If you thought you could just breeze into the nearest bookstore, grab a test prep book off the shelves, study a little and be done with it, think again. Serious test prep requires a little planning.
Before you ever step foot inside of a testing center, take some time to go through these critical test prep stages. You’ll be so glad you did, (so will your mom) and you’ll get yourself a higher score.
1. Learn the Test Basics
Before you do anything else, do a little Internet reading about the test you’ll be taking. Never pay for this information. A wealth of knowledge abounds on the web for free about every major standardized test in the world. Here are a few articles to get you started:
2. Analyze Your Knowledge
Get to know your real level of knowledge. Figure out what it is you understand about the test you’re taking and what you don’t. A good way to do this is by taking brief practice tests online, or by reviewing the content of each section. I have a few mini-quizzes to help prepare you, but this list is by far incomplete. So look around! At this stage, you could even purchase a book, and try a few of the questions to see which ones you bomb and which ones you ace.
3. Set Goals
What score do you want? You have to know what you’re reaching for before you plunge into any test (or anything in life, for that matter). Is your goal to get into the 75th percentile? 90th? 99th? Do you want to score high enough to get into you’re the top university on your list? Do you just want to make it through the test the first time to get a feel for it because you’re taking it again anyway? Your goal will influence your preparation time, so it’s important to understand what you want from the test. My advice? Reach for the stars, because you just might get the moon. Set the goal high.
4. Plan
Once you’ve discovered where you want the test to take you, you need to draw the map to get there. Budget the following details:
- Budget your time: How long can you spend studying for this test? If you’re a really busy person, you’ll have to determine how to insert study time into your day. Decide on an exact time, and stick to it, just like you would if you had an important meeting, a date or a class.
- Budget your money: Most of us are on a pretty tight budget these days, so allocating a certain amount of cash to test prep and not going over that limit is imperative. Remember that spending more money doesn’t always equal higher scores; do the research to find a tutor, buy the book, or take a class.
5. Study
Now, you’re ready to crack the book. You’ve figured out the test basics, what knowledge you need to acquire, the score you want to achieve, and have budgeted your time and money to achieve that goal. The next step is following through with your plan, which is always the toughest part. But if scoring high on that test is truly something you desire, then you can do anything you want to really want to do! Best of luck!
