1. Preview Your Notes Before You Begin Studying

Before you dive right into memorizing every single page of your notes, first briefly skim them so that you get a general overview of the material that you will be studying. This will help give you an idea as to how you should go about studying for this exam in the best possible way. Not only that, but it will also help you mentally organize the material. For example, if you skim through your biology notes, some pages may cover the parts of the cell, mitosis, and meiosis. You know that these topics intertwine and go together, so study them together. Other pages of your notes may include bacteria and viruses. Study these topics together once you are done with the previous topics. Finding ways to interconnect the material can be crucial in helping you understand and remember it.

2. Use Outlines and Graphic Organizers

Another way to understand how all of your topics are interconnected is by using an outline or a graphic organizer. This helps you visualize your notes. In order to understand  the main ideas of cell structure, mitosis, and meiosis, you can create a web to link all of these topics together. If you are studying for a history test, you could create a timeline that includes all of the important events and people that will appear on your history test. For visual learners, this will be extraordinary helpful as you are able to visualize your material while taking your exams.

3. Use Mnemonics While Studying

Mnemonics always serve as a great way to help you memorize all types of information. Simply make one up that you know you can remember. Some of the more famous mnemonics include:

Taxonomy: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.                             “Kings Play Cards On Fat Green Stools”

Lab Research: Problem, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Data, Analyze, Conclusion, Communicate                                                                                                                           “People Really Hate Eating Donuts And Cold Cider”

Metric Units: Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Deci, Centi, Milli                                                                       “King Henry Died Drinking Chocolate Milk”

4. Rewrite Your Notes

Do not think that you can simply recopy your notes and expect for it to stick in your mind.  What is more efficient would be to rewrite the important ideas, concepts, and bits of information throughout your notes so that it sticks. Try summarizing the sections of your notes into your own words so that you can understand it and explain it to yourself better. As you read through your rewritten notes, figure out what topics and concepts are most important. Then, make an outline from the most to least important. Rewrite and summarize your notes again. Repetition always helps make the material stick in your brain.

There you have it. Follow our tips and cruise into those exams without a problem. Good luck!

Bring on the leeches.

Students preparing to take the SAT are always trying to find new tricks for learning all those obscure vocabulary words that the test makers love to cram into the verbal portion of the exam. Sometimes knowing a little history can make it easier to remember a vocab word, or even several. Melancholic, choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, humor, and temperament are some of the most commonly tested words on the SAT, and while they might look hard to remember (and pronounce), knowing where they come from and the strange relationship they have to the dark ages will ensure that they stick in your mind when exam day comes.

Medicine in medieval times was a far cry from what it has become today. Before vaccines, antibiotics, X-rays, and CAT scans, people had some funny ideas about how the body worked, and the cures of medieval doctors were probably just as likely to kill you as they were to make you better. In the middle ages, people believed that everything in the world was composed of four elements: earth, air, water, and fire (this was also before the periodic table). This included you, and doctors believed that each element was represented in your body by a bodily fluid, or humor: black bile for earth, yellow bile for fire, blood for air, and phlegm for water (pretty gross, right?). They believed that illnesses were caused by an imbalance of these four humors – if you had too much black bile, that would cause certain diseases; too much phlegm would cause others. Regardless of what ailed you, the doctor’s prescription was nearly always the same. Using leaches or a good old-fashioned, unsterilized knife, they would bleed you regularly until you either got better or died (and you thought getting a shot was bad!).

Albrecht Durer's famous 1514 engraving, Melancholia I

So, what does this have to do with SAT vocab, you ask? Well, medieval doctors also believed that some people naturally tended to produce an excess of one of the humors, and that this excess would express itself in such a person’s personality, or temperament. Black bile was known in Greek as melancholer (in Greek, melan = black (as in melanoma, Melanesia, melanin, etc.) and choler = bile), and if you had too much black bile, you were said to be melancholic. Because black bile was associated with earth, and because earth is the heaviest of the elements, this meant that you would spend your time thinking about heavy thoughts, and you might be slightly depressed. Philosophers were thought to be a melancholic bunch.

Yellow bile was simply known as choler, and if you had too much of that, you were choleric. Because yellow bile was associated with fire, this meant you were likely to have a fiery temper and be quick to anger.

If you take a romance language (a language descended from Latin – Latin was the language of ancient Rome, hence romance language) as a foreign language, you will know that the word “blood” translates as sang (French), sangre (Spanish), or sangue (Italian). It is no surprise then, that the Latin root sang means blood. If you had too much blood, you were sanguine. Because blood was associated with air, and air is the lightest of the elements, sanguine people were thought to be more cheerful, optimistic, energetic, and bold. Today, the word sanguine can also still mean bloody, or literally having to do with blood.

An 18th century engraving of the four temperaments.

Lastly, if you had too much phlegm, you were said to be phlegmatic. Because phlegm was associated with water, and water is kind of wishy-washy, phlegmatic people were likely to just go with the flow and be easy-going, laid back, and even apathetic or detached from the world. Today, a phlegmatic person would likely say “whatever, dude” to just about everything.

While medicine has thankfully moved on since the middle ages, these words have lived on as descriptions of people’s personality types, and the SAT test makers love them. Also remember that while the word “humor” normally refers to jokes and other funny stuff today, it can also refer to a person’s mood more generally, as in “he was in a good/bad humor today” (and you can bet the unusual definition is going to be the one on the SAT). The word “temperament” refers to a person’s personality, or disposition. If a person is temperamental, though, that means he or she is moody and unpredictable, the idea being that his or her humors are constantly swinging in and out of balance.

So there you go – seven great SAT vocab words for the price of one!

If you come out of the SAT knowing you did poorly, you have 2 options to “cover up” your bad score. 1) You can cancel your SAT score or 2) You can use Score Choice when sending colleges your SAT scores.

In this post, I will cover canceling your scores, but check out our other posts from this series to better understand score choice and rescheduling test dates.

• Canceling Scores & Utilizing Score Choice: Part 2 – How Do I Use Score Choice to Show Universities My Best Scores (coming soon!)
• Canceling Scores & Utilizing Score Choice: Part 3 – What if I sign up for the SAT, and decide I am not ready? (coming soon!)
• Changing Your SAT Test Type and Changing SAT Subject Tests (coming soon!)

CANCELING YOUR SAT SCORES

According to College Board, after you take the SAT, you may cancel your score before leaving the test center and up until 11:59 ET on the Wednesday after you took the exam.

Once a request to cancel scores is submitted, those scores cannot be reinstated and cannot be reported to the test take or any universities. The scores essentially disappear and will not be on your SAT record in any way.

• Should I Cancel My SAT Scores?
• How Do I Cancel My SAT Scores?
• What Happens If My Equipment Malfunctions On Test Day?
• Can I Cancel Scores For Just One Sat Subject Test?

SHOULD I CANCEL MY SAT SCORES?

This is the most important question to ask yourself, as we rarely recommend canceling your SAT scores. Unless your equipment malfunctions (more about this later in the post), do not cancel your score immediately after the test.

After the SAT, most students are mentally exhausted (if not totally brain dead) and feel the pressure of the test. Questions like, “I wonder if I missed all of the grid-ins problems? What the heck does dilettante mean? Is 1 a prime number?,” run though everyone’s head. So this is definitely not the time to make big decisions!

Before choosing to cancel your scores just because the SAT sucked up all your confidence, sleep on it. This may be cliché advice, but it is sound advice. Allow time for your brain power to restore and your stress level to decrease.

Often times, students perform better than they think. Joan Zhang, who made a perfect score, was just hoping she did better than her 7^th grade brother.  She proves that there is an obvious gap in one’s judgment of his or her own performance and reality.

Also, compare the consequences of canceling versus waiting for your scores to come out. If you cancel your score, you risk eliminating a potential good score, and you will have to retake the SAT. If you keep your score and are unhappy with the results, you will retake the SAT. (Using Score Choice, you could even prevent universities from seeing the so-so score.) Either way, you will be retaking the SAT.

For all of these reasons, we generally don’t recommend canceling your SAT scores. Of course with every rule there are a few exceptions:

1. An emergency during testing caused you to leave the exam early.
2. You are 100% sure you misbubbled an entire section or more.
3. During an SAT Subject Test, your calculator or listening test equipment malfunctioned.

If you have read all of our above advice, and are still positive that you would like to cancel your scores, read on.

HOW DO I CANCEL MY SAT SCORES?

There are 2 Ways to Cancel Scores:
1) At the Test Center
After your test:

1. Ask the test supervisor for a Request to Cancel Test Scores form.
2. Complete and sign the form.
3. Return the form to the test supervisor before leaving the center.

2) After Leaving the Test Center

1. If you choose to cancel your scores after leaving the test center, your written request must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the Wednesday after the test date. (Students with disabilities who test in school-based testing have until the Monday one week after the published test date to cancel their scores, due to the extended school-testing window.)  You cannot submit cancellation requests by phone or e-mail because your signature is required.
2. Download and print the SAT Request to Cancel Test Scores form.
3. Send the SAT Request to Cancel Test Scores to College Board.

There are 3 Ways to Send your SAT Request to Cancel Test Scores Form:

1) Fax to 610-290-8978

2) Overnight delivery via U.S. Postal Service Express Mail (U.S. only)
SAT Score Cancellation
P.O. Box 6228
Princeton, NJ 08541-6228

3) Other overnight mail service or courier (U.S. or international)
SAT Score Cancellation
1425 Lower Ferry Road
Ewing, NJ 08618

The mailing or fax label should read: “Attention: SAT Score Cancellation.

Don’t forget to follow up.
If you fax the form make sure you get a fax confirmation. For fax and mail delivery, call College Board to follow up and confirm receipt of the form. Don’t leave room for error!

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTIONS ON TEST DAY?

If your calculator malfunctions or if you forget your calculator during the SAT Reasoning Test (the standard SAT that is required for college admissions), you can cancel your scores using the procedures above. Even if your calculator malfunctions, we recommend proceeding using your super duper brain power! While a calculator is helpful, most SAT math can be completed without one. Also, forgetting your calculator doesn’t mean that you need to cancel your scores. It’s possible to score well with out one!

If your equipment fails during a SAT Subject Test that requires equipment (like the Mathematics Level 1 or Mathematics Level 2 test or during a Language Test with Listening), you can request to cancel just the scores on the affected test and still have the other SAT Subject Tests scored.

If your equipment malfunctions, you must:

1. Report the equipment failure during the test.
2. Fill out and sign a Request to Cancel Test Scores form, checking off “Single Subject Test Equipment Failure.”
3. Return the completed form to the room supervisor before leaving.

In all other cases, scores from all the tests you took on the same date will be canceled.

CAN I CANCEL SCORES FOR JUST ONE SAT SUBJECT TEST?

Student can take up to 3 SAT Subject tests on each SAT test day. If you take more than one SAT Subject test on a given day, then you cannot cancel just one test UNLESS your equipment malfunctions.

(If you are taking a SAT subject test and something goes wrong with your equipment, read the section above on how to cancel just the scores from the affected test.)

Let’s say you take the Math Level 2, U.S. History, and Chemistry SAT Subject tests on the same day. After the tests are over, you feel confident about the Math and History exams, but you are sure you bombed the Chemistry test, because you never set aside to study. In a situation like this, you CANNOT cancel just the Chemistry scores. This is an all or nothing situation. You must either cancel the scores from the entire test day or keep all of the scores from that day.

Earning Work Experience!

You ask and we answer! Do you have question about college admissions, applications, entrance exams, or anything pertaining to college preparation? Drop us a line at Ask Test Masters, and we will answer your question in an upcoming post!

Question:  I am working on my college resume, but I don’t feel like I have enough to fill the page. I haven’t received an award and I don’t have any work experience what should I do?

Answer: A resume is meant to show off your strengths, not highlight your weaknesses, so there are ways to spin your resume to work for you. Most high school resumes include several main headings: 1) Education, 2) Awards and Honors, 4) Work/Leadership Positions, 5) Extracurricular Activities, 6) Skills.

These headings can always be combined, excluded, or changed to best reflect your experiences.

Defining Work Experience

Many high school students don’t work traditional jobs but have been committed to doing something like babysitting for years. Any type of work, whether babysitting, working at a family owned business, or volunteering, shows responsibility.

When putting together your resume, think of any kind of work or activity that demonstrates responsibility, dedication, or skill. Think about your role in extracurricular activities or clubs, leadership positions, summer programs, or volunteer work.

If you have spent 3 hours a day practicing and performing with your school dance team for the past 3 years, then you clearly have the ability to commit. For college admissions officers, this translates to your ability to commit to your academics at their school.

Time To Shine

If you still have a few months before college apps are due, think about ways you can enhance your college resume while also gaining valuable enrichment experiences. Consider volunteering, joining a club you are passionate about, getting a job, or stepping up as an officer for an org you are involved with.

For more important resume tips and fixes, read:
Creating a Solid Resume: 5 Tips to Prove Your Worth

PROTEIN

This includes eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, salmon. They contain the brain-healthy nutrient choline which boosts brain cell function, which in turn boosts brain productivity as well as memory.

FRUITS

Berries are considered the best brain boosters, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Berries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and they also significantly improve learning capacity. The avocado…is it a fruit or a vegetable? We’ll let you argue that one. In the meantime, it is important to know that avocados are known to help improve blood flow, which means improving brain function. They also help in lowering blood pressure, which increases cognitive ability.

VEGETABLES

We get it, you hate brussels sprouts. But what about broccoli? Spinach? Or even carrots? Such vegetables are a wonderful source of vitamin-K,  which is known to enhance cognitive function as well as help improve brainpower.

NUTS & SEEDS

These include almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds. Peanut butter and almond butter are great, too. Nuts and seeds are wonderful sources of vitamin E, which helps our brain think, focus, and remember better.

WHOLE GRAINS

Whole grains, such as oatmeal, whole-grain breads, and brown rice are known to reduce the risk for heart disease. Why is that? Because they promote good blood flow. Healthy blood flow, once again, equals healthy brain function. Another benefit is that they are known to help keep cholesterol down, which also keeps your brain sharp and functioning.

Not only will eating such healthy foods be a good thing for you for your tests, but maintaining such a good diet will be good for your mind and body, for the rest of your life! Eat good food. Get good test scores.

THIS WEEK’S WORD

ABRASIVE [uh-brey-siv] adjective

Overly aggressive; Coarse; Harsh

EXAMPLE: Although it may not be the best way to be, one way to be PERSUASIVE is to be ABRASIVE during your argument.

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW IT

ABRASIVE is part of your Testmasters SAT & PSAT Vocabulary list therefore it has either shown up on these exams before, or it has a great chance of showing up in the near future. Knowing the words on this list will help boost your overall score on the verbal section. We wouldn’t just make you learn this word all for nothin’ now would we?

Joan Zhang with her $1000 Perfect Score Scholarship Presented by Test Masters

In January 2012 Joan Zhang bubbled her way to SAT perfection. This is no small feat, as each year less than .02% of high school students earn a perfect 2400. I had the pleasure of talking with Joan about her success and her preparation with Test Masters. Through our chat, I discovered something unexpected – she is just like any other high school student. That’s right, Joan isn’t a hybrid teenage robot who magically computes every correct answer on the SAT.

Many people put perfect scorers on an idealistic pedestal laced with stereotypes – Perfect scorers know what they are going to major in (probably something math or science related), are sure to have their university and career plans precisely lined up for the next 10 years, and never needed any sort of practice. Well, if you believe these common misconceptions, you, too, have been deceived. Joan, and all other perfect scorers, is just your average high school student who has worked hard towards attaining a specific goal. Just like the star football player practices his sport each day at football practice, an SAT all-star has to put in the same kind of dedication to her craft. Read on and you will see that Joan is still weighing her college options, loves music, and has to practice to become perfect.

Q: Where do you plan to go to college and what would you like to study?
A: “This is question that we’re always asked, and most people will answer that they don’t know. Frankly, that is true, because it’s hard to know which colleges will grant you that golden ticket. To me, I want to keep an open mind and not let labels define which schools I look at. I may be romanticizing, but I would like my ideal college to be a place where students challenge and support one another to dream big.”

“Right now, I would love to study business, not because many parents are pushing their kids to do so, but because I feel that business is essential in many different fields. I think a key aspect of being a successful person (in conjunction with good virtues) is the ability to sell oneself and one’s personality. I’d also like to be able to double major in music performance on flute.”

Q: Why did you choose to take a Test Masters test prep course?
A: “There are many students who spend their summers volunteering at Hospital A, or researching with Institute B, or (for some early birds) preparing for college essays, which is wonderful, and I’m sure that these activities are very enriching. However, this can really overwhelm even the most studious individuals and take away from their SAT prep time. Taking Test Masters really forced me to sit down and focus on the SAT, and allowed me to go through concepts that I hadn’t previously been able to put into words or fully comprehend.”

Q: What did you like best about Test Masters?
A: “The attitude and atmosphere of the classroom made Test Masters a very enjoyable experience. The SAT can’t exactly compete with Facebook or video games, so it’s incredible to me that Test Masters was able to keep everyone’s attention. I loved that I was able to learn important skills, but also laugh in the process. I know that if my brother were answering this question though, his answer would definitely be the candy.”

Q: Do you feel that you could have achieved a perfect score had you not taken a Test Masters class?
A: “The Test Masters exam clubs are essential towards achieving a 2400. It was really helpful to take actual SAT tests because it made test day seem like just another practice test. Taking the test takes enough focus, so it really helps to get rid of the nerves.”

Q: How helpful was Test Masters in helping you attaining a perfect score?
A: “I know that I could not have achieved a 2400 without Test Masters. For the writing and math sections, the Test Masters classes allowed me to go over all the different concepts that I may have previously forgotten. The exam clubs allowed me to practice reading sections to a point where I almost caught myself enjoying the passages.”

Q: What were the Test Masters teachers like?
A: “The teachers connect with the students so well, and even though they rotate every class, you feel like they’re your friends by the end of each class. They know what they’re talking about when it comes to the test material, but they also are able to communicate in our language. They understand our modern infatuations, and this ability to relate allows them to speak to us when it comes to the important SAT concepts.”

Q: How were the Test Masters study materials?
A: “The essay format is invaluable! Although I feel that it’s important to make the format your own, it really relieved a lot of the stress in finding the words to put on paper. The vocabulary list is also an essential tool that can really help even after the course is over. I remember studying the vocabulary lists on the nights before both the PSAT and SAT.”

Q: What advice would you have for the students preparing for the SAT?
A: “Don’t ever limit yourself because of what others think. No matter what you get on your first couple tries, a 2400 can be possible if you work towards it. I’m an avid supporter of the idea that persistence is the driving force behind success, and the first step is being able to dream it.  Just because you’re not one of those kids that reads constantly, or makes straight A’s, doesn’t mean that you can’t do well on the SAT.”

To read more about other Test Masters Perfect Scorers (because there are many of them!), click here.

Bringing Happiness to College Students

For many college students, stress and frustration from deadlines and rigorous academics are part of life. If you are looking for a university that eases the tension, Northwestern University just might be for you. Walking through campus, you may notice students dishing out “free hugs” and sharing smiley face stickers. This is because students on campus have united to form the Happiness Club. With lemonade stands, hot chocolate booths, silent dance parties, and bubbles, the Happiness Club aims to alleviate collegiate stress and build a stronger community.

The official vision of the Happiness Club is: to “try to foster a community of happiness at Northwestern through fun events and simple acts of kindness.” The club recognizes that small moments lead to smiles and joy. Through their events, the Happiness Club is making Northwestern a cheerful place to learn.

To read more about the Happiness Club, visit their web page or read about them in the Northwestern News Center.

Check out our original College Profile on Northwestern University for more facts about Northwestern.

Organize Your Time Effiectively

If you were one of those students who flew through high school without having to write out your daily events, well way to go. You survived. But now it is time to practice organization. Not just for college, but for the rest of your life! Aside from organizing your upcoming graduation parties and other social events, find a day planner that you will use in order to stay on track. Plus, when you organize your time wisely, you will end up with more free time than you normally would if you weren’t organized. What you do with that free time, for now, is up to you. You’ve earned it.

Continue to Challenge Yourself Academically

Sure, there is just one month left of your entire high school career. Although you may want to just flip the “Off” switch and go into an early summer hibernation, why not do the opposite and go out with a bang? This is your last semester of high school, make it a good one. Aim for all A’s on your final exams just to see if you can do it. Besides, college is not going to be this easy. So you really don’t want to develop any bad, lazy habits that might be carried over to college. Think about it this way, the college football players who are getting ready for the NFL draft aren’t slacking off. In fact, they’re working 10 times harder because that’s what it takes to compete at the next level. The same rules apply to you too.

Get Extra Volunteer and/or Work Experience

So you’re bored with just one month to go and you don’t know how to effectively spend the last of your time. Go out and get some extra volunteer experience. And don’t do it because it “looks good for college.” Remember, you’ve already been accepted. Now it’s time to do things simply because you enjoy it. Maybe you’re an animal lover? Volunteer at an animal clinic with your friends and have a fun time with it. Now is a good time to find a job for the summer. Companies are doing their hiring now for the summer time. It’s always nice to have a little extra spending money before you enter those dreadful “broke” stages of college. Hope you like Ramen Noodles!

Find Future Fellow College Students

A great way to stay excited and motivated about school is to form a group with fellow students that will be going to the same college as you. This will be a great way to start making friends that you just might hold on to for the next four years. It is always nice to have someone you know in an environment that you are unfamiliar with. Not only that, but you all can help each other figure out how to fully prepare for this new and exciting journey. You can all watch each others’ backs to make sure no one walks in on the first day unprepared.

THIS WEEK’S WORD

PLACID [plas-id] verb

Pleasantly calm or peaceful; tranquil.

EXAMPLE: Sitting on the dock overlooking the beautiful lake might just be the most PLACID PLACE one could be possibly be.

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW IT

PLACID is part of your Testmasters SAT & PSAT Vocabulary list therefore it has either shown up on these exams before, or it has a great chance of showing up in the near future. Knowing the words on this list will help boost your overall score on the verbal section. We wouldn’t just make you learn this word all for nothin’ now would we?