As each year goes on, it seems that getting into college is becoming more and more competitive. One factor that can help improve a student’s chances into getting into college, is scoring well on the SAT. At Amador, it is not unlikely to find students who did just this by using different methods to study.

One method of studying is through SAT boot camps such as Elite. These boot camps take place over the summer and involve rigorous training in all five sections of the test.

Although Elite guarantees a students score to increase by 200 points, there are some downfalls to this program. First, the program can cost from $2,000 to $3,000. Many families cannot afford to send their children to these programs because of how expensive it is. Secondly, Elite is 5 days a week for 8 weeks and is  4-4.5 hours long. Some students explained how much Elite helped them, but others weren’t so happy with their experience.

“While it might be helpful for a 100 to 200 point improvement, I wouldn’t recommend it because some tests they use, aren’t College Board tests. Instead, they are ones that they made and they aren’t necessarily accurate to what the actual SAT is like,” said Rhea Kodkani (‘19).

Another method for studying for the SAT is by simply prepping at home. Study books (that can cost as little as $10) and online resources such as Khan Academy can help students practice.

Khan Academy is unique because it connects the student’s previous PSAT and SAT scores to their account. This allows students to practice certain types of questions that they miss most often. Students at Amador have used these resources to study for their SAT.

“I prepared by using Khan Academy everyday to work on the sections I really needed help on. I thought this was better because it is targeted towards my own needs,” said Amber Reid (‘19).

At Amador, there is a free SAT program founded by one of the seniors, Esha Chawla. Chawla created the program, Peer to Peer Tutoring (P2P).

“While studying for the SAT, I realized how there isn’t a set curriculum for students to study from. I also realized that many students don’t have access to the resources that I used when I was studying for the SAT and the bootcamps are really expensive. I believe that all students should have an equal opportunity to succeed, so I founded P2P to ensure that every student could get the best prep possible,” said Esha Chawla (‘19) when asked about why she founded the program.

This program consists of peer tutors who help students score high on their SAT. P2P runs for 3 weeks and has 6 classes in total. Students can sign up whenever they are free, instead of it being a predetermined date. There are already some students who have taken the course and it has helped them improve.

“It helped me recognize common  mistakes that many people would have missed and also it helped me improve my timing,” said Josh Kim (‘20).

Taking the SAT is a major factor for college admissions and there are multiple ways that students can attain their desired score. Students do not need to spend large amounts of money to attend tutoring programs; some of the best materials for studying for the SAT is right at their fingertips.

Watch this quick segment on SAT hacks!