Preparing for college entrance exams

You're going to college soon and you know that you have to take some type of college entrance exam in order to get accepted--be it the ACT or the SAT. You can take both, and perhaps you should because maybe one score will be higher than the other. However, you don't have to be like the average student who tries to cram for the test in the 14 (or less) days preceding the exam date.

There are those who say that you can't study for a test like this, and surely that information is bogus. Those that want to do well do study. The key is studying in advance and consistently. And there are many resources that can help you.

If you have the cash, you can purchase test prep books, online or in the store, from Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com.

If your funds are limited, all three of the aforementioned book stores have used books that are priced under the retail value and are shipped from individuals (or companies) that have the book. Half.com, an E-bay affiliate, sells used books only (I used them A LOT throughout college because I was poor!).

Don't turn up your nose and frown at the thought of buying a book that another person has owned. It doesn't have to be dog-chewed or smell like a retirement home. Sometimes, you can get "like new" books for a few dollars! And that is sure to make your parents happy. Be aware though if there have been recent changes to the SAT or ACT. You want to get the most recent book year that you can find (although one researcher showed that as far as the vocabulary is concerned, the SAT has been recycling the same words for the past 20 years!!).

Or, completely save your money and go visit the Porter Library (or your local library) and check out the books. They often have the very latest edition. Please do this in advance because you only get 2 weeks to loan the book. And very seldom do you get to renew it as the test dates approach because other students put the book on request. Also, you may be able to find videocassettes, DVDs, and/or CD-ROMs for practice.

Do a Google search (or Ask, or Yahoo, or whatever) and you can find a variety of online SAT practice sites. Take them 50 times if you'd like!!!

In addition, there are a handful of test preparation classes available. Kaplan is probably the most popular, and therefore is possibly the most expensive. The Huntington Learning Center is another less known choice (there's one in Stafford, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Woodbridge). Many parents do not know that they don't have to break the bank for you to take an SAT prep class, courtesy of your local community colleges. Northern Virginia Community College (a.k.a NVCC or NOVA) offers a class through their Community Education division.

All said, make sure you are keeping up with your test dates so that you can have a clue how much time you have to study. The more time you have to prepare, the less stressed and anxious you'll be when your exam date arrives.