Grockit SAT ACT Prep

Learn more about Grockit's SAT and ACT test preparation

Strategy Posts

TOP 10 WAYS TO BEAT COLLEGE STRESS – pt 2

By posted May 9, 2012

After making the most of ACT questions and practice tests, you aced the ACT.  You wrote terrific application essays, and did so well in your college admissions interviews, you had your pick of schools.  Now, there are more tests ahead of you as an undergrad – not just French exams and history quizzes, but also physical, mental, and emotional stuff that will challenge you in ways you probably haven’t experienced yet.

In Part 1 of this article, we learned to keep busy with campus events to avoid homesickness; call old friends to feel connected and grounded; follow a schedule to keep on track; get away to a quiet spot to be alone; and visit the campus health center for more options.  Here are five more  ways to beat stress:

6.  Keep in Touch with Mom and Dad

You’ll be dealing with lots of feelings about leaving home – excitement, apprehension, curiosity, insecurity, and plain old homesickness.  And guess what?  Your classmates feel the same way.  So when you freak out as soon as your family drives from your new dorm – remember you’re not alone and you’ll probably see your family soon.  Even if you don’t head home for the holidays, you can keep in touch with calls, emails, letters, and care packages (which you can hint about whenever you call).

7.  Dorm Sweet Home

With your schedule of classes, study time, and free time posted on your wall and keeping you on track, the rest of your dorm room should be a place of comfort and retreat.  After a long day of lectures, study groups, and/or exams, de-stressing will be a lot easier if you can collapse in your old beanbag with your grandma’s quilt.  Fill your space with favorite photos, books, and posters.  Whether you relax with old movies or Xbox 360, you’ll be able to take a deep breath and re-charge in your home away from home.

8.  In with the Good, Out with the Bad

Meditation can be as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on your breath for ten minutes.  You don’t need a special outfit and a CD of seagulls – just sit in a quiet place, in a comfortable chair, and think of nothing but your breath going in and out.  You can seriously improve your mood, concentration, and level of stress by thinking: “I’m breathing out the nasty stress…I’m breathing in peace of mind…”. Read more »

No Comments »

TOP 10 WAYS TO BEAT COLLEGE STRESS – pt 1

By posted May 7, 2012

You aced the ACT, after making the most of ACT questions, test prep, and practice tests.  You wrote terrific application essays to the best schools for your field of interest.  And you did so well in your college admissions interviews, you had your pick of schools.

Now, there are more tests ahead of you as an undergrad – not just English exams and biology quizzes, but also physical, mental, and emotional stuff that will challenge you in ways you probably haven’t experienced yet.  Here are ten ways to beat stress in college:

1.  Do Your Thing…But Maybe Not Everything

To keep your mind off missing home, keep yourself busy with orientation parties, campus events, and dorm mixers.  The beginning of the year is a great time to check out lots of clubs and meet lots of people – but it’s also a stressful time if you’re constantly “on.”  Don’t try to jump in and join everything – and don’t worry about finding your place and your people immediately – or you’ll totally drain your batteries.  Relax.  Be patient.  You will feel at home, eventually.

2.  Phone-a-Friend

While you’re having a terrific time exploring the campus, checking out organizations, and making new friends, you’re probably also going to have some lonely days and boring nights.  When you have a rough day – or week! – that’s when it really helps to call or IM an old friend.  Your high school and childhood friends know you best, and they might be the best people to get you feeling connected and grounded again.

3.  Overworked? Don’t Get Overwhelmed

First:  Check out the locations of your classes and how long it takes to get to each one, so you don’t show up late, breathless, and stressed.  Second:  Every prof seems to think that his or her class is your only one, and the work will be piled on accordingly – but the workload should balance out, and even if it doesn’t, your ability to handle it will improve.  Third:  Create a schedule of all your classes, study time, and free time and post it in your room.  Stay on top of it, and you won’t get overwhelmed by it. Read more »

2 Comments »

How to Make a College List

By posted May 3, 2012

Finding the perfect school can be a daunting task.  One of the most important steps to take is making a list of the schools that you want to apply to.  Once you have a framework, it will be easier to narrow down your choices.  Follow these steps to learn how to make a realistic list of colleges for yourself:

1. Make a Preliminary List
Write down all of the schools you might be interested in.  This can be a long list of varied colleges; we’ll help you narrow it down in the following steps.  Some preliminary factors to consider are location, small school vs. big school, and special programs, if you already know your intended major.

2. Compare Scores
Compare your GPA and SAT/ACT scores to the average scores of incoming freshmen at each university on your preliminary list.  Every school lists that information on the “admissions” portion of the school website.  For each school, note whether you fall on the low, middle, or high end of average scores.  If your scores are well below the bottom 25% or well above the top 75%, consider eliminating the school from your list.  Don’t waste time and money by applying to a school that you will not get into, or applying to a school that will be too easy for you.

3. Note Acceptance Rates
Look at the acceptance rates, also listed on each college’s website.  Next to each potential school, note whether the acceptance rate is low (under 35%) medium (35-65%) or high (65-100%).

Already in college and want to meet new people? Find out the best way to make friend in college here.
Read more »

No Comments »

Top 5 differences between the SAT and ACT

By posted April 23, 2012

Just like the smart phones iPhone and Blackberry, the SAT and ACT are similar but have many crucial differences.  One important step of college admissions is deciding which test to take.  You should take into account not only which test your dream colleges prefer or require, but also how suited you are to preparing for each test and succeeding on it.  Someone who does well on the SAT might get bad ACT scores, or vice versa.  While generally a person’s score on each test won’t differ too much, there are exceptions.  So get to know the key differences and find out if the SAT or ACT is best for you!

Did you miss the Top 5 similarities between the SAT and ACT? Check that out here.

1. The Science section - The SAT has three multiple-choice subjects: Math, Reading, and Writing.  The ACT has a fourth multiple-choice subject, Science.  The SAT Writing section is the relative equivalent of the ACT English section.  The ACT Science section requires more “content knowledge” than the other three section on either test.  However, many of the questions test your ability to analyze information presented in tables, graphs, and charts, a skill that is not heavily content-based.  Basic math skills are needed to answer many of the questions.  So even if you don’t have a strong background in science, you could still score well on this section of the ACT.

2. The SAT Writing vs. ACT English format - The SAT writing section has 3 question types: improving sentences, improving paragraphs, and identifying sentence errors.  The ACT English section only has one type of question format, yet some find it a little trickier than the SAT formats.  For ACT English, you will be given passages with numbered underlined words or sentences.  The numbers in the passage correspond to the numbers of the questions, which will test you on a number of English-related topics, from basic punctuation to logical placement of ideas.  The SAT Writing section only has a handful of questions where you may have to consider an entire passage (improving paragraphs).  All ACT English questions are part of a passage, so context and meaning play much bigger roles.

3. Number of multiple choice answers - All multiple-choice questions on the SAT have 5 answer choices; all multiple-choice ACT questions have only 4.  This of course means that the odds are more in your favor when guessing on the ACT.  Additionally, 1/4 point is taken off on the SAT for an incorrect answer, while no points are lost for a wrong answer on the ACT.  Even if you cannot definitively eliminate any of the four choices on an ACT question, it’s still in your best interest to guess.

4. Vocabulary questions - The reading section of the SAT is divided into passage-based questions and sentence completions.  Sentence completions require you to pick the vocabulary word that best completes the sentence.  The ACT Reading section only includes passage-based reading questions.  While you will not be directly tested on vocabulary on the ACT, a strong vocabulary is very beneficial for the passage-based reading questions, as well as the English section.

5. The essay - On the SAT, the essay is considered part of the Writing section and is mandatory.  On the ACT, the essay is optional and is called ACT Writing, not to be confused with ACT English, which is multiple choice.  But before deciding to ditch the essay on the ACT because you can, check with the colleges you are applying to.  Some require you to write the essay anyways.  It’s probably in your best interest to complete it.

 Still not sure which test to take?  See how Grockit can predict your score on the SAT or ACT!

No Comments »

Top 5 similarities between the SAT and ACT

By posted April 19, 2012

The test prep and college admissions process can be confusing to navigate.  Preparing for tests is often one of the most stressful aspects of this hectic time.  The SAT and the ACT are like the Super Bowl of standardized tests.  But which one to take when it comes to the Big Day?  The SAT and ACT have their differences, but they are surprisingly similar in a few general ways.  Here’s some basic information to get you started on your journey to your dream college.

1. Overall content - Both the SAT and ACT test essentially the same skills in reading, math, and writing.  Probably the biggest difference people notice is that the ACT also has a science section, but many of the questions are more math-based, asking you to interpret a chart, graph, or other information.  The science section isn’t as content-based as you might think.  Another content difference is that the SAT has sentence completions (vocabulary questions), and the ACT does not.  However, vocabulary is still essential to understanding reading comprehension questions on the ACT, so again this is not a huge difference in overall content.

2. Multiple-choice format - Both tests use the multiple-choice format for all questions except for the essay.  (The essay is optional on the ACT, but most people choose to complete it.)  The only difference is that the SAT gives you 5 choices for each question, and the ACT gives you 4.

3. Length - Both tests take about four hours to complete, although they are divided up differently.  Technically the ACT test is 3 hours and 25 minutes, and the SAT is 3 hours and 45 minutes, but you will be at each test for roughly the same amount of time.  Each of the 4 ACT subjects has its own section.  The SAT subjects are divided up into shorter sections, and you will jump around from subject to subject.  There are 3 sections each of reading, math, and writing, and one experimental section on one of the 3 subjects that will not be scored.  You will not know which section is unscored when you take the test.

4. Colleges’ test acceptance - All schools accept either test, so there’s no need to worry that your dream college prefers one test over the other.  That being said, you might have better study opportunities available to you depending on each test’s popularity in your part of the country.  Traditionally, students on the West and East Coasts tend to take the SAT and students from the Midwest tend to take the ACT, but there is no rule either way.  Pick which test you take based on which one you feel more comfortable with.

Try this ACT science question for practice.  Read more »

1 Comment »

Top 10 tips for ACT English, Part 2

By posted April 5, 2012

Test prep for the ACT involves not just practicing ACT questions, but also learning strategies for different question types.  Apply the rest of these top 10 writing tips to the ACT to improve your score and your chances of getting into the best schools.

6. Make sure parallelism is used.  Parallelism is a grammatical principle that becomes easier to spot the more you see it and get familiar with it.  For a sentence to be parallel, the clauses within it must have matching structure. Here’s an example of a sentence that isn’t parallel:

My favorite things to do are running, swimming, and to read.

The first two items in the series are in gerund form (running and swimming), and the third item is in infinitive form.  To make this sentence parallel, change “to read” to “reading.”

Here’s another ACT English practice question for more test day practice! Read more »

No Comments »

Top 5 Colleges in Big Cities

By posted March 30, 2012

ACT test prep will be the last thing on your mind when you’re at a cafe in Manhattan or strolling down Sunset Boulevard.  Once you get to college, you can decide how to spend your time – so why not spend it in an exciting place?  For students who grew up in cities and can’t imagine living any other way, or students from rural areas who want a chance to experience life in a metropolis, here are some of the best schools:

1. New York University - Since New York is the biggest city in the United States, NYU is the ultimate big city college.  NYU doesn’t have a discrete campus; buildings and dorms are integrated into Manhattan.  Just walking to class everyday will be an experience, and there are nearly infinite museums, restaurants, stores, and events to explore.  An added benefit of NYU is that New York can be a daunting place to meet people (à la Sex in the City), so going to school provides an automatic community that can otherwise be difficult to find.

2. Boston - It’s hard to name one school as the top “city” college in Boston, because there are so many to choose from.  From Harvard to M.I.T. to Tufts to UMass Boston, the city of Boston offers an unmatched array of schools.  There are 52 institutions of higher education within the Boston metropolitan area, all of which offer a taste of city life.  And, if Boston isn’t a big enough city, New York is only a 4-hour bus ride away.

3. University of California, Los Angeles - Nestled in the college town of Westwood, UCLA is less than twenty minutes away from downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica (depending on traffic, of course).  You can experience a wide array of urban environments – from the beach boardwalk to the hip Hollywood club – all within one day.  Plus, celebrity spottings are fairly common; you might run into Katy Perry or Ellen DeGeneres. Read more »

No Comments »

Top 10 tips for ACT English, Part 1

By posted March 29, 2012

It’s always a good idea to not just do ACT practice tests, but also to learn some tips about how to approach ACT questions.  Test strategy is an important part of preparing for tests.  As you prepare for the English section of the ACT, keep these 10 tips in mind for an awesome ACT score!

1. Think simple.  As far as the ACT is concerned, the best writing uses the fewest possible number of words to convey an idea.  This doesn’t always mean the shortest answer is the best answer–sometimes more words are needed in order for a phrase or sentence to be grammatically correct.  But in general avoid answer choices that seem wordy.  The best answers are concise and clear.

2. Take the whole sentence into account.  It’s easy to read just the underlined portion the question asks about, or maybe just the clause that the underlined portion is a part of.  However, many times the other clause or clauses in the sentence can affect your answer.  For example, if the other clause is an independent clause, you will need to make sure that the underlined portion does not create a comma splice with another independent clause.  Read the whole sentence to yourself and you will be less likely to overlook an error.

Try this ACT English practice question and see if you’re ready for test day! Read more »

No Comments »

Top 10 Things to Know to Interpret Your SAT Score

By posted March 26, 2012

When it comes to undergrad college admissions, students are often confused by their SAT score reports and have difficulty telling a good SAT score from a bad SAT score, whether they qualify for college scholarships or have scores that are good enough for their dream college’s admissions requirements. Here’s the basic info you’ll need to interpret your score, even if you’d rather be watching the latest Channing Tatum movie!

  1. The SAT is not simply scored by adding the total questions correct. Instead, a “raw score” is calculated which is then put into a “scoring formula” to achieve a final “scaled score.”
  1. The total scaled score on the SAT range from 600 through 2400. You get 200 points in each section just for sitting the test!
  1. The SAT percentiles vary from year to year. The percentiles are not grades like in school, but have to do with the comparison of groups of students from year-to-year. You can find the latest data on College Board’s site.

Grockit uses percentiles in its SAT skill data – check out your personal profile to see how Grockit predicts you’ll do on the SAT.

  1. The SAT is different from the ACT. If you’ve taken the ACT, you’ll remember your score is between 1 and 36. The SAT is out of a total of 2400, so don’t worry about comparing the two tests.
  1. There is -1/4 for each wrong answer. That means you should make sure to answer every single question as long as you can eliminate at least one answer choice.
  1. You get no points off for an omitted question! If you really cannot eliminate, leave a question blank. Too many omitted questions, however, will hurt your score by not allowing you to earn as many points as you need to get into the higher percentiles.
  1. You will also receive an individual scaled score for each section. Your individual scaled scores are available for Math, Writing, and Reading separately as well, out of 800.
  1. The Writing score includes the essay. And the essay is worth 25% of your Writing score! Make sure to practice it before test day – you can find sample prompts on College Board’s website.
  1. If you want a paper score, make sure to request it! According to College Board’s website, students who register to take the SAT online and wish to receive a paper score report in the mail in addition to the online score report must request it when they register.
  1. The first 4 score reports are free! When you sign up for the SAT, you can choose colleges to receive your scores automatically. Unless you have a deadline quickly approaching, you may want to wait until you receive your score and then send it to the schools yourself.

Feeling confident about your SAT scores, but not sure if they’re good enough to get into your dream school? Check out Grockit’s newest feature, School Match.

No Comments »

Top 5 essential tips for multiple choice success on the SAT

By posted March 22, 2012

Preparing for tests involves not just SAT practice tests and SAT review, but also knowledge of SAT test-taking strategy.  The majority of the SAT test is multiple-choice, so learning some tricks to beat the SAT will make the difference between good and bad SAT scores.  Follow these top 5 tips for conquering multiple choice on the SAT and you’ll be on your way to your dream college!

1. Know your odds.  Each correct multiple-choice answer on the SAT earns you 1 point, each blank answer earns you 0 points, and each incorrect answer loses you 1/4 point.  If you can eliminate one choice, the odds are in your favor to guess.  You have a 1 in 4 chance of getting the point.  Think of it this way: if you skip 4 questions, you will get 0 points.  If you guess on 4 questions and get 1 correct and 3 wrong, you will gain 1/4 point (1 minus 3/4).  Use this knowledge to your advantage when you take the test!

2. Use process of elimination.  Process of elimination allows you to narrow your choices and improve your odds.  Take this common testing strategy a step further and physically cross out answer choices you know aren’t right with your pencil.  This will allow you to keep your thoughts organized and not waste time reconsidering an answer choice you forgot you had already eliminated.

3. Read through all the choices.  This may seem obvious, but it can be tempting to pick the first answer choice you read that sounds right when you’re pressed for time.  This will come up more in reading and writing, since there is more gray area as to which choice is the best.  Sometimes an answer choice that seems true does not answer that specific question in the best way.

Test your SAT math skills with this SAT multiple choice practice question and see if you’re ready to ROCK the SAT!

Read more »

No Comments »

« Older Posts