Posts Tagged ‘wilson daily prep’

Push Their Buttons!

When does 2 – 2 = 4? When a kid is stressed, the clock is ticking, and there’s only a few minutes left on the SAT. You’d be surprised by how many silly mistakes students make as they race through math problems, scribbling furiously in the margins of their test booklet. 2 – 2 = 4 is a careless, stupid mistake that will cost your child precious points.

Luckily, there’s a simple solution to these simple mistakes: Use a calculator. It’ll drastically cut down on these careless errors, and your child will save valuable time by skipping tedious long division or complex algebra. So why don’t more kids whip out their calculators? Because they’ve been trained at school to always show their work. But there are no gold stars for doing work by hand on the SAT, just points gained or lost. So make sure your child knows that calculators are a definite must-have when it comes to taking the SAT or ACT.

Now, I may get run out of town by local math teachers for my pro-calculator stance, but just as learning the steps and understanding the underlying concepts are important for acing their school math test, knowing how to quickly and accurately use a calculator is just as important on the SAT or ACT. There’s a time and place for everything – and this is the time to get your child pushing those buttons!

Question of the Week

If 9^12 = 9^1 x 9^x, what is the value of x?

a) 12
b) 11
c) 6
d) 4
e) 3

A silly mistake would be choosing choice (a), since 12 = 1 x 12.
The correct answer is choice (b). Using the calculator, 9^12 = 9^1 x 9^11. This can also be solved by knowing the laws of exponents.  Exponents are added when the base is the same (12 = 11 + 1).

Weekly Word

Adulations – (n.) Excessive admiration or flattery

Suzy was full of adulations for her English teacher’s new haircut, but the teacher saw through Suzy’s fakery and  refused to change Suzy’s essay grade.

College Spotlight

George Washington University

The allure of Washington, D.C., coupled with an intellectually stimulating educational environment, has made GW an increasingly selective school. The school is in the heart of D.C, and a leader in political internships.  GW draws students from all over the world. However, beware: GW is one of the most expensive private schools in the country.

Total Enrollment: 15,798
SAT: Reading 590-680, Math 600-690
ACT: 25-30

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Posted in SAT on Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 | No Comments »

Avoiding the Sniffles

As with any business, WilsonDailyPrep is always conscious of keeping the office clean. With sniffling students bustling in and out, hand sanitizer becomes the office companion. Except for me. I mean to use more hand sanitizer, I really do! But a recent New York Times article, “How Not to Fight Colds,” by Jennifer Ackerman caused me to feel a little better about my bad behavior.

The article introduces the kind of person everyone knows: the never sick friend or relative. I have to admit that I am one of those people.  I have no explanation!  I do not sleep more than 5 hours per night; I have over 200 kids coming through my office weekly, and I do like to cuddle with my always sick 8 year old. Yet, I have not had a serious cold in over two years.  My husband, on the other hand, drinks a “therma-flu” concoction every morning with his coffee, uses hand-sanitizer obsessively, and fills up on vitamins daily.   And, he gets at least three serious colds per winter! Why does this happen? Why am I like Teflon woman?

Interestingly enough, according to the article, healthy people (not me) do have super-powered immune systems, but it is these healthy immune
systems that can be causing them to feel sick! According to the article, recent scientific experiments show that the symptoms associated with the common cold are really the healthy body’s fight against the cold virus.  The more severe the cold, the harder one’s immune system works.   The runny nose and watery eyes are the signs that the healthy immune system is hard at work.   The cold, itself, does not produce the annoying, sickly feeling; it is the immune system fighting the cold that sends you to bed with a tissue box!

Then the article references people like me.   The people like me who do not get sick.   Jennifer Ackerman suggests that people who do not show serious symptoms of a cold might not be producing the normal amount of inflammatory agents.  Since we are not fighting off the cold, we don’t exhibit the cold symptoms.   As I read this article, though, I wondered where this virus afflicting me goes, and how I get rid of it if my unhealthy immune system is not putting up a fight! Yet, if we listen to Jennifer Ackerman, perhaps we should shrug immune system aids off and just say “no.”   According to Ms. Ackerman, there is no need to go crazy trying to build a superhuman immune system.   Instead, your body might actually show fewer symptoms if we don’t boost.

“What does this scientific data have to do with standardized testing?”, you may ask.  Your child’s health plays a key role in his/her test
results- it is hard to do your best if you are sneezing and coughing throughout the test!  This is why it is so important to take the ACT or SAT numerous times, as it is difficult to predict a child’s health in October when signing up for a January test date.  The
health of others in the testing room affects your child as well.  What if the kid next to yours is hacking up a lung or sniffling the entire time?   How will your child be able to focus?   Luck plays a significant role in test scores.   Yes, studying is essential, but a lot is out of one’s control.   We don’t like being out of control, and this is one of the reasons we find colds so frustrating.

So I don’t know what to recommend.   Do we give up on boosting ourselves and our children this winter?   Do we allow ourselves to be “out of control?” As Ackerman states, “It seems counterintuitive, but there it is:  People with more active immune systems may be especially prone to cold symptoms. So getting a cold may be a positive sign that your biochemical defenses are working normally – a glass-half full view of getting the sniffles.”  Yes, maybe we should listen  to Ackerman and let our children be a little “unhealthy.”  Then again, don’t blame me when your child comes down with a cold because you did not greet him or her at the door with that hand sanitizer!   I do know, though, that you can control what to bring to the SAT test site – tissues for the sniffling student next to yours.

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Posted in ACT, SAT, WilsonDailyPrep on Tuesday, October 26th, 2010 | No Comments »

SAT and ACT Test-Taking Strategies

Remember, YOU control the test. Don’t let the test control you!

I know I have hammered these things to death, but I want to give you all a compact list of complete test-taking tips. Print this out and put it in a folder for test day.

Test taking can seem like a huge ordeal, and I know many students that are against the entire idea of standardized testing. But, if this has such a huge hold on your future, why not do the best you can?  So many talented, smart individuals lose out on the SAT and ACT simply because they do not know how to take the test. So here is a summary of little tips.

CHOP AWAY
This is a multiple choice test. You won’t always be able to immediately pick out the correct answer. However, you should be able to chop away at the wrong answers and whittle it down to the best choice.

ELIMINATE AND GUESS
If you can eliminate two or more answers, take a chance and guess. Probability is in your favor at this point.

CLEAR YOUR MIND
Don’t fall apart on the test. If you think you’ve “bombed” a section, clear your mind, refocus, and move on to the next section with confidence. Remember, there is an experimental section on the SAT that does not count. You may have bombed this section! On the ACT, everything is averaged – so if you bombed one section, all you have to do is score well on another to mask this!

BREATHE DEEPLY
If you feel yourself getting anxious, take five deep breaths. This will slow your heart rate and allow you to focus on the questions in front of you. It helps to close your eyes during the deep breathing to truly block out the test for a moment and relax.

LEAVING BLANKS
Know when to leave blanks on these tests! SAT: In the 400-range: leave questions blank that you do not know the answer to. In the 500-range: leave six or fewer blanks. In the 600-range or higher: Absolutely no blanks! ACT: There should be no blanks left on any section of the ACT!

MOVE ON
This is a standardized, timed test. Do not “get stuck” and waste time on one question that you may get wrong anyway when you could move on and get the next three questions correct.

SUCK ON CANDY
Studies have shown that students who suck on candy during an exam score higher than those who do not. Bring some sucking candy to the test to help keep you awake and engaged.

NO MECHANICAL PENCILS
Although you can find #2 mechanical pencils, don’t bring them to the test. They break, and you have to sit there clicking away waiting for the next piece of graphite. You don’t need the added stress of mechanical pencils, so leave them at home. Plus, scantrons may not pick up the indentations of a mechanical pencil – don’t take that chance!

BRING EXTRAS
You never know what to expect on the day of the test – so expect the worst! Bring extra batteries for your calculator, extra pencils, extra erasers, an extra sweatshirt in case the room is cold, etc.  Be prepared!

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Posted in SAT on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Quick Tip: Don’t Leave Blanks in the Grid-Ins

Always guess in the Grid-In Math section of the SAT. In this section, you don’t lose any points for wrong answers. Therefore, grid in something. If you don’t know the answer, pick you favorite number!

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Posted in SAT on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »

Quick Tip: Limit the Main Idea!

Limit the Main Idea to 3 – 4 Words!

Limit the Main Idea to 3 – 4 Words! Always, always, always, generate a main idea before attacking the reading questions! Limit the main idea to 3 -4 words. This is difficult, but essential. It is easy to come up with the “gist” of the piece, but very difficult to limit yourself to a few words. The main idea is the point that the author is making. Once you get the point, you can get the questions!

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Posted in SAT, WilsonDailyPrep on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 | No Comments »

Guest Post By Word-Nerd

So do I need to study vocabulary for the SAT?

By Jennifer Cohen

This simple question has actually become the subject of a great deal of debate in the world of SAT preparation.  When analogies and antonyms were dropped from the test format, vocabulary became directly relevant to only sentence completion questions.  And because sentence completions comprise only one-third of the Critical Reading portion, the prevailing wisdom turned against vocabulary study.  “Big Test Prep” (you know who they are) declared that vocabulary preparation was a waste of valuable student time.  This opinion has since trickled its way down to classrooms, guidance counselors and college admissions gurus.  This makes sense, if a student starts thinking about the SAT only a week before test day.  But if you’re reading this post, you’re not that person!  You’re planning ahead and you’re motivated to score high.  There are some very good reasons you should add vocabulary to your arsenal for the SAT.

#1  One-third of the Critical Reading section is based on vocabulary. That means approximately 300 points is directly related to vocabulary, with about 200 of those coming from moderate to hard sentence completions.  You may encounter some seriously tough words like “xanthous.”  Do you know what xanthous means?  If you haven’t done your vocabulary prep, you almost certainly won’t.  It’s that simple.  Don’t leave those 200 points on the table!

#2  Your English teacher would rather teach “War and Peace” than vocabulary. That means you may not be picking up enough vocabulary in school.  Many schools have bought into the idea that vocabulary preparation isn’t important, and you may not be doing much to learn new words.  Now, of course, if you come across a word you don’t know, you should look it up, but for most of you, that’s not going to be enough.

#3  The person next to you on test day probably hasn’t been studying vocabulary. That means that person is going to get those tough sentence completion questions wrong.  And for you, that’s an opportunity to get a leg up on the competition.  Most students will get the easy ones right, but most will miss the hard ones.  When you answer a difficult question correctly, you’re scoring points that most people won’t.  And when it comes down to it, deducing which words go in the blanks is usually pretty easy, IF you know the vocabulary.  Studying vocabulary gives you an edge.  That alone gives you the opportunity to score in the higher ranges.

#4  Love is a battlefield, and so is college admissions. So what can those extra points do for you?  It should go without saying, but it can mean the difference between getting into the college of your choice, or not.  It can mean the difference between earning a great scholarship, or not.  And to take it even a few steps farther, admission to a better school can mean a better job down the line.  That should be enough to convince you!

So now that you’re on board, and I know you are, what’s next?  Don’t waste your time on mind-numbing activities like reading the dictionary or looking for long lists of words on the internet.  Your brain learns best when it’s able to associate words to words it already knows.  That’s where Word-Nerd.com’s SAT vocabulary prep comes in.  The site groups words into meaningful categories so they’re easy to remember, and gives you unlimited quizzes and tests to reinforce what you’ve learned.  Learn more in less time with a lot less effort.  By the way, xanthous means “yellow hued,” but if you were studying with Word-Nerd, you’d know that!

Jennifer Cohen is the President and Chief Word-Nerd at Word-Nerd.com, a site devoted to SAT and PSAT  vocabulary prep.

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Posted in ACT, SAT on Friday, August 6th, 2010 | No Comments »

Quick Tip: Be a Machine with the Sentence Completions

Don’t skip around the answer choices on the sentence completions. Attack A then B then C etc. Approach one side at a time. If you don’t know a word, go to the next choice. Only THINK at the end when you are left with two/three choices.

For more tips open up a demo account with Wilson Daily Prep and see the difference interactive prep makes!

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Posted in SAT, WilsonDailyPrep on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 | No Comments »


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