As many college admission boards would agree, one’s SAT score is paramount in the process of applying to schools. Here at Central, we take the SAT with utmost respect and understanding of the effects it has on our future lives. This is why we have had the Reading SAT prep here for the past years. Hosted by Mrs. Barnett, those who attend this event are sure to gain much information having to do with the SAT Essay.

Because Juniors will be taking the SAT on March 6, it is imperative for them to attend some of these review sessions. Richard Dunn, a Junior, who attended the essay Prep on February 16th, said “I feel so much more confident now that I have gone over my essay with Mrs. Barnett. I learned about the pros and cons of indirect structure while also gaining the confidence to write the SAT essay within the relatively short amount of time we are given.” Seth Rodriguez, also a junior, attended the after school SAT Math prep with Mr.Hinojosa on February 26th and said “I’m feeling much more confident in my skills after the mere two hours we spent in the classroom.”

Although Mrs. Barnett started teaching the SAT Prep at Central Catholic in the summer of 2016, she has taught SAT Prep for the past 20 years. She currently teaches the Reading/Writing section SAT prep here at Central. She teaches her students how to find the “traps” of the reading section and increase the odds of them picking the right answer. So far, Mrs. Barnett is very impressed with the initiative of the Class of 2020 and was impressed at the 30 person turnout at the Prep on February 16th. “Usually only around 10-12 people show up on Saturday mornings.”

The prep for the Reading/writing section is only one part of a much bigger beast. The math section offers problems that challenge the student greatly. Mr. Hinojosa hosts the Math portion and goes over each section, with a calculator and without. Moreover, Mr. Hinojosa instructs about the different test taking strategies that one must have in order to succeed on this exam. One such tactic includes the idea to never stop working on the section and to always guess on the questions one is having trouble with due to the lack of a penalty for guessing. Mr. Hinojosa said “…I had a guy who finished the entire section in 10 minutes…” and throughout the session stressed the importance of not stopping early and to always check one’s answers. Personally, I feel that I have gleaned much from this experience. I know now to not linger on questions that I have have trouble on but to guess instead.

The fact alone that most colleges require the SAT for applications should entice one to prepare heavily for these exams. You should also know that time spent in class is almost always not sufficient. The type of questions asked on the exam require you to do at least the bare minimum out of school. If you are still unsatisfied with your current skills, you should attend the SAT Prep on Saturday, March 2nd. It would also behoove you to attend the Preps on the Monday and Tuesday before the Exam which takes place on March 6th.