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  • Hello, my Socratica Friends!

  • Were here to help you be a GREAT student.

  • Today were going to talk about a special kind of test - the sort of test that looms

  • large in your future and acts like a gatekeeper or a turning point in your life.

  • I’m talking about...STANDARDIZED TESTS.

  • We all have to take them: SAT, ACT, AP, GRE...MCAT...LSAT!

  • It really never stops until youre like...25?

  • 30?

  • It depends on how much school youre going to do, and when you go.

  • Were all about lifelong learning here at Socratica.

  • One of our friends went to Med school when he was like 40, so...never say never.

  • Yeah, he’s a doctor now.

  • Here at Socratica, amongst our small team, weve taken literally DOZENS of standardized

  • tests.

  • And honestly, we did pretty well.

  • Weve noticed that after taking all these tests, you figure out some things are true

  • about almost all of them.

  • So were going to share our best advice with you.

  • Here are the Socratica Team’s secrets to Standardized Test Success.

  • SPOILER: The big picture is to focus on studying what you DON'T know.

  • How do you do that?

  • With pre-testing.

  • How do you do THAT?

  • Well, you take practice questions tailored for you.

  • FIRST, NO CRAMMING.

  • Youve heard us say this before.

  • Get out your calendar and write down the date of the test.

  • How long do you have before the test.

  • Please say at least one month.

  • Two months is better.

  • Youre going to allow yourself a chunk of time each day to devote to studying for this

  • test.

  • And the more time you have, that means the smaller those chunks can be.

  • Ideally, were aiming for 15-20 minutes.

  • That’s it.

  • Of course, if youve waited until like two weeks before the test, youre going to have

  • to stop almost everything else and focus on this one test.

  • That’s just not a great plan.

  • Please.

  • Take our advice and start early.

  • Now.

  • HOW do you study for a standardized test?

  • To begin, you have to know something about what the test is like.

  • Do a little reconnaissance.

  • Find out: How long is the test.

  • How many questions are there.

  • What style are these questions?

  • Is it all Multiple Choice, or are there some sections with short answer, or even essays?

  • Because youre going to have to practice all of these differently.

  • Did you notice I said the P word?

  • PRACTICE.

  • This is really the key to your success on standardized tests.

  • The dirty little secret is, honestly, the questions really aren’t that hard.

  • At least, theyre not the hardest material in the subject.

  • Instead they will be perfectly reasonable, representative questions that test your understanding

  • of the subject.

  • There won’t be anygotchaquestions.

  • Youll see that when you start taking practice tests.

  • Get your hands on a good practice test.

  • A lot of times you can get a genuine test from previous years from ETS or the College

  • Board - or you can buy a big book of practice tests from a test prep company.

  • Watch to the end for a special gift for our Socratica Friends from Magoosh Online Test

  • Prep!

  • Set aside an afternoon when you have no distractions, and take this practice test with PLENTY of

  • time.

  • If the test normally takes 90 minutes, give yourself 2 hours.

  • Don’t stress.

  • Make a note of how long you took, and later, LATER, you will work on speeding up.

  • Take this practice test using the TWO PASS technique.

  • That is, youre going to make two passes through the whole test.

  • First, youll answer any questions where you immediately know the answer, and skip

  • the ones you don’t.

  • On your SECOND PASS through the test, slow down and answer the remaining questions.

  • Go ahead and answer every question - because we want an accurate picture of what you KNOW,

  • and what you DON’T know.

  • Score your test.

  • Don’t be afraid, this is just for you.

  • Were just figuring out where you are now.

  • Look at all the questions you missed.

  • Were there any where you genuinely didn’t know the answer?

  • Like, on the SAT, I missedFracasbecause I just didn’t recognize the word, and I

  • couldn’t seem to break it down into its roots.

  • I mean, you know, that’s okay.

  • I still remember that I missed that word, that’s all.

  • Now I know it for sure, right?

  • My point is, the vast majority of the test is stuff you know.

  • There MAY be a few gaps in your knowledge, but you have plenty of time to review that

  • specific kind of math problem or beef up your vocabulary.

  • So what makes standardized tests hard, if it’s not the material?

  • It’s more the timing.

  • You have to be able to answer questions quickly and not get distracted.

  • You need to work on your focus muscles.

  • AND you need to be able to answer a question to the best of your ability and move on.

  • Don’t waste time arguing with yourself aboutmaybe?...this answer could POSSIBLY be

  • right?...”.

  • Don’t do that.

  • Overthinking on standardized tests is a big problem for some people.

  • The more you practice, the better youll be at letting these internal doubts go.

  • What if you genuinely don’t know the answer?

  • Should you guess during the real test?

  • You need to understand how your test is scored.

  • Is there a guessing penalty?

  • Like, back when I took the SAT, there WAS a guessing penalty, and you’d get dinged

  • a quarter of a point for every question you miss.

  • So it wasn’t a good idea to guess if you had no idea and you couldn’t eliminate any

  • of the answers.

  • But now, on the SAT and the ACT, no guessing penalty!

  • So don’t you DARE leave a single question blank.

  • Now that youve taken a practice test, it’s time to start studying to boost your score.

  • You may have a handful of topics you need to review.

  • Again, it’s best if you study in small chunks every day.

  • Try different approaches to the material - this will strengthen your recall, because youll

  • have multiple layers of information.

  • Read it, watch a video, and talk about it with a friend.

  • Schedule two or three more full-length practice tests for yourself before the real test.

  • Now, each time you take a practice test, you should be able to go a little faster than

  • the previous time.

  • Track your progress and watch your improvement!

  • This will help keep you motivated.

  • Give yourself a little reward each time you finish reviewing a topic.

  • This last piece of advice is really about staying healthy and happy in the long term.

  • Please don’t wreck yourself over this one test.

  • Get enough sleep, and don’t neglect your friends and family.

  • You CAN take the test again.

  • If you really screw up, you can take it again.

  • I know, they cost a TON of money, so...youre going to have to save up for that.

  • Most tests also offer needs-based scholarships to help out.

  • Are there specific study tools we recommend for standardized tests?

  • Well.

  • You know were big fans of flashcards, and spaced repetition.

  • If you don’t know about the best way to use flashcards, we have an excellent video

  • for you to watch.

  • That’s a fantastic technique to use when youre memorizing facts and vocabulary terms.

  • FRACAS!!! {shaking fist}

  • There are also options for studying online.

  • We partnered with Magoosh for this video, and they let us test out their system.

  • You can study on your desktop, your laptop, they have phone apps...So this is a good example

  • of how you can make this work in your life.

  • Magoosh has kind of blended approach between studying on your own, and having access to

  • tutors who are subject experts.

  • I know it can be hard to find quality tutors who are flexible.

  • Youre not always going to be able to meet with a tutor in person, especially when youre

  • busy with school, and a job or other extracurricular activities.

  • Sometimes youre only free at like 9 at night on Thursday or 6AM on Sunday.

  • So, being able to log on when YOURE ready to study can be very helpful.

  • I was able to take a diagnostic test and have Magoosh create a schedule for me to study.

  • Okay, I confess, I’m not actually going to study to be a lawyer, but I was just kind

  • of curious what the LSAT was like, because I heard there were lots of logic puzzles,

  • and I LOVE logic puzzles, so...yeah, I’m weird, I know.

  • I don’t care.

  • We all love learning, here, right?

  • That’s why youre watching SOCRATICA.

  • So.

  • I’m not going to apologize for taking LSAT questions for fun.

  • You can share in the fun, too.

  • Magoosh has set up a special page for Socratica Friends.

  • Theyre giving you a discount - it’s already super-affordable compared to other services,

  • but this makes it even easier for all of us to use this resource.

  • There are also a lot of completely free goodies theyve set up for you on our Socratica

  • Friends page - some games and puzzles and things like that.

  • Check out the links in the description below.

  • Are you studying for a specific standardized test?

  • If you found this video helpful, and you’d like us to make a follow-up video about a

  • specific test, let us know in the comments.

  • We can do that.

  • Socratica Friends, We know it’s really hard to accept that it seems like your whole future

  • depends on how well you do on a standardized test.

  • Just remember that it’s not the whole picture of who you are.

  • Schools ARE going to look at your test scores, yes, but youre also going to have a lot

  • more going for you - grades, recommendations, your essays.

  • Think of it as building a portfolio.

  • This is ONE element.

  • And it’s an important part of being a GREAT student.

  • Want to help us make more great videos?

  • Join the Socratica Team on Patreon!

Hello, my Socratica Friends!

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