HispanicBusiness

MALIBU, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/20/12 -- For many parents of high school students, the SAT -- a standardized exam most colleges and universities use to evaluate applicants -- is somewhat of an unknown. While they understand that it is an important part of the college admissions process and that a high score can result in acceptance to the best schools and lead to scholarship awards, they may not know how they can help their students with SAT test prep so they can do their best on the exam. To assist parents, Veritas Prep, the largest global provider of test prep and admissions consulting services, has outlined five things every parent can do to help their student ace the SAT and become a more competitive college applicant.

1. Encourage Your Student to be Self-Motivated - While it's great that you bought your son or daughter some SAT prep books or an SAT class, it may all be in vain if your child is not motivated to do well on the SAT on his/her own. Parents are only an external motivator for children; scores will start to skyrocket when students have an internal drive to do well. To help foster that drive, have your child identify three reasons why he or she wants to score well on the SAT. For example, do they want to gain admission to a competitive program? Or earn a significant scholarship? By creating a list of reasons and goals, students will be better able to self motivate and if they begin to lose focus you can remind them of what they're working toward.

2. Simulate Real Testing Conditions - You know the cliché: practice makes perfect. But in reality, perfect practice makes perfect. And in order to practice perfectly, you should make sure your student mimics test day conditions when taking an SAT practice test at home. This means timing every section, no TV/internet/cell phone, 5-10 minute snack breaks every hour and nothing on his/her desk except a pencil, calculator and water bottle. Help your student know what to expect on test day so there are no surprises.

3. Teach Your Student New Vocabulary - The SAT is an exam that requires little memorization because it primarily tests higher order thinking skills. However, a scholarly vocabulary is one asset students must have to ace the SAT. As part of your student's SAT practice routine, write an SAT "word of the day" on the refrigerator or in another area of the house that everyone can see each morning. To make it more fun, challenge your family members to use the SAT vocabulary word in at least one sentence throughout their day. Quiz your student regularly to make sure they retain previous days' and weeks' words as well. Note: make sure you use words from SAT-specific vocabulary lists rather than generic vocabulary lists.