Studying specifically for HSNCT

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araksuj
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Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by araksuj »

So what packets should I study to specifically prepare for HSNCT? Should I purchase old HSNCT packets to study or will I be better off just studying previous PACE and Acf fall/regionals packets?
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UlyssesInvictus
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by UlyssesInvictus »

I found that preparing yourself for the style of play is more helpful than just studying blindly--play timed rounds, read shorter questions, give yourself less time to answer. I don't know if HSNCT still has math comp, but break out the pencils if it does.

But in general, if you study, you study--everything comes up eventually.
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by Important Bird Area »

UlyssesInvictus wrote:I don't know if HSNCT still has math comp
HSNCT has computational bonuses (but not tossups).
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Corry
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by Corry »

I've personally written several hundred questions for the HSNCT in the last few years, including this current year. When I write questions for NAQT, I use the same standards for clues as when I write for my ACF submissions, or for PACE.

So yeah, if something comes up in ACF Fall 2015, it can easily come up in this year's HSNCT. Of course, it could always be helpful to buy copies of past HSNCTs anyways-- just make sure not to go too far back, as the quality of older sets may not be so great. The HSNCTs for 2015, 2014, and 2013 would be the most relevant for your purposes.
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jonpin
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by jonpin »

If you've already played or read the last few years' HSNCTs, note that the difficulty level is intended to be between that of SCT-II and ICT-II, so those can also serve as useful practice material.
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Rufous-capped Thornbill
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by Rufous-capped Thornbill »

I definitely agree with other folks in this thread who have said that preparing with HSNCT timing and pace is more important than preparing with HSNCT packets. One thing I will add, however, is that NAQT has much more trash, current events and geography in its distribution than mACF style tournaments. While I still don't think anyone's developed a method of studying trash effectively (please no one do this), studying the major events from the last year, and especially the last few months, as well as geography, will get you a lot of points and give you somewhat of an edge against teams that are stronger in mACF-style core categories.
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araksuj
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by araksuj »

Would the 2011 HSNCT set be a valid question set to study from or is it too old?
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Re: Studying specifically for HSNCT

Post by Corry »

araksuj wrote:Would the 2011 HSNCT set be a valid question set to study from or is it too old?
That's probably fine. This is my own opinion (I don't represent NAQT in any capacity), but I think 2011 should actually be the cutoff- all of the HSNCTs before 2011 tend to be more esoteric and wacky than they are now, for reasons that I don't need to get into here.
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