Successful SAT Strategies For Harvard Admissions
An important rite of passage for high school students is the SAT test. If you don't have a high score, you will have a hard time getting into Harvard.
In this article I will share two effective strategies for getting the best score possible on the SAT.
For one thing, you probably wonder just exactly how high your score has to be to get into Stanford or other schools like it.
Second: What is the best and wisest way to prepare for the SAT. How can I avoid wasting time and money?
- Clearly, you want to get a high score on your SAT, but how high should you shoot for?
I always recommend an SAT score of 2100. Try to get 700 on each section in order to be considered acceptable to an Ivy League school. If you get less than 700 on anything, it will bring your application into question.
Because I am an admissions officer, I know that applicants who score 2100+ are almost always accepted. The only reason an applicant with this sort of score would be rejected is extreme weakness in some other area. Weak transcripts would be an example of this.
- Keep track of your improvement. If you score badly the first time you take the test, take it again. Keep a record of your scores, and be sure to strive for improvement each time you retake the test.
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- Of the two, ACT and SAT, preference is given to SAT.
There are a lot of qualities about the ACT that make it a superior test to the SAT. It is surely very challenging. However, if the admissions office is having a hard time deciding between two candidates who are very similar, the one with a high SAT score will win out over the one with a high ACT score.
As you prepare, you should keep your focus on two priorities: Early start and sample tests.
Start early. Before you take the NMSQT, take the PSAT at least once. In this way, you can get practice without taking a risk. Take the SAT for the Duke TIP while you are still in 7th grade.
If you are considering taking a prep course, be careful of those that make extravagant claims. My parents paid a thousand dollars for me to take the Kaplan course when I was in high school. I really only remember one thing about that course. There were some flashcards that were very creative that helped me a bit with my vocabulary. Hardly a thousand dollars worth, though! Be sure to sit in on a few courses before deciding whether or not to pursue any.
Haunt your local bookstore to get copies of all the tests. Take as many sample tests as you can. You can get them all, from Princeton review to Barron's, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity. Taking sample tests will make a big difference to your score. The more comfortable you are with answering the types of questions asked on the test, the better your score will be.
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