Many students have earned 800 in SAT Chemistry. Here are some reflections from watching them.
With around 10 to 20 or more perfect scores each year, I've accumulated quite a few examples.
When I think of the students who got 800, they seem to have shared certain traits.
I'll write about those common features.
After an exam, I don't message first.
I used to ask, 'Did it go well?' but now I wait quietly.
Because students who did well always contact me first, haha.
Last year alone, there were nearly 20 SAT Chemistry perfect scores.
There is even a perfect SAT Biology result here.
I kept saying Biology wasn't my specialty, but the student asked me to help anyway.
I mostly watched them solve questions beside me, and they earned full marks themselves, haha.
I'll set out my thoughts.
For reference, the students below include SNU and Ivy League admits.
Broadly, students preparing for SAT Chemistry fell into two groups.
Some liked Chemistry and took the exam as advance preparation, with time to spare.
Others needed a score late in the process and were in a hurry.
A typical urgent case was a student in the final year of high school, such as DP2, beginning SAT Chemistry late.
But those late starters had a lower rate of perfect scores than students preparing ahead of time,
even when their Chemistry ability was much stronger.
After the exam, they always said they had made those frustrating 'careless mistakes,' haha.
And then they got the painfully close score of 790.
SAT Chemistry was never simply a matter of knowing a lot of Chemistry.
It also involved a substantial amount of exam technique.
So students needed enormous amounts of practice. Solving every available type of question eventually raised their skill.
I also think psychological factors mattered. Comparing students under time pressure with those who had breathing room,
the rushed students felt more pressure and made more mistakes.
In my lessons, studying SAT Chemistry two to five times a week for two months, depending on the student's ability,
could cover the foundations and almost all the available practice.
It didn't necessarily take long to raise their ability. Starting from zero, though, might require lessons seven times a week.
The time-consuming part wasn't building the basics; it was completing extensive practice.
In one sentence: want an 800 in SAT Chemistry? Solve plenty of questions.
And understand every mistake completely before moving on.
Students should ask me about them. Trying to figure everything out alone could lead to misunderstanding and make focused study harder.
Here are the websites and books used for preparation.
The first book is Barron's.
The second is Kaplan.
There is also a website called CrackSAT.
You can find it through Google. It has useful resources.
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At the time of this post, students needing SAT Chemistry lessons could contact me anytime.
It may sound like a simple conclusion, but extensive practice is the answer. And questions you don't understand
should be brought to me—if you're one of my students, of course, haha.
Finally, let me explain my teaching method.
I don't believe students should spend too long on the SAT Chemistry basics,
so we cover the core ideas quickly and then begin solving questions.
About 500 past-paper-style questions,
roughly 30 actual past-paper sets,
and questions from Barron's and Kaplan—with guidance on avoiding material that isn't useful.
After working through more than 30 sets of past papers and assorted workbook material in lessons, it became difficult not to perform well.
Many students earned perfect scores every year. The results were how I repaid their trust.