Every year, juniors and seniors around the country take the SAT. The SAT is a multiple choice exam that is “a key component of your college applications,” according to The Princeton Review.

There are various methods to prepare for the SAT, and one of them is to take the SAT Prep class. Lotus offers an SAT Prep class, taught by Ms. Khadija and Ms. Shetiya to help enhance your Math and English Language skills and not be deceived by the test.

I had the opportunity to talk to both Ms. Khadija and Ms. Shetiya. They both discussed how they individually think the SAT Prep class helps students in their preparation to take the SAT. Ms. Shetiya said, “The SAT Prep class exposes students to a wide range of problems enabling them to be quicker without sacrificing accuracy.”

Ms. Khadija added,  “It gives them dedicated time to study. A lot of students struggle to make time to study for the SAT on their own, so it’s nice for them to have an hour set aside each day to work on it.” 

Both teachers also said that the SAT Prep class is beneficial by effectively boosting student scores. However, it all depends on the amount of effort that each student contributes.

They also shared tips on how to ace the SAT for students who are not taking the SAT Prep class. Ms. Khadija shared, “I would say to utilize Khan Academy. The College Board and Khan Academy claim that 20 hours of practice on Khan Academy has been linked to an average score gain of 115 points. It’s also nice that it is all personalized, and they have videos and practice tests to help.”

Ms. Shetiya commented, “The best way to prepare for the SAT is to practice, practice, practice. There are lots of SAT practice tests available in the market as well as online.” She also added that students should “Work smart…often, you can arrive at the correct answer by eliminating the obvious incorrect choices instead of wasting valuable time in actually solving the entire problem.” 

Ms. Shetiya said that she definitely recommends that students take the SAT Prep class, while Ms. Khadija urged students to take the class depending on how well they want to do on the test.

Teachers Share Different Experiences with SAT

For any students worried about taking the test and what it might mean for their future, I had the chance to interview Ms. Martin and Ms. Matthews, the math and English chairs. Both teachers had vastly different experiences with the test, but both are highly educated and successful adults. Here is what they had to say: 

How did you do on the SAT?

Ms. Matthews – “ I think that I did fairly well on the SATs. I got a 2250/2400 I believe. I can’t remember exactly, but I think it was definitely around there.” 

Ms. Martin – “I think I did fairly mediocre on the SAT; I got an 1100 out of 1600. I scored extremely low in the math section, but I did okay in the English section. Even so, I didn’t do exceptionally well in any category.” 

How did your score help you when you applied for colleges/universities? How did your score help you after high school?

Ms. Martin – “My high school grades were average, and since my score was average, they did not do much in the way of helping me apply for schools.  I did not develop strong time management, organizational skills, or even work ethic until much later in my collegiate experience, and I can’t credit any of that to the SAT.” 

Ms. Matthews – “The SAT score helped me to get more scholarship money from Baylor University, which is the university I went to for undergrad. Depending on what score range you fell in, you got more scholarship money. I also got a lot more scholarship opportunities from other colleges as well because my score was competitive!” 

How much did you prepare for the SAT? Did you take a class to help you prepare for it or did you study individually?

Ms. Matthews – “I was in a class called GT Seminar (Gifted and Talented Seminar) in high school where I was taught test-taking strategies. I also did several practice tests before I took the actual test. I didn’t study individually at all. The class was meant to be a test prep course, and it was very beneficial!”

Ms. Martin – “I neither took a class nor did I study with any real focus for the SAT… I have strong feelings about standardized tests, as a lot of my students know from listening to me rant and rave about them… but I know that my experience in not preparing very much, not doing very well, and still managing to go on to be a highly educated and successful person, is a massive privilege.”

Both Ms. Martin and Ms. Matthews are successful and beloved teachers at our school despite their completely opposite experiences with the test. Regardless of your fears or opinions regarding the SAT, take comfort in knowing that the SAT Prep class is here to help right around the corner.