pwn the sat

S

presents

(January 2013 edition)

WHAT THEY LOOK AT:

• GPA/Class Rank

• Extracurricular Activities

• Teacher Recommendations

• Personal Statement

• SAT/ACT

• SAT Subject Tests

S 3 hours 45 minutes

S 175 questions (not including experimental questions)

S 10 sections3 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)

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

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.

S

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

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

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,…)

S

MATH

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

Whenever you

see a question

without

numbers….

You put your Right foot in.

You take your Left foot out.

R = 2 L = 2

How many total pairs?

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

R = 2 L = 2 ANSWER=3A. (2 + 1)(2 + 1) = 3*3 = 9

B. (2 – 1)(2 – 1) = 1*1 = 1

C. (2*2) – 1 = 4 -1 = 3

D. 2(2*2) – 2 = 8 – 2 = 6

E. (2 – 1)/2 = ½

✗✗✔✗✗

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

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

9x2

– y2

= 17

y2

= 9x2

– 17

y = √(9x2

– 17)

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

9x2

– y2

= 17

y2

= 9x2

– 17

y = √(9x2

– 17)

x = 1

y = √(9(1)2

– 17)

y = √(9 – 17)

y = √(-8)

not an integer!

x = 2

y = √(9(2)2

– 17)

y = √(36 – 17)

y = √(19)

not an integer!

x = 3

y = √(9(3)2

– 17)

y = √(81 – 17)

y = √(64) = 8

INTEGER!

x = 4

✔

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

x = 3

y = √(9(3)2

– 17)

y = √(81 – 17)

y = √(64) = 8

INTEGER!

✔x + y = 3 + 8 = 11

✔

Moral

of

the

story?

I once heard the story of an old man who found one million

pennies using a metal detector in the cornfields of Iowa.

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!!!

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.

I once heard the story of an old man who used a metal

detector and found one million pennies in the cornfields of

Iowa.

Possible alternative…

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…

S Verbs

(tense, subject-verb agreement, parallelism)

S Idioms

S Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Rule: Whenever you see a verb,

always check to make sure that it

agrees with its subject!

A

B C

D E

The energy given off by highly annoying and moody teenagers are

very effective in causing other to feel distressed, thereby making life

miserable for all parties. No error

The test writers want you to think

that teenagers is the subject…

The energy given off by highly annoying and moody teenagers are

very effective in causing other to feel distressed, thereby making life

miserable for all parties. No error

A

B C

D E

The energy given off are very effective…

IS

✗

… but if you get rid of the prepositional

phrase, you’ll find the REAL subject.

A B

C D

E

The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately

five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.

No error.

A B

C D

E

The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately

five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.

No error.

The cost of graduating is….

Hmm… that works.

A B

C D

E

The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately

five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.

No error.

A B

C D

E

The cost of graduating from American universities is approximately

five times what it used to be when my parents were going through it.

No error.

Just like verbs, pronouns need

to match their subject!

Watch out for:

VERBS

PRONOUNS

Pennies with

metal detectors

Moral

of

the

story?

S

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