t skip it on the practice tests because the way they are setup, could throw you off. It is also important to know that you can retake tests to increase your score. When my son was being recruited, he was encouraged to take tests until the very last allowable test. The college coaches want you to have the highest possible score you can get. Your score is beneficial to them helping you get in. Your GPA (Grade Point Average + Test Score) will be used, so especially if one is low, you want the other one to be high, but best if they are both as high as possible, so utilize the links below and get prepared for your future. Don’t sell yourself, or your coach, short. |
| The following are the links you need to familiarize yourself with. They are all useful in helping you prepare to take your Standardized Tests.
|
| |
