SLAS Times Q2 2019-2020 SLAS Times: Fall 2019 | Page 27

SAT Prep: Better Alone or in Groups?
by Kelly Li
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SAT is an entrance exam used by
most colleges and universities to
determine which students they
will accept. This exam tests the
students’ ability to read, to choose
the correct grammar and to solve
math problems (the essay be-
came optional after 2016).
the vacation, she would attend
the SAT academy since she has
the time to be completely concen-
trated on SAT revisions. She said,
“The teacher can tell us what to
improve and what to study, but
alone, it is hard to recognize by
myself.”
and writing (EBRW) and math, and
SAT had made essay optional after
2016.
On the other hand, the differenc-
es between PSAT and SAT are the
purpose, the score range, and the
timing. As the name suggests,
PSAT is a preparation test for the
formal SAT. Getting a low score
on the PSAT would not affect the
college application, but getting a
low score on the SAT would have
a significant impact on the college
application.
Another girl in 11th grade, Abby
Chang, prefers to review with her
friends because she is distracted
by her phone when she is alone. If
she is with her friends, she would
use a laptop to search for words
or phrases, instead of her phone,
which distracts her with notifica- The score range of PSAT is from
Most of the students prefer to tions and banners.
320 to 1520 while the score range
study alone in their spare time
of SAT is from 400 to 1600, this is
and go to SAT academies to dis- The SAT is a three-hour exam, in because of the differences be-
cuss with their teachers and their which reading takes 65 minutes tween challenging level of PSAT
classmates, instead of study with to complete, writing and language and SAT. Since the PSAT has ques-
friends. Students believe that (grammar) take 35 minutes to tions that are a little easier than
they would start talking with their complete and math takes 80 min- the questions in the SAT tests, the
friends about unrelated topics utes to complete. There are two timing would be different as well.
when they review, however, when parts in the math section, one is
they study alone and with strang- without a calculator, which takes The SAT has more questions to do
ers at the same age in the acade- 25 minutes to finish, and one is compared to the PSAT, which the
my, they would be more focused with a calculator, which takes 55 officials provide more time for the
and will not get distracted by oth- minutes to complete. An addition- students to finish each section in
ers. On the contrary, some people al 50 minutes are added to com- SAT tests. The essay is optional in
would prefer to study with friends plete the optional essay. The SAT the SAT tests, as mentioned be-
and supervise each other to be fo- fee is depending on the country, fore, while essay would not be a
cused on the task.
for instance, the SAT fee is $52.50 part of the PSAT tests.
to $101.50 in the US.
One 10th grade student at SLAS,
Aileen Kang, prefers to study alone The PSAT and SAT tests are two
rather than review with her friends similar tests, but the differenc-
if she would take the SAT. The rea- es can be spotted easily too. The
son is that she would get distract- PSAT and SAT tests have the same
ed by her friends easily, however, subjects and have similar struc-
if she studies alone, she would be tures. Both have the two major el-
more focused on the task. During ements: evidence-based reading
T
he Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SAT) starts in October, and
students are preparing now. Most
of the students prefer to study
alone and at SAT academies while
some other students prefer to re-
view with their friends.