cueprepHow to study for the SAT: an 8-week plan
What's on the digital SAT, a week-by-week plan, and the strategies that move a score.
Free on the 3-day trial: a full-length test and 30% of everything else. No card.
The digital SAT at a glance
| Format | Digital and adaptive, in College Board's Bluebook app |
| Sections | Reading and Writing, then Math, two modules each |
| Length | 98 questions in 2 hours 14 minutes, plus a 10-minute break |
| Scoring | 400 to 1600 (200 to 800 per section) |
| Calculator | Desmos built in, on every Math question |
| Cost | $68, plus a $43 international fee outside the US |
What each section tests
Reading and Writing, Module 1
32 min, 27 questions
One short passage per question: central ideas, evidence, inferences, words in context, text structure, grammar and transitions. How you do here sets Module 2.
Reading and Writing, Module 2
32 min, 27 questions
The same question types, harder or easier depending on Module 1. The harder module carries the higher score ceiling.
Math, Module 1
35 min, 22 questions
Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry. About a quarter of questions have no answer choices.
Math, Module 2
35 min, 22 questions
The same four areas, with difficulty set by Module 1. Desmos is open for every question.
An 8-week SAT study plan
About an hour a day. Start with a full practice test so the plan aims at your real weak spots.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline + grammar | Take a full-length practice test. Start the grammar rules: sentence boundaries, agreement, punctuation. |
| 2 | Algebra + Desmos | Linear equations, systems and inequalities. Learn the Desmos moves for each: graph both sides, read the crossing. |
| 3 | Reading | Main idea, evidence, inferences and text structure. Read the question before the passage. |
| 4 | Advanced Math | Quadratics, exponential and nonlinear functions. Learn the formulas the reference sheet leaves out. |
| 5 | Geometry + data | Circles, triangles, area and volume, statistics and probability. Keep vocab going a few words a day. |
| 6 | Second practice test | Take another full test and review every miss, including why your wrong answer looked right. |
| 7 | Weakest skills | Spend the week on the skills that cost you the most points. Time yourself. |
| 8 | Final test + rest | One last full test early in the week, light review after it, and rest the day before. |
Strategies that move a score
Win Module 1
A strong first module routes you to the harder second module, which is where the highest scores come from. In Module 1, accuracy beats speed.
Learn the grammar rules once
The SAT asks about the same handful of rules every test: sentence boundaries, agreement, punctuation, transitions. Here they are, one line each.
Know the formulas the reference sheet skips
Slope, the forms of a line, the quadratic formula, vertex form, percent change and the circle equation come up every test and aren't on the sheet. See the formula sheet.
Practice Desmos before test day
Desmos can solve systems, find intersections and fit a regression in a few keystrokes, but only if the moves are already familiar. See the Desmos tips.
Run this plan in CuePrep
A daily plan aimed at your weakest areas, about 35 minutes on a normal day, with a full practice test every few days.
15 full-length practice tests
Adaptive like the real one, with a score report and a review of every question.
100 Desmos techniques
Each worked step by step in the test-day calculator, each ending on a practice question.
Math by skill
All 19 College Board Math skills, weakest first.
Reading and Writing by rule
36 grammar rules and question types, with the rule after every answer.
Formula sheet
62 formula cards, with practice on each.
Vocabulary
A 1,000-word deck, with a predicted set.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I study for the SAT?
Give yourself two to three months if you can, with a short session most days rather than a long one once a week. Take a full practice test first, so the time goes to the questions you actually miss.
Should I study Math or Reading and Writing first?
Whichever cost you more points on a full practice test. If they're close, start with grammar: it's a short, fixed set of rules, so those points come back fastest.
Is the digital SAT harder than the paper SAT?
It's shorter: 2 hours 14 minutes of testing, one short passage per Reading and Writing question, and a calculator on all of Math. It's also adaptive, so how you do on each first module sets the second.
Can I study for the SAT in a month?
Yes, if you aim the month. Take a full practice test in the first few days, spend most of the time on the skills that cost you the most points, and take a second test about two weeks in. Two to three months gives you room to fix more.
Start the plan today
Free on the 3-day trial: a full-length test and 30% of everything else. No card.