Both sections are equally weighted and important, but students often find them challenging in different ways. Reading comprehension requires quick analysis and inference skills under time pressure, while math demands both conceptual understanding and calculation accuracy. The best approach is to assess which section is currently stronger for you, then allocate study time accordingly—spending more time on your weaker area while maintaining your stronger section. Varsity Tutors can connect you with a tutor who specializes in building confidence and competence in whichever section needs the most work.

Time management is one of the biggest challenges SHSAT test-takers face. Effective strategies include: practicing with a timer to understand how long different question types take you, learning to skip difficult questions and return to them later, and developing quick estimation techniques for math. The reading section especially requires pacing skills—you need to read efficiently without rushing through comprehension. Working with a tutor for Boston students can help you practice under timed conditions and refine strategies that work with your natural pace, reducing test-day anxiety.

Most students benefit from taking 4-6 full-length practice tests spaced throughout their preparation period. Early practice tests help identify weak areas, while later tests build stamina and let you apply strategies you've learned. The spacing is important—cramming practice tests the week before won't be as effective as spreading them out over several weeks or months. Each test should be followed by careful review of mistakes, not just a score check. A tutor can help you analyze what patterns emerge across your practice tests and adjust your study plan accordingly.

SHSAT reading questions test inference, main idea identification, and detail recognition—but the challenge is doing this quickly with unfamiliar passages. Common tricks include answer choices that sound plausible but aren't supported by the text, or questions that require you to synthesize information across multiple paragraphs. To prepare, focus on understanding *why* you're choosing an answer (not just selecting one), practice identifying the main idea before reading answer choices, and learn to distinguish between what the passage says and what you might assume. Regular practice with real SHSAT questions builds pattern recognition that carries over to test day.

A solid preparation timeline is typically 2-4 months of consistent study, though this varies based on your starting level and target score. Students with strong fundamentals might see good results in 8-10 weeks of focused prep, while others benefit from a longer runway to build confidence and master test-specific strategies. The Boston area has 32 schools using different admissions criteria, so your timeline might also depend on which schools you're targeting and what scores they typically admit. Connecting with a tutor early helps you create a personalized study plan that fits your timeline and maximizes your preparation efficiency.

Test anxiety often stems from unfamiliarity with question formats and uncertainty about your preparation. The best antidote is practicing under realistic test conditions (full-length, timed) until the format feels familiar and you trust your strategies. Building confidence also means understanding that you don't need a perfect score—identify what score you're aiming for, focus your preparation on hitting that target, and recognize that some questions are designed to be difficult. Working with a tutor helps you get comfortable with the test experience itself, so you're calm and focused when it matters on test day.