*SAT er math toh pani*
I took the SAT on December 02, 2023. Like 43949 other asians, I was expecting that SAT Math would be in my hands on the Test day like had been in my Bluebook practice tests. I solved 40+ old paper SAT materials and had consistently scored 770+ on almost all tests. So, why wouldn’t I think that the math section was in my hands? But it wasn’t.
College board has conducted experiments on their New SAT model through the internationals throughout 2023 and is now set to begin with it in US as well. Well, that's the worst part of it. I talked to people who took the SAT on December 02 as their second or third appearance and found that they all were complaining the same. I had friends who had medals in math olympiad and still agreed that the SAT on December was hard for them too. So, I think that it's time stop having this wrong idea that SAT math is going to be super easy for you as you scored 95+ in maths throughout your school years.
SAT is a reading test throughout. Be it math or the reading section, you must grow a reading habit in order to bring perfection on SAT. However, as per my experience on the December SAT, I think that SAT Math is going to require some extra efforts. Here I am outlining the process you must go through if you hope to stay comfortable on the test day. (I would mess up on the test if I hadn’t done these all)
1. Solve all math sections from 54 old paper SAT question available on internet (will be putting down the link in the comment section)
◑ Time yourself. Do the calculator section only. There are 38 questions in each test and the official time was 55 time for the section. But try to finish it within 30 mins and revise for the next 5 mins. If you want to score something decent, you must invest this 1.5 hours/day of time on old sat math for the first two months of your practice.
◑ Watch walkthrough videos. Scalar learning has the best walkthrough videos I think. After finishing one test, go to YouTube and watch the solution from these videos. Watching videos will teach better strategies and flashback the same test.
◑ Once you are done with 25+ SAT old paper SAT maths, now start with the Foundation of DSAT Math Course Khan Academy.
◑ Then finish the medium section and start timing yourself. You must keep in your mind that he resources for DSAT is not abundant, so do not waste them. If you make one mistake, repent as much as possible. And go to Youtube and watch some videos on that particular concept. John Jung is a YouTube channel for learning the concept more clearly.
◑ Now, you are on the 2.5 months of your SAT journey. Start with the advanced section of Khan Academy DSAT math and do them with care. I told you that you don't have much resources to waste.
Start taking tests from bluebook (It's better if you taken one on the very first month of your preparation)
Time Management:
* I won't tell you to do it as fast as possible on the Module 2 of the math section. You will be quick and keep making silly mistakes this way, losing some scores that your efforts deserved to have. Rather, try to be sincere. Be quick and sincere while solving the 2nd module so that you don't need to think of revising the 2nd module. Try to solve first 15 questions within 10 minutes. Now you have 25 minutes left for 7 questions. Make sure that you are correcting 5 out of these 7 questions( in fact, at least 4 solvable questions in this death zone). If you have been careful throughout, and made two mistake from the death zone (17-22), you will score 770+ easily.
You may reach me out if you want to hear more. Will try to help out.
To the person reading this, I request you to give a few minutes of your time to read the entire thing. I believe your cooperation can truly help hundreds of students out there.
For all the students studying in different universities abroad, I know a common question you regularly face is “What ECAs did you do in high school?” Knowing how broad that question is and the multiple possible ways one can answer that, we always end up providing a general guidance to seize some of the millions of possibilities out there, because we know that’s the right way. But understanding the essence of that advice can be tough at times for someone not acquainted with the concept of seeking opportunities.
Thus, I write this post to request you to provide the exact links of the events/opportunities you got involved in during high-school which you felt contributed to your college admission, more importantly personal development. It can be anything ranging from an international science competition, a community work opportunity, to a national debate meet, anything. It doesn’t matter that the deadline for this year might be over, or it’s an Olympiad everyone knows about, or it’s a very specific competition, or it’s an event someone already mentioned. If you participated in it, provide the link, and hopefully, your junior will dive into the ones that attract them.
The reason I feel we should be doing this is because I find it really sad that only a few people of our country get into decent colleges abroad every year compared to other countries despite having so much potential. And I feel the lack of knowledge on resources/opportunities available to students is playing a key role here. But that number can drastically change if we start to share the resources we have with all those unaware of them. I feel this small effort is genuinely worth a try.
Students of very few countries among the hundreds of countries out there I met claimed to have such a massive educational group dedicated for undergraduate students and I feel this can continue to be the amazing resource it already is. So, if you can, please provide the links of the opportunities you are aware of in the comments below, even one if that’s the case, and hundreds of potential applicants will be benefitted from your contribution regardless of whether they choose to apply or not.
Thank you so much. Hope all of you are having an amazing winter break!
Sincerely,
Seeam Shahid Noor
Harvard College Class of 2021
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