Looking for SAT prep? Visit http://preply.com to get help! Our facebook page: http://facebook.com/preplycom Video presentation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxUftQY9T8U We sent one of our troops in to take the SAT on Saturday, December 1. Find out: -What advice our expert has to give you about the test. -How he dealt with tricky problems he encountered. -Strategies that he used, so that you can used them when you take the SAT -The answers to any other burning questions that you may have.

1. presents
(January 2013 edition)
S

2. WHAT THEY LOOK AT:
• GPA/Class Rank
• Extracurricular Activities
• Teacher Recommendations
• Personal Statement
• SAT/ACT
• SAT Subject Tests

4. S 3 hours 45 minutes
S 175 questions (not including experimental questions)
S 10 sections
3 CR, 3 M, 2 W, 1 Essay, 1 Experimental
S Wrong Answer Penalty (-¼ point)
S 1.664 million test takers in the class of 2012
S Average SAT score = 1500 (514 CR, 497 M, 489 W)

5. S ~200,000 SAT exams administered internationally
S 49% Seniors, 37% Juniors, 14% “other”
S Two different exams administered in the US
(possibly unprecedented)
S Level of difficulty: Easy/Medium

6. Please note:
The following questions are not
actual questions that I encountered
on the exam. However, they are
accurate representations of the
questions I had difficulty with.

7. S

8. Richard was known for his ____________ mannerisms;
he paid enormous attention to detail and was
____________ when it came to appropriate behavior.
A.meticulous; flippant
B. punctilious; stringent

9. Richard was known for his ____________ mannerisms;
he paid enormous attention to detail and was
____________ when it came to appropriate behavior.
A.meticulous; flippant
B. punctilious; stringent
Moral of the story!
Just because a word is unfamiliar doesn’t mean that the answer
is wrong. Don’t fall into the trap of selecting the familiar or
“safe” words

10. S Mark up your passage!!!
S Your answers need to be supported by text from the
passage
S Beware of answer choices that refer to a different part
of the passage
S Usually only one word separates the correct answer
from the wrong one. (e.g., not, except, always, never,…)

11. MATH
S

12. John separates his socks into two groups; he has R socks for his
right foot and L socks for his left foot. Both group R and group
L have only one blue sock. If John’s OCD prevents him from
wearing both blue socks at the same time, how many possible
combinations of socks can he wear?
A. (R + 1)(L + 1)
B. (R – 1)(L – 1)
C. RL – 1
D. 2RL – 2
E. R – 1
L

13. Whenever you
see a question
without
numbers….

14. You put your Right foot in.
R=2 L=2
You take your Left foot out.
How many total pairs?

15. John separates his socks into two groups; he has R socks for his
right foot and L socks for his left foot. Both group R and group
L have only one blue sock. If John’s OCD prevents him from
wearing both blue socks at the same time, how many possible
combinations of socks can he wear?
R = 2 L = 2 ANSWER=3
A. (R + 1)(L + 1) A. (2 + 1)(2 + 1) = 3*3 = 9 ✗
B. (R – 1)(L – 1) B. (2 – 1)(2 – 1) = 1*1 = 1 ✗
C. RL – 1 C. (2*2) – 1 = 4 -1 = 3 ✔
D. 2RL – 2 D. 2(2*2) – 2 = 8 – 2 = 6 ✗
E. R – 1 E. (2 – 1)/2 = ½ ✗
L

16. If 9x2 – y2 = 17, and x and y are positive integers,
what is the sum of x and y?
A. 3
B. 7
C. 10
D. 11
E. 13

17. If 9x2 – y2 = 17, and x and y are positive integers,
what is the sum of x and y?
A. 3 2 2
9x – y = 17
2 2
B. 7 y = 9x – 17
2
C. 10 y = √(9x – 17)
D. 11
E. 13

18. If 9x2 – y2 = 17, and x and y are positive integers,
what is the sum of x and y?
x=1 x=3
2
y = √(9(1)2 – 17) y = √(9(3) – 17)
A. 3 2 2
9x – y = 17
2 2 y = √(9 – 17) y = √(81 – 17)
B. 7 y = 9x – 17 y = √(-8) y = √(64) = 8 ✔
2
C. 10 y = √(9x – 17) not an integer! INTEGER!
x=2 x=4
D. 11
y = √(9(2)2 – 17)
E. 13 y = √(36 – 17)
y = √(19)
not an integer!

19. If 9x2 – y2 = 17, and x and y are positive integers,
what is the sum of x and y?
x=3
2
y = √(9(3) – 17)
A. 3
y = √(81 – 17)
B. 7 ✔
C. 10
x + y = 3 + 8 = 11 y = √(64) = 8
INTEGER!
D. 11 ✔
E. 13

20. Moral
of
the
story?

22. I once heard the story of an old man who found one million
pennies using a metal detector in the cornfields of Iowa.

23. I once heard the story of an old man who found one million
pennies using a metal detector in the cornfields of Iowa.
Pennies cannot use
metal detectors!!!

24. I once heard the story of an old man who found one million
pennies using a metal detector in the cornfields of Iowa.
Modifier: a word or phrase that modifies, or changes the
meaning of another word or phrase
Rule: Place modifiers as close as you can to the subject or
object they modify.
Possible alternative…
I once heard the story of an old man who used a metal
detector and found one million pennies in the cornfields of
Iowa.

25. In her most recent novel, J.K. Rowling’s protagonist…
Kicking and screaming, Danny’s mom dragged him out…
She served sandwiches to the children on paper plates…

26. S Verbs
(tense, subject-verb agreement, parallelism)
S Idioms
S Pronoun-antecedent agreement

27. Rule: Whenever you see a verb,
always check to make sure that it
agrees with its subject!

28. The energy given off by highly annoying and moody teenagers are
A
very effective in causing other to feel distressed, thereby making life
B C
miserable for all parties. No error
D E
The test writers want you to think
that teenagers is the subject…

29. The energy given off by highly annoying and moody teenagers are
A
very effective in causing other to feel distressed, thereby making life
B C
miserable for all parties. No error
D E
… but if you get rid of the prepositional
phrase, you’ll find the REAL subject.
IS
✗
The energy given off are very effective…

30. The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately
A B
five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.
C D
No error.
E

31. The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately
A B
five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.
C D
No error.
E
The cost of graduating is….
Hmm… that works.

32. The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately
A B
five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.
C D
No error.
E

33. The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately
A B
five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.
C D
No error.
E
Just like verbs, pronouns need
to match their subject!

34. Moral Watch out for:
VERBS
of PRONOUNS
the Pennies with
metal detectors
story?

36. S

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S Tutors who have scored in the top 1% of all SAT test
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joey@preply.com