Counting Down to the SAT; Eleventh-Hour Tips to Help You Test Your Best.

Business/Education Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2000

With little more than a week to prepare for the October 14th SAT, Kaplan, Inc. the nation's largest provider of SAT prep is offering last-minute strategies for students to help them maximize their results on this important exam.

"It's not too late to boost your test-taking skills," said Chad Schaedler, executive director of pre-college programs for the test-prep giant. " You might not become a geometry whiz in the next week, but even small improvements can make a difference. If you set realistic goals for yourself there is no reason you can't enhance your performance."

Schaedler's first piece of advice is to become familiar with the instructions and the format of the SAT. "Time is important. You want to answer as many questions as possible. The last thing you want to do is kill a lot of time on the instructions. And wear a watch!" he urges. Other important items to bring on exam day are a calculator with fresh batteries, a snack, a photo i.d. and a few of those famous number two pencils.

      Here are Kaplan's top ten tips for exam day. Test takers can find
more tips and free SAT practice tests at www.kaptest.com.

      1) Don't cram. You've already worked hard. Go into the exam well
    rested.
      2) Guess aggressively if you can eliminate at least one answer
    choice.
      3) Don't look for unscored questions or the experimental section.
    Do your best on every section.
      4) Pace yourself. Each section is timed so you need to pace
    yourself. Don't spend too much time on one question.
      5) Answer the easy questions first and come back to the hard ones
    at the end.
      6) Beware of the "obvious answer." At the end of a section, the
    apparently easy answer is usually wrong.
      7) Dress in layers. The climate in test centers can vary from
    sauna-like to frigid.
      8) Remember your foreign languages. If you don't recognize a
    vocabulary word, maybe you know a similar word in Spanish or
    French. It could give you a clue.
      9) Don't compare. Don't be thrown off by what other test-takers
    are doing.
      10) Find the test location beforehand. Test day is not a good time
    to get lost.

Kaplan (www.kaplan.com) is a premier provider of life-long educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. With 1,200 classroom locations throughout the U.S. and abroad and online services at www.kaptest.com, Kaplan has served three million students over 60 years in its nationally-recognized courses. Kaplan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).