<p>Okay so here's the deal. I just got my January SAT score back I can say I'm less than pleased. I got a 2100 with 670 in CR, 710 in math, and 720 in writing (70 MC/10 Essay). I want to retake it again but now my confidence is at an all time low. Prior to taking it, I have done nearly every practice test I could find and scored around the 2200's (usually depending on how well my math score is). Frankly, I don't see myself taking the March test, but rather the May test. I finished the blue book as well as the online course provided by CollegeBoard and the practice tests provided by Barron's and Princeton Review. My score report hasn't come back yet so I will definitely see what type of questions I made. I realized that as I was taking the practice tests, I never really thoroughly reviewed over my errors... So I will definitely do that. However, at this point, I don't know what to do. Should I redo previous practice tests and examine my mistakes? I don't even know where to look for new tests to practice with because I'm pretty sure I've done most, if not all of them. Are there any other tips that you fellow colleagues can give me? I plan to rigorously look over the types of the questions that leaves me confused. And please don't say study vocab, because I do believe my vocab is pretty good considering I know the majority of the vocabulary words that could be tested. All in all, I just want to be within the 2250- 2300 score range. Is it possible?</p>
<p>buuuummmmp</p>
<p>It is definitely possible- you just need to spend some more rigorous time now.
Since you’ve got the general idea of the SAT now, you’ll know how to prep.
It’s normal for everyone to take the whole test and tackle all three components at the same time, and then take their first SAT.
After the first time is when everyone takes it much more competitively.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to go and tackle the three parts separately now. You seem to have some trouble in Critical Reading. Get a vocab book and get a CR passage-based reading questions book. Those should help you raise your CR- the best circumstance is that the majority of those 130 points you lost from CR were from vocab questions; in that case, easily memorizing ~1000 new words will get you a major boost. Passage reading is where it gets harder- you’ll have to devote more core talent to that through everyday reading.</p>
<p>Math is a matter of practice. Get that 51 SAT Math Tip book thing by Dr. Chung- it’s one of the best prep books. Do all 20 tests and you should have a higher score. Dr. Chung’s prep book is notoriously known to tackle the SAT Math section with an “asian style” to answer the problems. He also uses some crappy grammar in the book as well. His book’s tests will be harder than the actual SAT by a little to a lot, so if you’re able to ace those, then the real SAT math sections shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>Writing is the easiest part, arguably, to perfect. Essay writing is a must. Instead of taking 25 minutes, give yourself the golden “18 minute” time limit to writing your essay. Quantity>quality. Fill those two pages up with useless crap if all else is lost. Make sure to make it easy for those 30 second-1minute per essay graders by using transitional phrases and using “nerdy” specific examples for the 2-3 paragraphs. I would shoot for a 5 paragraph essay; intro with like 1-2 sentences and a solid thesis, 3 argument based paragraphs with context, and a nice conclusion with a quote or something to wrap it up.</p>
<p>The Multiple Choice is the easiest part that I mentioned before. For this, grab a Grammar Prep book for the SAT. Take lots of tests. You’ll find that the problems will be repetitive in similarity and type. </p>
<p>The SAT is not nearly as hard as this forum makes it seem. The anxiety of CCers- desperate high school students who struggle over the slightest non- A/A+ grade in school- is what has given this forum its infamous reputation. With enough studying, you should be able to penetrate at least the 2250 mark. From there on though, the rumors of this forum begin to come true- the last 100-150 points upward climb is what separates the diligent from the genius-diligent, or as others may claim, the lucky and the eternally damned “unlucky”.</p>
<p>These sort of threads pop up incessantly. Yes, it’s possible to improve!! Just work at it, continue taking practice tests and really focus on test day. The difference between a 2100 and 2200+ is not all that many questions so you can definitely do it. </p>
<p>I scored an 1840 the first time I took it junior year and got a 2270 on my last and final try at the beginning of senior year. </p>
<p>GL!</p>
<p>You have gotten good suggestions, but yes, it is crucial to review your answers… those that you guessed on (and got right) and those you got wrong. WHY is X the right answer. You need to figure out what the difference is between your answer and the right answer and what makes it wrong/right. You learn essentially nothing from taking tests if you don’t review afterwards.</p>
<p>I told my S when first started studying for the SAT and taking practice tests that he could “cheat” (by looking up definitions of words in the dictionary) and taking as long as he wanted to make sure he could answer every question. So have whatever resource you need by your side (without looking up the answers in the back of the book as you are taking the test), so that you can figure out what is right and what is wrong. Be methodical.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>^crazymomster is good in telling S to “cheat” when STUDYING.
When you are past that point, the time pressure is more than half the difficulty of the test. Make sure you are timing yourself, ESPECIALLY on that wicked 25-minute essay.</p>