For many high school students, the SATs are a daunting academic hurdle. After all, a good score can open up so many doors. According to Intelleyou Learning Center in Honolulu, HI, one of the most effective SAT prep strategies is to simply understand the test itself.

At the beginning of the year, new changes were being made to the format of the SATs. To help you best prepare, Intelleyou Learning Center want to make sure you're aware of the most significant ones:

• Total Score Back To 1600: In 2005, the total score was increased to 2400 due to the mandatory timed essay. The College Board is now lifting the requirement, which brings the score back down to 1600.
• Essay Will Be Optional: Even without the requirement, those who sought essay writing help during their SAT prep work should not worry. Their skills will still be of use; the timed essay will still be available and will be scored separately.
• More Time Per Section: The College Board has now increased the length of time test-takers can spend on each section. They’ve also reduced the number of questions on the entire test by 16!
• Four Choices Instead of Five: Not only will you get more time per section, the choices will be narrowed down even further. With only four choices in the multiple-choice sections, your educated guesses now have a better chance of being correct.
• Wrong Answers Will No Longer Be Penalized: Even in the event your guess isn’t correct, there’s no longer any penalty for it. Take a chance!
• Vocabulary Questions Based On Context: Straying from the old sentence completion questions, the updated SAT will now provide longer passages when asking for vocabulary definitions.
• More Charts & Graphs: The College Board understands that it’s important to know how to understand and extrapolate information from the data on charts and graphs. You’ll be seeing more of them from now on.

If you're interested in more SAT prep tips and a hands-on approach, call Intelleyou Learning Center today at (808) 946-5500. For information about their scheduling, rates, and their other tutoring services, please visit their website.  We also have ACT prep classes, and SSAT prep classes for private school admissions.  If you’re looking for school homework assistance, or math and English enrichment, please contact us.  We are now accepting new students.