Can’t meet your tutors for the SAT or the ACT? Are you looking forward to improving your scores but don’t know how to do it? Are you using an online SAT/ACT prep course to help you get to the coveted school? If you answered yes to some of these questions, chances are you are tired of reading for long hours and forgetting the previous lesson by the time you move to the next. Here are a few tips to help you improve without losing track of time or losing sight of the progress you make.
Tip 1: Stick to a study schedule
Do you go to the gym? Yes, then you are well aware of the advantages of a schedule. Just as your fixed schedule helps you get better body shape, a fixed study schedule helps you improve your scores. Doing something regularly helps you get better at it. Also, if you set aside a time to do something, then it becomes a little easier to do that work. The schedule will help you get into a fixed habit of studying, and just as you can do 10 additional push-ups compared to the time you first started, you will get 100 additional points on the SAT or 10 additional points on the ACT in no time.
Tip 2: Study for shorter periods
You didn’t start putting multiple hours on day 1 to the gym. You most probably started with a few minutes of exercise. Follow the same for your study schedule. Keep them short!
Break your study schedule into multiple shorter sessions over a long period of time. Start with one-hour sessions daily for the first two weeks, and gradually increase to 2-hour sessions. The shorter sessions help you retain more information and make studying more effective.
Tip 3: Pat yourself for hitting a milestone
Do you follow a cheat day diet? Why is it important? So, that you can reward yourself for the hard work you did during the week. The same principle works for studying. Start by defining your milestones at the start of the prep and reward yourself with a chocolate or a movie once you hit your milestones. The bigger the milestone, the bigger should be your reward. This process helps you stay motivated and stay on track.
Tip 4: Make your own notes
It is easy to learn by looking at a video or an instructor going through a tough problem. But, the best way to retain the information is when you make your own notes. Write the rules in your own words. By putting the lesson in your own words, you ensure that you keep the points in mind just as you like it.
Tip 5: Be a teacher to your friend
Just as you help your friend at your gym when he joins in, help your friends prepare for the test with your knowledge. This practice helps you revise your concepts and grasp them in a better way. It also helps you to look at the problems in a new and unique way when you try to explain them to friends in multiple ways - making it simple for him and for yourself.