Conquer SAT Vocabulary For Higher Reading & Verbal Scores!
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Try Udemy for Business- Answer more SAT vocab questions correctly.
- Get higher verbal and reading scores on the SAT test.
- Understand a perfect-scoring pro SAT tutor's point of view on SAT vocab skills and tactics.
- Learn new vocab words faster and more efficiently.
- Build a powerful life-long vocabulary for academics, career, and personal enrichment.
- This course contains everything you need to begin boosting your SAT vocabulary scores. No additional materials are required!
Welcome! My name is Christian and I'm a highly-experienced pro SAT tutor with multiple perfect test scores under my belt.
SAT Vocabulary has always been a speciality of mine, even since I was in high school myself. Because of my daily habits, careful planning, and elite-level SAT tutoring, I found it quite easy to get a perfect score on SAT vocabulary by the time I was in 10th grade.
Since graduating from a Top-10 ranked college and founding my own SAT tutoring business Love the SAT!, I've helped coach hundreds of high school students to higher SAT verbal scores in under 5 years though my natural gift and talent (even passion!) for vocabulary skills.
Let me share my natural gifts of vocab with you (or your high schooler) so that you too can get closer to YOUR perfect score on the SAT vocab and verbal sections.
These timeless lessons will apply to any college-bound high schooler aspiring to develop their vocabulary for SAT / ACT testing and for all the college-level vocabulary that they will soon encounter.
This complete introduction to SAT vocabulary skills includes:
Over an hour of high-definition video from a perfect-scoring, highly experienced pro SAT tutor. Hi-def video and audio gives me the chance to share my knowledge of vocabulary without a crummy audio-visual experience getting in the way.
More than 20 independent lectures on score-boosting topics from the best vocab flashcard techniques to the true value behind vocab shortcuts like roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
(For example, do you know how you can use cutting-edge technology and a three-thousand-year-old language to boost your SAT vocab score?)
Supplemental materials are included in the course, like PDF articles from our SAT prep blog archives with exclusive content you won't get from anybody else.
Final Review Quiz. Demonstrate your knowledge and increase your confidence and comprehension with the comprehensive end-of-course quiz.
30-day money back guarantee (no questions asked). This is extended by Udemy and I fully support your right to be satisfied with the video course or else get a complete refund.
If you're still reading, this course was tailor-made for YOU - now it's time to take action!
Click the "Enroll" button at the top-right of your screen to take this course and get your SAT vocab score going up in under 60 seconds!
- This course is intended for high schoolers and parents who plan to take the SAT test as part of the college-admissions process.
- This course will be particularly beneficial to high school students who feel weak in vocab and reading sections of the SAT test and other standardized tests.
- This course is NOT intended for students who already have top-10% SAT verbal scores or for students who feel highly capable of independently improving their own SAT vocabulary skills.
Hi there!
My name is Christian Heath and I'm a professional SAT tutor, perfect-scorer, and entrepreneur.
I'm the perfect person to study SAT vocab with because I've aced the SAT verbal with a perfect score and I've taught and trained SAT prep full-time for 5 years.
I also happen to love teaching because I love helping students.
My most relevant credentials include:
- 7th grade PSAT score led to admission into Duke TIP program
- Naturally found it easy to get 800s on Critical Reading
- 2390 out of 2400 top SAT score in high school
- Graduate of Pomona College, a top-10 rated liberal arts school
- Currently has a perfect SAT score (attained after college)
- 5 years' full-time SAT and ACT tutoring experience
- 4.6 out of 5 average student and parent review
- Founder of Love the SAT Test Prep and College Counseling
- Founder and Author of eSAT Prep Tips
- Author of 5 textbooks on SAT prep
- Invited to teach SAT prep internationally in Chengdu, China
My experiences and expertise make me a natural for this course, which I created just for you.
Welcome to my Conquer SAT Vocab course!
Welcome to my "Conquer SAT Vocab" video course!
The number-one goal of this course is to get you to a place where you answer more SAT vocab questions correctly and confidently and to get you a higher score on your SAT verbal and reading sections.
First we’ll cover the essential basics of the SAT and the role vocabulary plays in your reading score.
Then I’ll explain both short-term and long-term approaches to building SAT vocabulary.
If we’re just being honest here, a long-term approach is generally going to be MUCH better and MUCH more successful than a short-term cramming approach, and I think that’s just common sense, right?
After the “long-term” section we’ll do a final review of our class followed by a comprehension quiz at the end.
Along the way: Please take notes! Keeping a written or typed record of your insights during the course will GREATLY enhance your experience.
Please take the time to read the additional resources I’ve included in the lectures. These articles will shed more light on various aspects of the SAT testing and vocab-learning process.
Contact me directly with questions or use the course discussions platform within Udemy if you have questions or concerns at any time.
It would be my pleasure to hear from you and get your feedback! Really, I mean it! So don’t be afraid to send us a note sometime.
The SAT test is one of the most important exams for high schoolers who want to go to college.
The SAT competes for students with the ACT test, which is a similar exam (although not identical). The purpose of both standardized tests is to assess college readiness and allow colleges and scholarships to compare students from different high schools.
Most students find the SAT fairly intimidating and difficult - particularly if they have not done any specialized test prep. SAT prep has become an invaluable way for students to prepare for these critical tests, and the importance of your scores has given rise to a competitive landscape that now demands you focus on your weak spots in math and verbal sections - such as vocabulary.
Some students spend up 3 years preparing for the SAT, while others have to find a way to prep in just a few weeks. The earlier you begin studying, the more you can do to affect your vocab (or any other weak spots) - which WILL materially improve your SAT score and give you measurably better odds at being accepted to your favorite colleges.
The SAT test is constantly changing and adjusting to new trends in the American educational landscape.
However, the reading and verbal sections of the SAT will ALWAYS feature some form of testing or quizzing on vocabulary - whether through synonyms, antonyms, or the need to understand advanced words in context.
Because the SAT is a college admissions test, and college features a lot of reading, the SAT will always include SOME form of vocabulary test.
Regardless of the exact style or format of the test and the questions, a strong grasp of college-level vocabulary will be essential to all students who hope to outperform the average score in the SAT reading and verbal sections.
Going forward as of Spring 2016, the SAT philosophy will most likely emphasize a broader selection of "intermediate" and "advanced" vocabulary terms rather than a narrow and specialized selection of "expert"-level vocab words.
However, no matter what changes in the future, strong readers with strong vocabularies will always have an instant advantage on the reading section.
How "important" is vocab to your SAT score - like, in the balance of everything you need to do, how much time and effort does your vocabulary study deserve?
Take four essential skills tested by the SAT verbal section:
- Reading Comprehension
- Reading Speed
- Vocabulary
- Analytical Abilities
Comprehension is most important, followed by analytical abilities. Vocabulary comes in a narrow third, with reading speed somewhat less important at spot number four.
Of course, the truth is that vocab difficulties will be different relative to each student.
It's important to be honest with yourself about how strong or weak your SAT vocabulary is and take action steps to improve if that is what you feel (and know, deep down) that you need to do.
If you're curious about the ACT test, you're not alone.
The truth is, the ACT and SAT are really more alike than different - especially when it comes to the reading and vocabulary issues you'll face.
The essential skills are similar, and although the format and style is slightly different between the tests, you will still be happy to know that anything you do to prepare for one reading test will most likely help with the other.
It is not unheard-of to take BOTH the SAT and the ACT tests these days - if you go this route, make sure you have the time in your schedule to actually STUDY for both tests.
Building up your vocabulary will undoubtedly help raise your scores, speed, and confidence on both the SAT and ACT - that's the bottom line.
In the short term, cramming SAT vocabulary presents problems. It’s hard to keep everything straight, it’s time consuming, and you might not have enough time to learn as many new words as you would like to.
When you're in a hurry, make good use of handmade flashcards and technological reminders to study. You need to study every day to make a difference.
If you have more time to study, make vocabulary-building part of who you ARE with daily reading you enjoy and a consistent vocab and flashcard routine.
No matter how little time you have to build your SAT vocabulary, ACTION will be rewarded and LAZINESS will be punished. There are no shortcuts that will work. Trying for loopholes like roots and prefixes, for example, is likely to backfire.
If you take ownership of your vocabulary and you work diligently every day, you will have the peace of knowing that you have done all you can to improve.
Here are some of the major issues you will face when cramming SAT vocab at the last second.
First of all, it’s harder to remember when cramming.
Next, even if you’re great with the pressure, there’s simply not enough time to learn large number of words.
Third, other activities like sports and clubs, and schoolwork, will definitely compete for your time.
Finally, and this is a big one, if you’re in a short-term SAT cram situation, vocab may not actually be your top priority.
Let's talk about how to solve these simple, but real, issues!
Prioritize your biggest SAT weaknesses. Set realistic expectations. And, carve out time in your schedule to focus exclusively on SAT vocab prep
Just because you’re on a short time limit, that doesn’t mean the fundamentals of good vocab study have changed!
Self-made vocab flashcards are still my number-one favorite way for anyone to measurably improve their vocabulary.
The classic way to do this is simply to use a stack of blank 3 by 5 index cards. Work from a word list, or just adding a new card every time you come across a word you don’t know.
It’s SO important that the cards are ones you’ve made yourself!
The value of flashcards isn’t just having a stack of words - it’s the whole process of making the cards. Trying to shortcut the process by purchasing pre-made flashcards is not likely to give you the results you are hoping for.
The other most important thing is that you drill yourself on the cards as often as possible with some sort of STRUCTURE to keep track of your progress.
In this lecture we'll cover a wide variety of ways to enhance your flashcards and make them more memorable.
We also cover the "two stack method" for keeping vocab practice organized in a really simple and effective way. This method works because it is SIMPLE and easy to keep track of.
When it comes to SAT vocabulary in the modern era, more than ever, it’s not about the so-called "LIST."
Instead, it’s about a personal database for students who take responsibility for their own learning.
The first step of having a great vocab database is to stay ORGANIZED and to keep BACKUPS. Put your main copy in the cloud - Dropbox, Google Docs - or whatever you prefer to use.
This way no matter what device you’re currently on, you can access and update your vocab database - on vacation, at school, at home, wherever you are.
The SAT will be drawing words from a VERY wide selection of possibilities rather than a limited number of top-10% hardest words that can be predicted and put in a list.
That means you need to move on quickly from your generic “seed” list and start compiling your OWN personal database of words you don’t know - words that you encounter in your daily reading.
Instead of blindly focusing on vocab lists that other people give you, the list you make yourself will be infinitely more powerful.
With just a bit of creativity and effort, you can come up with your own great ideas about how to use available technology to improve your vocab score.
In this lecture we'll cover ways to use Google, Facebook, and cell phones for something besides a distraction.
Investigate the cutting edge of vocab technology to see how it can help you beat your competition and study vocabulary more efficiently.
New changes to the SAT have made it less about a “perfect word list” and more about BEING someone who ALWAYS is learning new words
So, don’t overanalyze the list or the book you’re using - as long as it’s giving you new words every day that you don’t know, you are doing the right thing.
That being said, after all these years I’ve found a few I really like. In this lecture I give a few of my favorite SAT vocab books and lists available to order on Amazon and tips on independent free reading.
Many times I’ll get questions from students and parents who are hoping to find loopholes, shortcuts, or “easy ways” to massively improve their vocabulary.
Some of my smartest families will often come up with the idea of studying word roots, prefixes, and suffixes rather than the old-fashioned way of making and drilling flashcards.
In this lecture, we discuss whether or not this strategy is effective and why, and discuss how to enhance your use of vocab word roots, prefixes, and suffixes to raise your SAT score.
Now let’s shift away from the short-term cramming perspective and phase into a style that I think is much better and more effective, which is the long-term approach to building vocab.
We should ALWAYS be thinking about how we can maximize our long-term plan to excel.
So, in this lecture I’m going to share with you exactly how I did this whole process myself because I have ALWAYS felt capable with SAT vocab and never had to stress or worry about it, and I want you to have the same good experience that I did.
We'll also consider what you can do in high school and extracurricular activities to kill two birds with one stone and improve your SAT score while also have fun and boosting your college resume.
These are ALL methods that I personally used in high school to NATURALLY dominate SAT vocab over the long run without ANY kind of feeling of stress or strain at any point.
This is the essence of the “natural mastery” method that is going to get MUCH better and more lasting results than cramming for a few weeks which is really just a temporary patch on your vocab.
Pop quiz:
Who can make you study SAT vocabulary?
- A - Your parents?
- B - Your teachers?
- C - Your favorite colleges?
- D - The SAT and ACT?
- E - none of the above??
Decide now what you want your life to be - average, or exceptional? Extrapolate from where you are now - what will life be like if you don’t do anything differently?
- What will life be like if your SAT score stays the same?
- How would life be different if your SAT score goes up significantly?
- Do you consider people “smart” or “dumb” when they have a strong or weak vocabulary?
When you understand WHY a strong vocab will help YOU, that’s the first step towards taking OWNERSHIP of your SAT vocabulary, above and beyond the assignments given to you by your parents, teachers, and tutors.
Word history, “etymology” and language of origin, synonyms, and antonyms are all further details you can add to your vocab flashcards to enrich your learning and increase your memory.
By deepening your knowledge of each word it’s going to increase memory and give you more chances to remember the meaning under the pressure of a test situation.
This mental word network will eventually reach a critical mass that REALLY starts to help but it takes some trust, faith and patience first to get to that point. In this lecture we discuss how you can get there like I did!
Another key to my SAT vocab secret in high school was that I was reading books I actually liked. I was the one choosing - not my boring English teacher.
So ask yourself - what interests YOU right now?
From old-school to cutting edge, there are high quality publications discussing the very same stuff you like to talk about with your friends.
Or maybe you just like trashy gossip books. To tell the truth, even THAT is WAY better than nothing, and I'll explain exactly why in this lecture.
Most high school students have some amount of experience studying a foreign language.
If you learn to treat English like a foreign language, you may experience a helpful mindset-shift that you can use to learn new vocab more quickly.
Furthermore, studying and training your brain to master vocabulary in one language, will naturally help you learn vocabulary in ANY language more efficiently.
In this lecture, we also discuss why Latin is considered the "ultimate" foreign language for SAT vocab gurus.
I myself studied Latin in high school and I will say it undoubtedly increased my English vocabulary, but other foreign languages will work as well: here's why.
Incorporating a “word of the day” into your SAT vocab study habits is important for two reasons.
One: after a year, you’ll know 365 more words. Awesome!
Two: you’ll have at least 365 reminders to actually STUDY and BUILD your SAT vocab.
I know of at least three great SAT Word of the Day sources - get the details in this lecture!
Make a quick paper checklist of the following and make sure you’ve done them all today:
- Order your first vocab books on Amazon (Make sure to get a bunch of blank 3x5 index cards too)
- Make sure you have the current official SAT study guide.
- Make sure you have at least 3 free-reading books to read that you are excited about.
- Sign up for the Love the SAT Word of Day on Facebook or Twitter.
- Sign up for the College Board Word of the Day at their website.
- Leave a review for this course and other students on Udemy.
- Start today with 5 new words and flashcards.
- Create DAILY and WEEKLY piles as you study your flashcards.
- Leave your comments and questions about SAT vocab in the course discussion section so I can answer them.
Done right, SAT vocab and reading enrich YOU more than anybody else.
So don’t do it for your parents… don’t do it for your teachers… do it for YOURSELF.
Completing this checklist today is a great first step.
Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me and study up on SAT vocab!
If you have a moment, please leave me a REVIEW on the Udemy course page using the 5-star system and taking just a moment of your busy day to leave a comment about the Conquer SAT Vocab course.
At Love the SAT we also offer private 1-on-1 SAT tutoring both locally and online. We can also help advise you on your testing strategy so please email us at any time for advice. Please contact us by email or through Udemy or our website.
Don’t forget to check out my Udemy Instructor Profile to learn more about me and see what other courses I teach that can help you with test prep, vocabulary, college and scholarships, and all sorts of other useful lessons in hi-def video!
Again, my name is Christian Heath and I’m the founder of Love the SAT Test Prep and eSAT Prep Tips. I’ve had a great time teaching you this course and I want to thank you one last time for giving me your time and attention!