Category: Test Prep

It’s ACT Day!

Today is ACT day!

First of all, I urge you to take a moment to pat yourself on the back. No matter the outcome of the test, your hard work and dedication is something you should be proud of.

Undoubtedly, you have felt a lot of pressure during preparation time. The morning of the test is time to put those pressures aside, and to focus on getting yourself ready for the test with the following steps:

1- Have a healthy, filling breakfast. You may feel a little nervous and not hungry at the time, but a grumbling stomach is the last thing you want to be thinking about as you sit down to write! If you are finding it difficult to eat, begin with a piece of fruit like a banana. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium, which helps deliver oxygen to the brain and keep your mind sharp.

2- Run through a check list of the things you need to bring with you. Your test ticket, photo ID, approved calculator, sharp #2 pencils, and a good eraser are top of the list. Don’t forget your mask and water bottle!

3- Give yourself a little extra time to get to the testing center. A good idea is to check the traffic on the days leading up to the test so you have a rough idea of how long it will take for you to get there. It is nice to be about 10 – 15 minutes early, but not so early that you get restless waiting to begin.

4- Switch off that cellphone! Even better, don’t bring it to the testing center with you, if you can help it.

5- When you sit down the take the test, take a few deep breaths. You are ready, and you’re going to ace it

Why You Should Take the SAT in August!

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Update: In 2021, the SAT will be offered on August 28, 2021.

The College Board announced early this year that they would be offering the SAT on August 26th, 2017. Prior to this year, the first opportunity students had to take the test after June was in October.

Now that the College Board is offering an August test date, students have many more options and opportunities to prepare well for the test. One big perk of this date is that students who complete prep during the summer will be able to take the test while the information is fresh in their minds.

So, why take the SAT in August? The new date will give you the opportunity to take the test before you get bombarded by school work, homework, and midterms. For rising seniors who need to take the test one last time to get a score for their college applications will now have a chance at an improved score to help early decision or early action applications. This new test date offering also helps those who are taking SAT Subject tests which are also being offered in August and October.

The best way to prepare for the test is to practice, practice, practice! And practice means taking diagnostic tests and reviewing them so you can better understand and fix your mistakes. Insight offers full-length diagnostic tests to allow students to take the test in a real testing environment – no cell phones or technology, a quiet room and the ability to see how you perform with no distractions.

Just understanding your body’s limitations and learning how to focus during the grueling four hours can really help you know what to expect on test day. Doing tutorials for the subject matter that you need to get more familiar with will also help you feel less anxiety on the day.

You may still suffer from some form of mild test anxiety – don’t worry, this is normal! Knowing what it is for you, be it butterflies in your stomach, sweating, tapping your pencil, or erasing every imaginary stray mark – being aware is the first step in finding ways to cope. Taking deep breaths, focusing on something specific, going through a phrase in your head before the test may be what helps you. Whatever it is, having the opportunity to identify and practice is the best way to calm your nerves before test day.

Insight Education is offering an SAT Boot Camp starting on Monday, July 31st and running through to August 11th to help students who are taking the SAT on August 26th practice and prepare. This 10-day class empowers students with the endurance and confidence needed to ace the test. We are also offering Boot Camps throughout the fall for those taking the test later in the year. For more class information, click here.

Every test day, all the team at Insight are sending virtual well wishes to our students. Good luck and know that we are always here to help!

Ready, Set, Take the Test!

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Students are getting ready to embark on a very busy testing season. The next SAT dates are coming up in May and early June, and the ACT is following just after. Below are some tips for success during the summer study period:

Focus on your weaknesses and not your strengths. It is human nature to want to do the things we do well. But this is not an effective test prep strategy. The first thing you need to do is assess the content or style of question that is causing you the most trouble. Once you have done that, spend most of your study time focusing on these.

Don’t just read and reread — answer questions. Often, students say they plan to keep rereading chapters until test day arrives. But this is a totally ineffective way to prepare. Most tests are not dependent on your just memorizing content, but rather on applying that knowledge. The best thing you can do is answer as many questions as possible. As you go through these questions, note those things that you want to review and then spend your time focusing on just those. With limited time, it is not reasonable to assume that you have time to relearn everything.

Be organized. You may be tempted to check off other things on your to-do list, but re-prioritize based on which tests will be first and which you are least prepared for.

Mimic your testing environment. Studies have shown that studying in situations similar to the real testing environment can have a positive effect on your performance. Sit at a desk or table. Turn off all distractions including your computer, music, TV, and phone. Try to time yourself as well so that you can begin to pace yourself like you will on the real exam.

Don’t do it alone. You are not in this alone. Rely on your friends to help you study. Create study groups. And during this time, it is important to talk to your parents about what will help you the most.

Make time to relax. Find time to do the things you love. These little breaks will allow you to return to studying more focused and energized. The key is just to limit the time on these activities.

Right now, you probably feel like you are running a race, but it is going to be over quickly. Don’t forget that every test is just one test and not a measure of your entire life’s work. Just focus on the material, get through it, and then congratulate yourself for all your hard work! And remember, Insight is always here to help you with Test Prep Classes and Boot Camps scheduled throughout the summer. Check out our summer schedules on our website here.

The New SAT: What to know and how to prepare

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For the first time in 11 years, The College Board will be offering an updated version of the SAT exam beginning in March, 2016. The new test will be administered only three times during this remaining academic year, once in May and then again in June. With seniors awaiting college decisions and most underclassmen being unfamiliar with the previous SAT, the onus of exploration and success now rests on the growing shoulders of high school students in the graduating classes of 2018 and, especially, 2017. What follows is a run-down of key changes to understand and reasons to tackle the new test.

Those familiar with the ACT may notice some similarities in the new SAT, perhaps unsurprising following widespread speculation that The College Board’s overhaul is directly correlated to the increasing popularity of the ACT nationwide. With that in mind, they have made a number of changes to the test’s format, structure, scoring, and timing. Rather than a 2400-point scale, the new SAT will revert back to the 1600-point scale, with the Math Section and Evidence-Based Reading & Writing section each scored between 200-800 points. Rather than 10 sections on the exam, the new test will feature only 4, including Evidence-Based Reading & Writing, and Math sections to be completed with and without a calculator.

A common complaint of the old SAT was that some students felt they were forced to jump around from section to section very quickly; with 6 fewer sections in 2016, students will have more time to complete each. In addition, the new SAT essay section will now be considered optional, and without the essay the exam will only require three hours to complete*. Also gone is the scoring system that subtracts a fraction of a point for each incorrect answer. There will now be no penalty for wrong answers, a benefit especially to students who tend to take longer to finish questions and may otherwise run out of time. There will also be only 4 answer choices for questions on the new exam compared to 5 on the prior version.

So who should take the new exam?

For starters, any high school juniors who scored competitively on the new PSAT last October. Even if you have completed and done well on the ACT, you will need to take the SAT at least once officially to avoid disqualification from National Merit Scholarship consideration. If you have taken the ACT and decided that is not the right test for you, the new SAT will be your best option. And as a growing number of students take the new test for practice, many are finding they prefer the new structure to the old exam. Furthermore, colleges will be holding the new SAT in equal regard with the old SAT and ACT, so it will be important for students to learn if the new test is the one they score