SAT noob here..

[bruno]

hello everyone

I just finished my toefl and now that it's all done,I'm moving on to give my SAT.To be honest,I don't know monkeys about it and I'd appreciate it if you all guide me about how to start preparing for it as all I know is that it's got math and english(ha!)
babypurin:I'd like your advice too, I'm not really sure about the transfer,but I'm giving it just for being on the safer side.

Thanks

[babypurin]

Originally Posted by bruno

hello everyone

I just finished my toefl and now that it's all done,I'm moving on to give my SAT.To be honest,I don't know monkeys about it and I'd appreciate it if you all guide me about how to start preparing for it as all I know is that it's got math and english(ha!)
babypurin:I'd like your advice too, I'm not really sure about the transfer,but I'm giving it just for being on the safer side.

Thanks

On the New SAT there are three sections all equally weighted to give you a score out of 2400 (800 per section). Unlike the older SAT, which was last given in January of '05 there are many changes even to our oh-so-familiar sections, reading and math.

Here are some thorough explanations of all the sections of the NEW SAT:

Writing: The writing section is extremely similiar to that of the TOEFL, abeit harder, though. You have your editing sentences, finding the error within a sentence, and lastly, editing paragraphs. The biggest publicized part of the SAT is the essay - the essay comprises of the first section of the test where students must compose a one to two page essay in 25 minutes on the topic that the Collegeboard chooses. The section is highly predictable since the College Board only tests about 20-25 grammar rules, so if you get a good book which will be listed below, you should be fine.

Math: The SAT Math tests many different areas of one's knowledge, including: Ratios, Algebra/Algebra II, geometry, proportions, word problems, rates, positive/negative numbers and other miscellaneous math problems. Just as a reminder, since the New SAT debuted there are no quanitative comparisons.

Verbal: The Verbal section is probably the hardest section on the test. It contains: sentence completions (fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word), and reading passages of various lengths (short, long, comparisons,etc...). Again after the debut of the New SAT, there are no analogies.

Preparation: There are many ways one could prepare for the test. However, the king of all preparation books is: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT. This book is the only book made by the College Board for preparation for the New SAT (a.k.a. its the most accurate). While it does have eight realistic (although, not real tests) practice tests, you must remember that it does not come with any explanations, so if you get stuck on a question you are going to have to seek a "SAT expert". The book doesn't do a good job at teaching you the topics but definitely is necessary if you want PRACTICE.

Watch out for other books made by the Princeton Review, Kaplan, and various other test-prep companies. While they do have there own niche, their tests aren't extremely realistic and usually contain several errors which could confuse you and otherwise put you in the wrong state of mind.

I can assume from your post that you are most worried about the verbal/writing section - which isn't even uncommon for some of the best American students. In order to boost your scores in those sections you should buy books like Grammatrix, who specialize in the verbal/writing sections - it might be a bit expensive but I've heard that it is one of the best books for the verbal/writing sections out there.
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While it isn't common in other countries, the ACT is becoming extremely popular. The test, which is similar to that of the SAT tests more of your knowledge than that of the SAT - who seems to have found the niche in the "reasoning" type tests. If you want to know more about the test, please click on my signature which will lead you to a site with a full explanation.

[bruno]

I owe you one again babypurin


My friend also wanted to know if he can be admitted to Business administration in US if he didn't have math in high school(he was a science -med student and had bio, phy., and chem.) but successfully clears the SAT with a score above 2200 as he's been taking private tutions for math and hopes to be able to cover up by december, I wanted to know because I'm positive that this is not allowed in Canada but I've heard it's allowed in some univs. in USA .

[babypurin]

Originally Posted by bruno

I owe you one again babypurin


My friend also wanted to know if he can be admitted to Business administration in US if he didn't have math in high school(he was a science -med student and had bio, phy., and chem.) but successfully clears the SAT with a score above 2200 as he's been taking private tutions for math and hopes to be able to cover up by december, I wanted to know because I'm positive that this is not allowed in Canada but I've heard it's allowed in some univs. in USA .

While your friend did show competance in mathematics with his high SAT score, he is definitely going to need to show some courses in mathematics he took, especially if he is looking at top-tier colleges. While it wouldn't be necessary to have Calculus in his belt, it would be best if he had at least up to trigonometry/pre-calc.

If his tutor can right a recommendation that includes their syallabus, books used, and other inportant information he could possibly could go by. He is best asking an admissions counselor of the colleges he/she is interested in and ask what they would do in his situation.

[joethemole]

grammatix doesn't really include anything kaplan/PR doesn't already. it just emphasizes them more.