Three-month study plan
A 12-week ramp from a cold baseline to a first official sitting. Calibrated for a Grade 9 student targeting +150 to +200 from baseline. Roughly 5 focused hours per week, plus a full Bluebook mock every 3 weeks.
How to adapt. If your baseline is already 1450+, halve the volume and double the focus on your weakest 3 question types. If baseline < 1100, this plan is a foundation pass — plan a second cycle before a real sitting.
Phase 0 · Baseline (Week 0)
- Sit one Bluebook practice test cold, no prep, full timing.
- Score it. Note the section split.
- Review every wrong question into the error log (see Practice).
- Tag your weakest domain in each section.
Month 1 · Foundations
- Week 1 — Math: linear & systems. 40 problems across linear equations, systems, linear functions. Use Desmos for half of them.
- Week 2 — RW: Conventions sweep. Sentence structure, punctuation, agreement, modifiers. 30 questions per night for 4 nights.
- Week 3 — Math: advanced math. Quadratics in all three forms, exponentials, function transformations. 40 problems.
- Week 4 — RW: Information & Ideas + first full mock. Drill central-idea + inference + command-of-evidence. End of week: Bluebook full mock #2. Score, log every miss.
Month 2 · Domains
- Week 5 — Math: data analysis. Ratios, rates, percentages, two-way tables, mean/median/SD intuition.
- Week 6 — RW: Craft & Structure. Vocabulary in context (predict-then-eliminate), text-structure questions, cross-text passages.
- Week 7 — Math: geometry & trig. Special right triangles, circles, volume, right-triangle trig.
- Week 8 — RW: Expression of Ideas + full mock. Rhetorical synthesis and transitions. End of week: Bluebook full mock #3.
Month 3 · Speed & polish
- Week 9 — Pacing drills. One section per night, strict timer. Goal: finish with 2 minutes to review flagged items.
- Week 10 — Weakest-domain targeted week. Spend the whole week on your most-missed question type. 60 questions; re-do every miss.
- Week 11 — Final full mock. Bluebook #4 under real conditions. Identify last 2–3 systematic errors.
- Week 12 — Taper. Light review only, no new content. Sleep, hydrate, walk through the test-day logistics. Test day Saturday.
Weekly structure
| Day | What | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Topic drill (this week's domain) | 45 min |
| Tue | Error log review (last week's misses) | 30 min |
| Wed | Topic drill | 45 min |
| Thu | Mixed practice (any-domain) | 30 min |
| Fri | Rest or light review | — |
| Sat | Long block: section drill or full mock | 60–135 min |
| Sun | Review the Saturday session into the log | 45 min |
Target score arc
| Milestone | Expected score change vs. baseline |
|---|---|
| End of Month 1 mock | +50 to +80 |
| End of Month 2 mock | +100 to +150 |
| Final mock (Week 11) | +150 to +200 |
If you're not on this arc, the problem is almost always review quality (not enough error-log discipline) or volume (not enough actual problems). Adjust before adding more content.
Test week
- Monday–Wednesday. Light topic review, no full mocks.
- Thursday. Take a short section drill to stay sharp. Confirm logistics (test center, ID, charger, device charged, account login works).
- Friday. No SAT material. Light exercise, normal dinner, in bed by 10:00 PM.
- Saturday morning. Real breakfast. Leave early. Bring water, snack for the break.
- During the break. Don't talk to other test-takers about the test. Walk, eat, reset.
Weekly checklist
- ☐ All planned drills completed
- ☐ Every miss logged with a real "why" line
- ☐ Two-week-old log items re-tested
- ☐ Sunday review identified next week's weak topic
- ☐ Sleep ≥ 7.5 hours nightly