Getting Started
Hopefully, you have adequate time to prepare for the SAT and are not reduced to a week of cramming. You need to make a plan, one that takes into account areas of concern identified by your practice test scores. You should also consider whether you wish to go it alone or combine individual study with participation in a weekly study group. Combining the two can relieve some of the tedium of studying alone while still maintaining a focus on your needs. I recommend the group be very small, no more than three members. Pick peers who are motivated but also supportive, not competitive.

Boost Your Reading and Writing Skills with Q Cards
If you need to improve your reading comprehension and the quality of your writing, an efficient way to accomplish this is to focus your efforts on developing your vocabulary. Do this in two ways: review vocabulary directly by using Q Cards and significantly increase your time spent reading. Q Cards is the most advanced vocabulary flash card system available, providing you with a powerful and effective tool for increasing your word knowledge and boosting your test score. Research on massed versus dispersed practice consistently shows that information is understood and recalled more effectively if learning is spread out over time. Q Cards are ideal for this because, unlike CDs and large test prep books, their portability allows for a highly flexible study schedule.

With respect to reading, national admissions exams are designed to estimate your ability to handle college level material covering a broad range of topics. Pass up the celebrity, teen, wrestling, and fashion magazines and pick up a National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Natural History, Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, or other publications that cover science, politics, the arts, world events, medicine, etc. Newspapers, including the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and New York Times, particularly the Sunday editions, are also excellent in this regard. You will improve your reading skills, familiarize yourself with the type of material covered by the test, increase your vocabulary, and broaden your horizons as well.

Test Prep Publications
Test prep books by most major publishers (e.g., Barrons, Kaplan, etc.) are thorough, inexpensive, well researched, and recommended as a companion for Q Cards. They provide helpful exercises, practice and diagnostic tests, and review all the major areas covered by the test you plan to take. These books also provide information about how to approach the different types of questions posed by the exam. They are similar in content but differ somewhat in style and format. Avoid publications that emphasize quick fixes, test taking "tricks" or other gimmicks to raise your score. There are useful test taking strategies that you should know but no easy way to beat the exam or trick your way to a higher score. The developers of the SAT are not fools. Students who earn high scores do so because they have acquired the requisite knowledge and skills through class work, reading, and preparation.

See Test Preparation Tips
See Handling Test Anxiety