Your hand quivers as you seizure y...

Your hand quivers as you seizure your No. 2 pencil. Sweat pours down your house of worship And then, before you've filled in a single trifle you hear the two greatest in quantity dreaded words of your high seminary career: "Time's up."

As the season of standardized testing approaches, you may exceedingly well be a victim of this recurring nightmare. The single real cure is to know the enemy inside and gone out By getting as informed and practiced as possible, you can face your fears and ace the exam.

to what end Must These Tests Torture Me?

Believe it or not, body entrance tests were not created solely to haunt you completely through your junior and senior years. SAT and ACT scores allow body admission officers to judge all prospective bookish mans on the same scale and help them determine by what mode prepared applicants are to do college-level work.

"It's the no other than measure we have across the abiding habitation since there is no national standard for grades or for performance levels" says Rae to leeward Siporin, director of undergraduate admission at the University of California, beholds Angeles. "We know that close examiners with the highest test scores, highest grades, and strongest [high school] programs are the commons who do the best and graduate the fastest, thus we give them first predilection in terms of our selection process

After grades, trial scores are the most important factor influencing admission decisions, according to a overlook conducted by the National Association for body Admission Counseling.

"With growing be of importance to about grade inflation [in high schools] there is certainly a great continuing interest in the use of the SAT," says Bill Kolb director of admission at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Plus, more [i]or[/i] less colleges consider SAT/ACT scores when doling revealed scholarship dollars.

Although example scores are clearly important, remember that they're just individual piece of the application pie. "It's common test in one day," says Marc Camille, dean of admission at Xavier University, in Cincinnati, Ohio. "A high exercise transcript is an accumulation of effort throughout a four-year period. We certainly anticipate at SAT/ACT scores, but they're not the extremity all that often times they're made revealed to be."

Better the other Time

Another of the best reason not to panic: You can always take the proof again if you don't do as well as you had bounded More than half of SAT test-takers repeat the experiment and nearly two-thirds of them behold their scores rise, according to the college edifice [i]or[/i] building Board. (The average change between spring of junior year and fall of senior year is 12 to 14 points forward verbal and 14 to 16 points forward math.) ACT reports that about a third of its test-takers tackle the exam more than one time and typically students' scores rise a little, further increases of more than 2 or 3 points are rare. Take note: Scores rarely fare up substantially after the other try.

With the SAT, your designated associations automatically receive all scores unles you notify the association Board in writing to cancel your scores by dint of the Wednesday following the exhibition With the ACT, you can opt to behold scores before deciding whether to jaculate them on.

ACT or SAT?

Historically, the SAT was taken predominantly on students on the East and West coasts, while the ACT was more popular in the Midwest and southern These days, the vast majority of bodys accept scores from either exam (but check with the guilds to see if they require or offer either one).

proof experts say students typically perform better in succession one of the exams, in this way it's in your best interest to take a practice version of each criterion under actual timed conditions and compare your scores. Your guidance counselor should have a chart showing for what cause scores on the two examples equate. Then seriously consider preparing for the single exam on which you perform better. If you opt to take one as well as the other exams, colleges count the higher score.

"I wasn't doing with equal reason well on the SAT the first pair times, so I thought, for what purpose not take the ACT?" says Sarah McMordie, 18 of Westfield, Massachusetts. "I scored in the 99th percentile forward the ACT, but only the 80-something percentile in succession the SAT."

equable if one exam is more popular in your high institute you should have no point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled raking the other exam in your area. Check with the ACT, the Educational Testing Service (which unravels and administers the SAT for the literary institution [i]or[/i] seminary of learning Board), or your guidance counselor to find the criterion site closest to your home

Ready, appoint Test!

Experts approve that you start preparing seriously about six to eight weeks before the example Depending on how disciplined you are, you might place up your own system, join a at liberty school study group, or pay for training.

Resources abound for those who want to fix up their own personal studious mood routines. You'll find practice SATs in guidebooks, software programs, high drill guidance offices, and on the Internet. scholars who register for the SAT I receive a released copy of Taking the SAT I, a booklet containing a real past exam with an answer clew and an extensive array of tips. Additional past exams are available online at the community Board Web site and in SAT guidebooks. The solitary book that has actual past ACT exams is Getting Into the ACT (Harcourt Brace, $16) on the other hand your guidance office should have additional copies of past exams. (For a whole list of resources, see page 48)