How does one properly prepare for college/SATs?

[Tera Path]

Hello there reader.

As I'm going to need to apply for a university/college and do SATs soon, I was wondering if anyone has any tips or words of advice.
I'm getting nervous just by thinking about it.
Also, is it true that people apply to tons of colleges? How exactly does that work? Isn't that way too costly?

Every piece of advice is appreciated

 

[Punk Hazard]

Develop a taste for coffee. And learn how to live without sleep

 

[Ciao]

unless you're really smart, don't go to college
learn a trade or a skill instead

 

[Tera Path]

unless you're really smart, don't go to college
learn a trade or a skill instead

I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't ask for that.
Maybe I am really smart, who knows. I could be the next Albert Einstein or that homeless person that you'll walk by in 20 years and ignore.

 

[-immortal-]

You can not properly prepare.

Only breath in and breath out. Then try to do your best !!!

 

[Cunning Linguist]

SAT - practice tests/problems. Although some people are better at testing than others. Don't take it more than twice. Statistically you won't improve.

College - depends on your major. Some are harder than others

 

[Venomous Cobra]

Didn't you take the PSATs? I mean I took that like a week ago and most teachers told me that taking it is the best practice or preparation method. From my point of view, it seems pointless to study for SATs as they're mainly about stuff that you'll most likely not learn on your current grade, just to test your general knowledge '

though, I guess you can practice it here or in khan academy

You must be registered for see links

 

[DrProof]

Starbucks. Study. Sleep. In that order.

 

[Tera Path]

SAT - practice tests/problems. Although some people are better at testing than others. Don't take it more than twice. Statistically you won't improve.

College - depends on your major. Some are harder than others

I'm just going to assume that you did college.
Did you buy/use SAT prep books?
Also for an international student that gets taught in a different language, what SAT subject do you think would go more smoothly, Physics or Biology?

Didn't you take the PSATs? I mean I took that like a week ago and most teachers told me that taking it is the best practice or preparation method. From my point of view, it seems pointless to study for SATs as they're mainly about stuff that you'll most likely not learn on your current grade, just to test your general knowledge '

though, I guess you can practice it here or in khan academy

You must be registered for see links

No, I honestly don't even know what the PSATs are since I don't go to school in the US.
I've checked out Khan academy but never really used it that much yet.
Thanks man

 

[FreakensteinAG]

Math portions of the SAT are going to be logic-based problems of material you've already been going through. They're not going to involve problems on courses you don't have to take to graduate (so no Calculus in SAT). Just practice your Laws and Formulas, maybe go over some more complex problems. The SAT involves going through multiple problems in a fixed amount of time, so you aren't expected to do tight shit in a little bit of time.

English portion is self-explanatory. Read and understand what the passages are explaining. Know Latin English words like Paragon and Lampoon, all that good stuff. English portion should be a simple area.

You're gonna do a writing portion too. Be a kiss-ass, be eloquent and make sure your message flows and is congruent/consistent.

EDIT: When you apply for a university, it is better if you were a big fish in a small-fish pond than vice-versa. This means even if you have the scores to go into an elite university, it's not going to do you any good if you can't complete elite-level work. Besides, unless your university happens to be Ivy-league, your university choice isn't going to make much of an impact on your future career choice so long as your scores are excellent in said university.

Don't do college courses then transfer your college courses to a university and continue. You will have a bad time.

 

[Cunning Linguist]

I'm just going to assume that you did college.
Did you buy/use SAT prep books?
Also for an international student that gets taught in a different language, what SAT subject do you think would go more smoothly, Physics or Biology?

I had a prep book. I didn't really have to study though. I've always been good at testing. Plus the school I went to wasn't the very hard to get into. Probably physics since it's math based and math is fairly universal. Biology might be a little tough. I never did subject tests though. Where do you want to go to school? Only elite colleges even care about subject tests

 

[ChicagoJhawk]

Get the condoms ready.


Jk, u should really just focus on working extra hours and creating better study habits and not cramming

 

[Punk Hazard]

Starbucks. Study. Sleep. In that order.

Ain't no sleeping on college boi stop lying. I wake up at 7 o' clock for a 12 o' clock class, foh

 

[Agent Phrank]

Develop a taste for coffee. And learn how to live without sleep

Or you could learn to sleep without living.

- -


Most important question: What do you want to go to college for?


You can apply to any school; some(most) have application fees and higher standards so you have to check the university's website for more information on that. They also take into consideration your GPA and extracurricular so that also matters.

You must be registered for see links

You can check bookstores for SAT guides or online for vocab and assessment help. I borrowed an older edition of the Prep book and it helped a lot.

You must be registered for see links

You must be registered for see links

Last resort:

Spoiler

Get a group of friends and learn

You must be registered for see links

(tapping with pencils) Just the basics, obviously- or you can develop your own "language."

Or you can hide a phone inside a T-93/94 but that requires a little more work(PM for details).
They might still let you have your calculator(phone) out during the entire test. Depends on the instructor-some are robots and others literally don't care(I had one who went outside to buy pizza during the reading portion)It doesn't hurt to ask.

again, what do you want to go to college for?

 

[Tera Path]

I had a prep book. I didn't really have to study though. I've always been good at testing. Plus the school I went to wasn't the very hard to get into. Probably physics since it's math based and math is fairly universal. Biology might be a little tough. I never did subject tests though. Where do you want to go to school? Only elite colleges even care about subject tests

Well, currently my first choice is MIT which requires a whole lot of work and most likely some luck.
I'd like to get into an elite/prestige college, and if that doesn't work the first time around then I'd like to just work hard in another college and try to transfer.

Or you could learn to sleep without living.

- -


Most important question: What do you want to go to college for?


You can apply to any school; some(most) have application fees and higher standards so you have to check the university's website for more information on that.

You must be registered for see links

You can check bookstores for SAT guides or online for vocab and assessment help. I borrowed an older edition of the Prep book and it helped a lot.

You must be registered for see links

You must be registered for see links

Last resort:

Spoiler

Get a group of friends and learn

You must be registered for see links

(tapping with pencils) Just the basics, obviously- or you can develop your own "language."

Or you can hide a phone inside a T-93/94 but that requires a little more work(PM for details).
They might still let you have your calculator(phone) out during the entire test. Depends on the instructor-some are robots and others literally don't care(I had one who went outside to buy pizza during the reading portion)

again, what do you want to college for?

I want to study biological sciences and just maybe biochemistry.
Thanks for the "last resort" tips but I'd rather not do that

 

[Cfighter]

I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't ask for that.
Maybe I am really smart, who knows. I could be the next Albert Einstein or that homeless person that you'll walk by in 20 years and ignore.

It was a valid piece of advice, which you did in fact ask for.

The brutal, honest truth is the entire school system is a scam. Yes, if you do in fact seek knowledge, College can benefit you. But College is not for everyone. Not these days. You know what you need to prepare for? Spending lots of money on classes and books. Spending LOTS of your free time writing papers, researching, and just dedicating your free time in general to school. If you're applying for a community college, chances are that you will get into whatever community college you apply for. But if you're aiming for anything other than a community college, then yes. Expect to apply to about a dozen colleges [or more], because you will get rejected by most of your choices, unless you were a wiz kid in High School [took a lot of Honor classes, did after school curriculum like sports, joined a bunch of clubs, got very good grades, etc.].

I think it's safe to assume that you're going to college to get a good paying job. Well, prepare for even more good news! These days, most "good" paying jobs require higher education than your basic AA degree, meaning you're going to need to spend at least 4 years working your ass off in school, just to go out and work your ass off in the real world. That's assuming you get hired, because the working world these days is very brutal. To work at McDonalds now, you need a high school diploma, just as a comparison.

Im not trying to discourage you from going to college. Because if you want to get a good job, you'll have no choice but to go to college [with few exceptions]. While there are JUST as many positives to college life as all the discouraging things I've mentioned, this is what to expect. Everyone has their own ways of preparing for things like tests, and if you haven't figured out how to properly study yet throughout High School then I suggest you start researching study techniques now. Because unlike High School, College is not going to hold your hand. You will be given an assignment, you will be given a due date, and you will be expected to be an adult and keep track of your own progress. There will be no reminders of when assignments are due [some professors might, but it's better not to expect them to]. Professors will not care if you are in class or not. Once you hand over your money to College, you're on your own.

 

[Tera Path]

It was a valid piece of advice, which you did in fact ask for.

The brutal, honest truth is the entire school system is a scam. Yes, if you do in fact seek knowledge, College can benefit you. But College is not for everyone. Not these days. You know what you need to prepare for? Spending lots of money on classes and books. Spending LOTS of your free time writing papers, researching, and just dedicating your free time in general to school. If you're applying for a community college, chances are that you will get into whatever community college you apply for. But if you're aiming for anything other than a community college, then yes. Expect to apply to about a dozen colleges [or more], because you will get rejected by most of your choices, unless you were a wiz kid in High School [took a lot of Honor classes, did after school curriculum like sports, joined a bunch of clubs, got very good grades, etc.].

I think it's safe to assume that you're going to college to get a good paying job. Well, prepare for even more good news! These days, most "good" paying jobs require higher education than your basic AA degree, meaning you're going to need to spend at least 4 years working your ass off in school, just to go out and work your ass off in the real world. That's assuming you get hired, because the working world these days is very brutal. To work at McDonalds now, you need a high school diploma, just as a comparison.

Im not trying to discourage you from going to college. Because if you want to get a good job, you'll have no choice but to go to college [with few exceptions]. While there are JUST as many positives to college life as all the discouraging things I've mentioned, this is what to expect. Everyone has their own ways of preparing for things like tests, and if you haven't figured out how to properly study yet throughout High School then I suggest you start researching study techniques now. Because unlike High School, College is not going to hold your hand. You will be given an assignment, you will be given a due date, and you will be expected to be an adult and keep track of your own progress. There will be no reminders of when assignments are due [some professors might, but it's better not to expect them to]. Professors will not care if you are in class or not. Once you hand over your money to College, you're on your own.

Now this, this is some advice that I appreciate, not what Ciao mentioned.
I asked about tips to get into college and about the SATs, my question wasn't "should I go to college or do something else?"
And the real reason that I want to go to college isn't really to get a good paying job, I just really love biology and I always have. A good paying job would of course be nice to have though.

 

[Jack Spicer]

Don't stress about it. It's not the end of the world. That's my biggest advice.

 

[Cunning Linguist]

Well, currently my first choice is MIT which requires a whole lot of work and most likely some luck.
I'd like to get into an elite/prestige college, and if that doesn't work the first time around then I'd like to just work hard in another college and try to transfer.



I want to study biological sciences and just maybe biochemistry.
Thanks for the "last resort" tips but I'd rather not do that

What do you want to do with biology? Doctor? Where you go to undergrad doesn't matter so much as where you go to grad school/medical school

 

[Tarkatower]

I just did a few practice books, went through a SAT preparation class over the summer, did some online SAT problems, and I got a decent score. If you've taken classes in geometry, algebra, and pre-calc and you're good with english/writing, then you probably don't have to study much and you can just go in and take the damn thing. You'll probably do well.

I applied to 8 colleges, but I had waivers and maybe you'll get some as well. I heard some peeps in my school had applied to 20+.

Though not required, are you planning to take the Biology SAT?