NY Times reports that every year about 1,664,479 high school students prepare to take the SAT. The SAT is a test taken typically in a student’s junior year that colleges look at when comparing students who apply to their school. Starting out as a scholarship test for only Ivy League schools, the SAT is now looked at by all colleges.

There has already been one chance to take the SAT on October 11 and the next chance is November 8. Students can register at collegeboard.org.

In addition to taking challenging courses and completing all of the required course work, one could take an SAT prep class to learn test-taking strategies. Some schools offer a six-week SAT prep class that is three hours one night of the week.

“[Taking the class] cuts down on the time that you have to find yourself,” said Wakefield English teacher Heather McDonald. “You can also get specific tips about types of questions to look for and lots of practice without penalty.”

McDonald used to teach an elective class at the school that was all about preparing for the SAT. Even though the class is not offered anymore, she still had very good tips for students planning to take the SAT.

“The best way to prepare is to expose yourself to difficult reading passages,” said McDonald. “Read things that are above your comfort level because that will expose you to more challenging vocabulary and your brain will get more practice learning how to figure out words and context with root words or word parts. You can expect to see fairly difficult reading passages, challenging vocabulary, and both multiple choice and constructed response math questions”

From a student’s perspective, the SAT prep class covers very useful tips on how to study for the SAT.

“We went over the specific types of math problems,” said senior Hannah Monroe who took the class and SAT last year. “There are a lot of weird questions on the SAT that no one gets and they gave us some good strategies on the English part and the vocabulary.”

Vocabulary is a big part of the SAT. Although the College Board is changing the vocabulary and making the words simpler, anyone taking the test before spring of 2016 should expect difficult vocabulary.

“Trying to study the vocabulary is not really helpful,” said McDonald. “There is no way to memorize a list of 500 words.”

There are books and online programs that are made to help students prepare by themselves at home.

“I do extra practice at home,” said junior Dylan Peebles who plans to take the SAT next month. “I take practice tests in the book that I got from the class and online.”

Felisa Kelly, a Wakefield math teacher, says she includes SAT prep whenever time permits.

“I have tutored some students by just going through some of the questions in the practice workout that they give out,” said Kelly. “Sometimes after my class finishes a test I will give them an SAT practice worksheet to do.”

The way that the questions are graded is not the typical way that a test is graded. A wrong answer gets more points taken away than a question not answered.

“If you take the SAT two times you could always score higher the second time by answering fewer questions,” said McDonald. “If you only focus on the questions that you know and ignore the ones you don’t know then your score will go up.”

Practice is not the only thing that will help to get a good grade.

“Get lots of sleep the night before and just relax,” said Monroe. That helps with time management. If you get stuck on a question, keep going.”