Want higher SAT and ACT scores fast? Check our online store to download exclusive SAT & ACT prep lessons direct from perfect-scoring pro tutors.
Top 4 Apps for SAT Practice - 5 Minutes a Day Makes a World of Difference
It’s no secret that most teenagers spend an unhealthy, even ridiculous amount of time on their phones. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of scrolling mindlessly through Facebook or posting selfies and pictures of pumpkin spiced lattés to Instagram high school students used their phones for prepping for the SAT? It’s possible to do just that! These 4 apps are great for supplementary SAT prep. Used correctly, they can help students get a little extra practice in during all those little increments of time they’d otherwise be wasting on their phones. Here, I’ll list some of the best SAT prep apps and offer a little commentary on each one!
Will SAT Prep Apps Help You Get a Perfect Score?
A caveat, first of all. Don’t think that raising your SAT score significantly is going to arise as a function of simply using an app. The best way to raise your score is to work 1-on-1 with an experienced SAT prep tutor over the course of an extended period of time. Apps are merely ways to brush up, stay sharp, make use of extra time. With that said, let’s take a look at some cool apps!
1) Daily Practice for the New SAT
This is the official SAT Question of the Day app from The College Board, the folks who make the actual SAT. If you’re the type of person who likes to practice with the real deal, this is the app for you. You’d be surprised how much you can learn simply by doing one SAT question a day! Try your best, and if you get the answer wrong, don’t forget to read the answer explanation to learn from your mistake! You can also check out past daily SAT questions and see detailed explanations for why the correct answer is correct and why the incorrect answers are incorrect. All in all, the Official SAT Question of the Day app is a no-brainer for students looking to keep sharp!
2) Khan Academy
Made by the same people who work on the Khan Academy web site, the Khan Academy sat prepp app is a perfect way to learn SAT concepts and solve SAT problems. Here, you can watch videos explaining how to solve a signficant amount of SAT problems, making the Khan Academy app a great supplement to your SAT prep tutoring.
3) Magoosh SAT
Although the new SAT doesn’t test ridiculously complicated vocabulary words, it STILL has plenty of vocabulary that’s likely to be unfamiliar to average students. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that students who are voracious readers tend to do better than their peers who don’t read on the SAT. In fact, if you’re extremely well read and possess an advanced vocabulary, the SAT is likely to be a complete breeze for you. Probably the biggest mistakes students make is not reading and building their vocabulary early on. It isn’t something you can cram for. So download the Magoosh SAT app and start learning new words! The app automatically detects which words you’ve mastered and which words you’re working on learning, and it will automatically keep exposing you to the words you’re learning until you’ve mastered them! This is a great app–it’s like having thousands of flashcards in your pocket! Magoosh also has a vocabulary app for people taking the GRE, and their vocab-building apps are great for writers or for people in general. Anyone who wants to build his or her vocabulary will love it. Check it out! You’ll be glad you did.
4) Ready4 SAT
This is a pretty good app! It has thousands of questions, and at the beginning of using it, it has you take a diagnostic test to determine your skill level. The app contains about 60 lessons on key topics for the different sections of the SAT and also features practice tests you can take. In addition, it’s got thousands of flashcards for you to review. However, the app isn’t perfect. Some of the content lessons are not as instructive as they could be, and students could certainly benefit from more detailed lessons and answer explanations. Still, though, Ready4 SAT is a great way to continually expose yourself to SAT topics and questions. The more you’ve practiced, the better you’re likely to do! Check out Ready4 SAT and see what you think!
How Should You Use SAT Prep Apps?
The main reason to use SAT prep apps is to commit to practicing for the SAT every day. You should make the OFFICIAL practice tests for the SAT your priority in terms of SAT prep, but it’s still nice to practice with some extra material if you’ve run out of official materials to study. You can also use SAT prep apps to identify and address your weaknesses, to take practice tests, or just to try something different! Overall, we love the idea of students using their phones for studying! After all, they’re going to be using them anyway!
* * *
If you need a higher SAT score quick, be sure to visit our exclusive online store. It’s filled with premium lessons from perfect-scoring pro tutors. And for more free SAT prep tips and reminders, join our email list before you go.
Looking for private ACT or SAT prep tutoring? Or, want to join an SAT or ACT small-group class? Contact us today for a free, personalized consultation!