How to prepare for the SAT - from an island

We recently relocated to Indonesia to build a microschool based on the Guide model (AI-powered apps in the morning; limitless discovery in the afternoons). In the middle of that move, our son Henry (a junior) unenrolled from his Texas school district—but he plans to return for senior year with strong grades and test scores.

So now he’s preparing for the SAT and multiple AP exams…from a small island.

Here’s what’s working. Hopefully, these tips can help your similarly determined 16-year-old during this pressure-filled spring testing season. 

SAT: rely on real-time diagnosis

If you’re suddenly dropped into a foreign side quest, change your SAT test center. Use the College Board website to switch locations. In our case, the nearest option is Singapore, so we’ll fly there in May.

For prep, we tested a few options. We love Math Academy for its precision and XP-based progress tracking, but it currently only allows one course at a time—and Henry is already using it for Pre-Calculus.

So for SAT prep, he’s leaned on Khan Academy.

Two features are especially helpful:

1. Start with the Course Challenge
   This lets you test out of skills you’ve already mastered. It immediately narrows the field to what needs work.
2. Turn progress into a daily target
   Each skill has four levels (attempted → familiar → proficient → mastered).
   Total skills × 4 = total level-ups needed.

Then divide by the number of days until the test. That’s your daily quota.

For Henry:

• Math: 263 level-ups → ~11/day
• Reading & Writing: 164 level-ups → ~3/day

Every Saturday, he takes a full practice test through College Board.
Every Sunday, he does test corrections.

That second step matters most. Don’t skip test corrections. This step—reviewing mistakes and finding shortcuts—has driven the most progress.

He’s currently scoring in the 1500s. He’s hoping for a strong day on May 2nd. Please send good-luck vibes to a young American in Singapore!

AP English Language: practice the FRQs

For AP Lang, Henry has liked the Garden of English program by veteran teacher Timm Freitas.

What’s working:

• Parents or guides: print the notetakers for each of the 9 units. These give your students momentum; otherwise, many will skip it.
• Move through 1–2 units per week, unless your test is even sooner.
• Write practice FRQs each week. Then use AI to grade.

For that last step, ask AI to:

• Use the official College Board rubric.
• Give specific examples of what a top-scoring response would include.

That combination—clear rubric + specific feedback—is what’s accelerating his writing. 

AP U.S. History: accept the grind, structure it

APUSH is different. It’s not conceptually hard—it’s the sheer volume.

Henry is using Khan Academy again here, and the course is excellent. But the real unlock has been notetaking with:

• A high-quality notebook, like an XL, lined Moleskine
• Good pens
• Daily note-taking tied to each of the 9 time periods. Plan to spend as much as 2–3 hours per day during the homestretch of test prep.

Henry has also tried to build in:

• One day per week for FRQ practice
• AI scoring using the official rubric

This test rewards specific evidence—so he needs plenty of facts in his memory to support his claims. It just requires a lot of time to consume and remember.

He’s using a similar method for AP Environmental Science, but it’s a much easier test. 

World languages and beyond

Apart from test prep, Henry is continuing his other courses, like Art 1 and Spanish 3. For the latter, he’s pairing self-study with a live tutor in Mexico City via Preply:

• 1–2 sessions per week
• Alongside a YouTube course and a grammar book

It’s a simple stack—but the live conversation makes it stick. 

Passion project: What counts as real achievement?

Outside of test prep, Henry is also thinking about how to validate his project work.

He’s exploring:

• Building an Instagram audience for his wildlife photography (@henrystakerwildlife)
• Partnering with an academic institution to co-author a case study about Indonesian wildlife
• Creating a coffee-table book of his photographic and scientific work

He’s considering how best to get third-party validation of at least one passion project. 

Final thought

Preparing for the SAT and AP exams from Indonesia has clarified something important:

When students have clear goals, tight feedback loops, and strong tools, they don’t need a traditional system. In fact, I won’t be surprised if Henry does better than he would if he were in the traditional system this semester.

P.S. On that final note, I did invest in a collection of niche Pokémon cards, Hot Wheels cars, and other pet interests as incentives to reward hard work. Even 6-foot-tall 16-year-olds respond to incentives. A few small rewards go a long way to pull them across the infamous river of 11th-grade, college-focused travail.