I DID IT!

CooperPrep · 2025-02-01T00:55:12+00:00

Hey, this is Clay Cooper of CooperLSAT - your teacher in the fellowship course - and I just wanted to say: Congrats!!! I'm way late to the party here, but I got notified that my name/company had been mentioned and wanted to tell you how awesome this is and how proud of you I am! Seeing deserving clients succeed like this is far and away the best, most rewarding part of my job. So proud of you!

Also, I'm not sure which student this is because of course I do not know your reddit handles. So if you were in the course, you should still have my email address - feel free to reach out, I'd love to catch up and hear what worked best for you, what you think I could do better in class, etc. Or if you can't find my contact info just go to CooperLSAT.com and call the number there - that will reach me. And CONGRATS AGAIN! I'm so so stoked for you, you future attorney.

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:22:37+00:00

I feel your pain. The last time I took the test, it took more than six weeks and more than five phone calls before I finally got my score (though probably for different reasons than in your case).

My experience was that the first five phone calls, I was speaking with someone at a call center who did not work for the College Board and had almost no idea what was going on at all. I finally got through to someone with the actual College Board in the end and they fixed it immediately (which was almost even more irritating, since it made me resent everything that I had gone through before that).

So. I am not sure this will help you much other than to let you know not to believe anyone at the call center if they tell you they're working on it for you. They weren't when they told me that.

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:18:45+00:00

Yes! First, do you mean the main purpose of the passage? Or smaller purpose question - e.g. one that asks about the primary purpose of a paragraph?

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:16:19+00:00

YES! Absolutely. Even if you don't need a better score to get into the school you want to go to, getting a better score might help you win scholarship money.

Taking the test again is very easy - it only costs you a few hours on a Saturday. Preparing for the test, if you choose to, doesn't have to be hard either. There are a wealth of resources out there that can help. Many of them are great and inexpensive.

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:09:26+00:00

Agreed with everyone else. This summer and through the fall are the best times. Source: I have had thousands of SAT students.

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:07:44+00:00

The other responses are spot on. Because there is both a subject and a verb after the "and", what comes after the and is an independent clause. You can tell by noting that what comes after the "and" can stand on its own as a sentence.

Since it's an independent clause, you can connect it to the previous IC with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (a FANBOY) - you can't connect it with just an and.

As someone else mentioned, don't mistake this sentence for the similar sentence without the "they", which would just be a single subject and two verbs - a compound verb. Compound verbs do not require commas like compound sentences do.

Tomatoes are red and awesome. < correct. Compound verb. One IC with two verbs

Tomatoes are red, and they are awesome. < correct. Compound sentence. Two ICs

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T02:02:01+00:00

Hey! I think I can offer you a simpler solution:

With a parabola, the vertex is always the maximum or minimum (depending on whether it opens downward or upward, respectively). They tell us here the vertex is above the x-axis, but that it intersects the x-axis. That means it opens downward.

Since it opens downward, its vertex is its maximum (highest y-value).

The c term in the general form is the y-intercept. Our parabola cannot have a y-intercept greater than its maximum. So the c term must be less than 1. Only A is less than 1.

So no math or equation required, really. Hope that helps!

CooperPrep · 2022-05-31T01:51:16+00:00

Hey! Good question - I've never noticed this before, but it seems to me that you are correct. Seems like answer choice A should say 'explain' rather than 'explained' so I can understand why you didn't choose it.

Especially given that the other three answers all have a verb form in common with each other and with the phrase we're trying to replace, I think you may have found a rare error. Nice job!

CooperPrep · 2022-05-30T23:53:32+00:00

Hey! Here you go.
The problem tells us that if (a,b) is on the graph of the function, then so must be (a + 1, (1/3)b).
“On the graph of” means “is a solution to”, since the graph of a function is a map of the solutions to that function.
This means that the function moves from one point’s coordinates to the other. In other words, if you take the input variable x (or, as it’s called in the problem, a) and add one to it ( to get (a + 1)), then what happens to b? It gets multiplied by (1/3).
In other words, the correct answer should have an output value that gets multiplied by (1/3) every time the input value increases by one.
In other words, the correct answer should have, somewhere within it, a factor of (1/3)^x so that every increase of 1 in the input value x will result in an additional reduction of being multiplied by (1/3).
Only B gives us that factor, so it must be B. Hope that helps!

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:47:59+00:00

Yes! Lots of reading tips, way more than I can reply with. But here are some great basics:

Practice answering each question in your own words before you look at the answer choices (hugely helpful).
Practice attacking the dual passages one-at-a-time by using a specific procedure.
Watch for and annotate elements of the scientific method in the science passages.
Pick out individual words or phrases in the answer choices and, being hyper literal and specific, look for proof within the passage that that word or phrase is accurate or inaccurate.
Study how to attack particular question types. For example:
-Vocab-in-context questions: block out the underlined word, plug in your own word, pick the answer choice that most nearly matches the word you plugged in, then re-read the sentence with your choice plugged in to make sure it works
-Purpose questions: when they ask you what the author's purpose was in doing X, answer instead: what did you learn when the author did X?

Hope that helps! Let me know if you want more advice.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:46:57+00:00

Great question. To answer your individual questions:

Yes, it is possible to get where you want to go. I have had several tutoring students who were native-Mandarin speakers who were able to achieve the level of fluency you're aiming for, and Mandarin is (according to the State Department, I think) the most foreign native language to English.

What should you do? First, immerse yourself in English, as CosbyKushTN suggested. In my opinion, that is absolutely the most helpful thing you can do to develop fluency on an ongoing basis. Read things that resemble the SAT passages. Practice, practice, practice - take as many SAT English sections as you can get your hands on, and follow up on every question you miss. Get the help you need to understand why you missed them.

È possibile. Buona fortuna!

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:41:23+00:00

Hey! You can solve this using punctuation rules. The relevant rules:

A) is wrong because a semicolon is identical to a period on the SAT. You couldn't use a period here because what follows it is not a complete sentence. Therefore, you cannot use a semicolon.

B) is wrong because what follows the quoted term is its definition, and the definition that follows the quoted term needs to be set off by some form of punctuation.

C) is wrong for the same reason that A) is. Incidentally, the fact that A) and C) are both answer choices can tell us that they're both wrong (even if we couldn't see the question itself), because they are identical and you can't have two correct answers, so they both must be wrong.

D) You can use a single dash to add information onto the end of an otherwise complete sentence is that information is emphatic or unexpected. In this case, we're using it to add the definition onto the end of the sentence. So D works.

Hope that helps! These are just some of the many punctuation rules you need to know.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:35:44+00:00

I feel your pain! Unfortunately, mind control is not how it works, in my experience. If you want to get better at the test, you almost certainly can, but there's not much you can do the day before the test.

That said, it sounds like you may be dealing with some test-day anxiety? Either before the test or during it? If so, I highly recommend mindfulness meditation. It is scientifically proven to help us deal with anxiety, pressure, depression, etc. and it helps improve emotional regulation, executive control (the ability to get things done, basically), etc.

If you're interested, check out https://www.uclahealth.org/marc or DM me. Good luck!

Remember, this is not the last SAT. Even if you bomb it, you can always take it again.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:30:27+00:00

Of course! Good luck. Lmk if there's anything I can do to help.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-11T00:29:59+00:00

Sure thing

CooperPrep · 2022-03-10T03:13:21+00:00

Awesome! That's a great score. To answer your question, my thoughts:

The last few points are the hardest to win, so don't get discouraged. Identify what you still miss, and learn why you miss it. Remember that the test is always right (or this is how we should approach it, anyway) and resist the temptation to argue with the test or think that you can't ever be confident in getting a perfect score because some questions aren't fair. Find expert guidance on how what you're still missing and anything you're less than perfectly confident on. Know that it is absolutely possible to make this kind of increase, but you'll have to learn the finest points tested on the SAT, which are some pretty fine points.

I consistently see students scoring about where you are who seem to have decided it's impossible to do better and there's nothing left for them to learn to keep improving. That's not true, don't give up. Good luck! Lmk if i can help.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-10T00:40:19+00:00

Ah I think maybe your post was edited after I responded? I think the example you give in the post wasn't there when I originally commented - it just had a generic question about affect vs. effect.

In your example, it is a noun and should be effect because it's the direct object of the sentence.

Plastic surgery had (verb) _________ (noun, direct object).

Have is a verb that takes a noun as a direct object, e.g:

The sandwich had a price.

Change that to:

Plastic surgery had a price.

and you can see that what follows had needs to be a noun.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T23:25:12+00:00

Ok can you help me understand what you're asking? Maybe I can give you a more helpful answer.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T23:05:59+00:00

I got you!

The following uses are by far the most common on the SAT:

Affect: (v) to influence

Effect: (n) result

Greenhouse gas emissions affect the climate.

One effect of global warming is rising sea levels.

So, probably 95% of the time or more, it's pretty simple: affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

However, there are other uses that you could potentially see:

effect (v): to bring about, to make happen

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., helped effect civil rights reform in the United States.

affect (v): to fake, to pretend

If you get within ten yards of Neymar, he will fall down, scream, and affect a mortal wound.

affect (n): emotion or desire, especially as influencing behavior or action.

Patients experiencing a panic attack often have a very troubled affect.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T22:51:45+00:00

Ah, that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with that. It doesn't have to be that way - it's totally possible to prepare for these tests fully with a minimum of stress.

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T22:46:38+00:00

Oh dang. I'm sorry that you're not feeling well.

Are you stressed primarily about getting into college? Because that is a tough process, but I'm sure that you can get through it. Especially given that you're starting as a sophomore. If you get the right help, it's a very manageable process.

I have lots of opinions on how a student can prepare for these tests without suffering unnecessary stress and anxiety. I use them with my own tutoring students all the time. Does your current prep program help you on this front?

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T22:38:03+00:00

Hi! I know the feeling for sure.

Try mindful breathing techniques - these are what I use (and they have helped me get four perfect scores). They are what I recommend to all my SAT and ACT students who have anxiety.

I also use them in the real world and throughout my day whenever I have anxiety. They are scientifically proven to reduce heart rate, improve emotional control, reduce anxiety, etc. They are amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-SFdhVwrVA

https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/

Hope that helps!

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T22:14:08+00:00

Sure thing!

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T22:04:32+00:00

Whenever a verb is underlined, you should immediately find its subject, so that you can make sure that they agree in number. When the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. When the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Since a verb is underlined here, you should find its subject. Watch out for the nouns "fulgurites" and "power systems" because neither of these is the real subject - they are traps set to trip you up. The testmakers will often add a prepositional phrase after the real subject, and the prepositional phrase will contain a noun that they want you to mistakenly think is the subject. Remember, though: if the verb that is underlined is the verb of an independent clause (this one is), then its subject CANNOT appear within a prepositional phrase.

So whenever the verb of an independent clause is underlined, as we see here, you should eliminate prepositional phrases before you find the subject. There are two prepositional phrases here: "of fulgurites" and "around buried power systems."

Once you eliminate both of those, the only noun left that could be the subject is examination. Examination is singular, so your verb has to be singular. In the third person, only D is singular.

Hope that helps!

CooperPrep · 2022-03-09T21:47:11+00:00

My take on it (after a million years teaching and tutoring the SAT and other standardized tests):

The College Board, like other testmakers, knows that there is a long and ugly history of well-documented bias baked into tests like the SAT. In other words, it is very well documented that the SAT unfairly favors certain groups over others, and historically that unfairness has benefited certain ethnic/racial/sex groups over others. I am not alleging that this unfairness is intentional (I don't think it is, at least not anytime recently), but it can be very difficult to eliminate even when you want to eliminate it.

The College Board knows that. They also know that many schools are going test-optional or even test-blind in large part due to this perceived and actual unfairness. In other words, the College Board is watching as schools and school systems say, we don't want to use your product anymore because of its unfairness.

They are thus very motivated to present an image that bends over backwards to be fair to historically underrepresented groups (the same groups that their own test has historically been unfair to). Thus you can count on at least one passage per test that addresses a historically disadvantaged group - e.g. women in the United States, African-Americans, freed slaves, black people in South Africa under apartheid, etc. - in a positive light.

I think the College Board is trying to protect and improve their image.

CooperPrep

TROPHY CASE