While this reading comprehension plan works for all SAT and ACT student levels, it is especially geared towards students starting below 450 or 20. We’ve helped many students push through the 550 SAT and 24 ACT threshold over the years, but it’s never easy. Reading is a skill and most students scoring below 500 SAT and 22 ACT, haven’t logged the practice hours. While there is not a surefire way to boost a reading score, the following plan has worked for many of Hammer Prep’s students. You must follow it exactly as stated below.

Step 1 – Acknowledge that reading is a skill and demands daily practice. The more you’ve avoided reading, the more work you have to do starting today.

Step 2 – Don’t make excuses. Again, reading is a skill that requires constant practice.

Step 3 – Keep score. Give yourself 1 point for each reading passage and 1 point for every 5 words you learn.

Step 4 – Read one passage per day. Establish a training schedule. We encourage our SAT and ACT students to subscribe to www.delanceyplace.com and read the daily post. It takes 5-10 minutes per day. We also encourage you to pull from the most popular articles at www.nytimes.com and www.wsj.com.

Step 5 – Learn 14 new words per week (that’s 2 each day).We provide our students with a word list, as well as encourage them to add words from daily reading to the list. A simple Google search for “SAT words” will provide more than enough to start with.

Step 6 – Understand that improvement will take several months, but the return is lifelong. Stick with it!

Step 7 – Avoid these Common Mistakes:

1. Don’t read to memorize, which is how most students read for school.
2. Don’t clump all of your reading practice into 1 or 2 days. Professionals practice every day for a reason!
3. Don’t create flashcards and forget to study them.

Step 8 – Congratulate yourself after every 20 points. Target the century mark: 100 points.

We’ve found that students who stick to a reading training program for at least 3 months experience huge point gains. If you’d an expert to build a custom reading program for you, contact us to schedule a free consultation.

After you take the SAT or ACT, you wait for agonizing days until the scores come back… and then what? It’s hard to decide whether or not to take the SAT over again, and that’s not even considering the opportunity cost of giving up your Saturday morning of cereal and cartoons.

So, do you need to retake the SAT? In order to decide, you need to do this for every college you’re considering applying to:

1. Search for your college on CollegeBoard’s website. The search engine is labeled College Search.
2. Click Admissions link.
3. Scroll down to SAT Total Range.
4. Evaluate yourself based on where you are compared to the mid-range.

For example, Loyola Marymount shows:

SAT Total Range of 1230 – 1410.

> If your SAT score is 1320 or higher, you’re a good candidate.
> If your SAT score is above 1410, you’re a strong candidate–and you’re on track to receive an academic scholarship from the college.
> If your SAT score is below 1230, consider taking the SAT or ACT again. Keep in mind that 25 percent of admits score below this number, so don’t become too discouraged.

You can do the same exercise for ACT scores.

Short answer: Probably not.

Long answer:

The PSAT is a preliminary qualifying test for certain scholarships. A fact you may not know is that the score you are required to get to become a Semifinalist depends on your state. Usually for California the score is around 220, which corresponds to a 1480 PSAT (and 1560 SAT). You can only miss a few questions on the entire test. That means that you’d already better be scoring really, really high to care about hitting semi-finalist status.

Ok, but I AM scoring pretty darn high! Isn’t it important to get National Merit?

Colleges care about your SAT scores, not your PSAT scores. National Merit is not even close to one of the top criteria in college admissions. Spend time thinking about your college essays or volunteering rather than worrying about the PSAT. It’s really not that big a deal.

But National Merit gives scholarships, right?

Sure, but so do a lot of places. The National Merit top prize is a $2500 scholarship. If you apply for a specific college or corporate scholarship, you might get more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get scholarships, but as far as college costs, National Merit is most likely going to be a drop in the bucket. Winning a National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) award is hardly something to stress over. You’ll either get it or you won’t, and again, it’s probably not that big a deal.

So should I even care about the PSAT at all?

Sure, but treat it like an extra homework assignment. It’s great practice for the SAT, and that’s the test you have to worry about!