Expert Tips: 7 Easy SAT/ACT Test Prep Hacks to Boost Your Scores
7 Easy SAT/ACT Test Prep Hacks
Scoring well is key to acing your college applications.
Last week, in our “Expert Tips” series, we shared the top test prep mistakes you should avoid.
This week, our experienced teachers at MEK Review list their favorite studying hacks for high school students to smartly use while preparing for the SAT or ACT exams.
Test Prep Hack #1. Practice a little at a time.
“Practice improving only a few skills a week. Often, students try to improve on every topic at once, and it can be overwhelming. Instead, focus on just a couple topics or test-taking skills per week to narrow your focus and maximize your results. For instance, for the Writing section, maybe one week, you focus on re-learning punctuation rules, the next week on pronoun rules.”
— Katie Weisman, English Teacher
Test Prep Hack #2. Review what you know.
“Review. Students always want to do new material, new tests, new questions. But sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to review the material you’ve already done and reflect meaningfully on why you made mistakes. Try to figure yourself out as a test-taker, not just the test.”
— Rachel Erwin, Exam Prep Coordinator
Test Prep Hack #3. Train on vocabulary.
“Study vocabulary. It is not the most attractive part of preparing for the test, but the confidence given by knowing what all the words in a tricky passage mean cannot be understated.”
— Mac Porter, English Teacher
Test Prep Hack #4. Expand what you read.
“Read newspaper articles. Get them sent to your phone through email each day. Huffington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times are all good ones to start with. This will help students learn how to read quickly and will enhance their vocabulary.”
— Ashley Dorian, English Teacher
Test Prep Hack #5. Read as much as you can.
“Read voraciously. Pick a handful of your favorite reputable sources and read them regularly. Besides enjoying yourself, you’ll also be secretly building your vocabulary and critical thinking skills, skills of which always pay dividends when it comes to taking standardized tests.”
— Chris Cullen, English Teacher
Test Prep Hack #6. Look back at older tests.
“They must review their OLD tests. Students do not receive the scores they want NOT solely because of the lack of contents, but making silly “and same” mistakes over and over. They need to understand their weaknesses and fix those first.”
— Tony Kim, Director of Exam Prep
Test Prep Hack #7. Batch your time.
“Make a bunch of “small” times. Allocate 15 mins a day, as opposed to a lump-sum of many hours on a single day.”
— Pranav Gupta, Exam Prep Coordinator
What’s Next?
Seeking the way to higher scores?
Register for our ACT Connect!
ACT Connect is a rigorous, self-paced lecture series that focuses on giving you the skills and strategies to earn top scores on the ACT. Through full-length practice exams, informative subject based lectures, and rigorous practice, our expert ACT instructors give you everything you need to walk into test day with confidence.
Or you can sign up for one of our in-person or virtual SAT/ACT test events to get started on your journey to your goal score!
