<p>Hey, everyone! I'm not so happy with my first SAT score, but I'm a junior so i'm hoping to improve. I took an SAT boot camp at my school, which kind of sucked, but I thought it would help me out. We did a few practice tests in the College Board book, but I honestly didn't think I'd have to prep that much so I didn't work very hard. If I buy a good book (which one should I get?) and practice as much as I can handle, what's the most I can improve? Also, I think my low math score is due to my massive lack of geometry skills. Should I try to re-learn some stuff? Oh, and when's the next time I should try to take it? Is January too soon? Thank you so much in advance!</p>
<p>One last note! I feel like I should add that, unlike many users on here, I haven’t even looked at an Ivy League school. I’m not expecting anything near a 2400. A 1940ish would be pretty rad, but I’m scared that’s not going to happen.</p>
<p>You didn’t say what your exact scores are in each category. That info, and mentioning what type of classes you’re in now, would be useful to us helping you.</p>
<p>I started off with a 1600 in eighth grade. I had 600 for math, and 500 for CR and writing.
After a summer of studying, I now average 2300s on practice tests.</p>
<p>You’re definitely capable!</p>
<p>tbradsworth… HOW DID YOU DO IT?! how did u study?! plz share… XD</p>
<p>I got a 159 on my PSAT (well I was sleep deprived and had family issues, but still…) and on the score on the real SAT I got yesterday I got a 750 (CR), 680 (M) and 770 (W). Math ****es me off because on the practice tests I get 800s, but on the real thing I start freaking out, but it is what it is =p. On my last real SAT I had a 2100 and prior to that a 1990. What I’m saying is, it’s easy to improve if you have the time. Heck, you probably don’t get as nervous as me and can probably beat my score. Now here’s the part where you hate me: I used a youtube series exclusively for math and writing (free) called the SAT Math (and Grammar) bootcamp from Reasonprep (people don’t seem to like me advocating online things). That aside, I also memorized all 3,500 words on Barron’s (interestingly, on the one I got yesterday, I tried to focus on only math and took it a month after taking the one I prepped intensely for, and naturally my scores go up in everything but math -.-). I bought a Gruber’s but never opened it, I also took all the practice tests in the BB and made sure to memorize 20 essay examples the day before the test (10 essay). I bet you could do better. But it IS possible. CR is the hardest to improve, but writing and math are a cake walk once you know what to study and get the concepts down (again pretend I didn’t get a bad math subscore and go with my 800s on the practice tests). Still, you can definitely do it! Just do some intense prep (well maybe like an hour a day).</p>
<p>^^ No no… I hear ya… gimme ALLL the resources, man… so memorizing words helped to e=what extent?! and the passages… how can did u improve on THOSE?! i mean i feel like i get stuff but i don’t!.. can you improve frm a 600 to ur score?! plz let me know!</p>
<p>I also got a 1720 on my first SAT in March (600 CR, 550 M, 570 W, 6E). I was able to raise it up to 2030 in October (650 CR, 610 M, 770 W, 10E), and am expect to raise that further in January. Depending on what your initial breakdown was, it can be relatively simple to bring up your score. </p>
<p>Writing was already my strong point, and the essay score is what really brought it down the first time. If your MC was around 10 or less wrong but your essay was low like mine, you probably just need to brush up on the harder concepts tested on MC and then work on improving your essay. The key is to prepare examples ahead of time, fill up two pages, and thoroughly review your work after (I had 7 minutes to do this because I wrote so much so quickly, lol). If your essay was high and your MC low, learn those grammar rules! I really believe that writing is the easiest score to improve, but I’m also naturally good at grammar.</p>
<p>For CR, I just looked at improving my vocabulary, because it was honestly woeful before. This time I’m working on improving my understanding of the passages - I recommend jotting down the main idea, purpose, and tone right after you read, and then play devil’s advocate while answer the questions (it’s worked swimmingly for me so far). For math, I can’t say I did much studying - I had misplaced my grid-in answers the first time, so I figured I didn’t need to practice. Looking back I wish I had, so I recommend first brushing up on geometry, and then just consistently practice math questions every day, even if it’s just a couple (I like SATHabit for days I’m super busy).</p>
<p>Parent replying. I would not take the January test, as it will not leave you enough time to study. Evaluate your schedule to determine when you will have the time to commit to really studying. As in, are you a three-season athlete, will you be taking AP exams in May, will you need to take SAT subject tests for any of the schools you are considering? (SAT I is offered March, May & June but subject tests are not offered in March.)</p>
<p>The CB blue book is great but you may want to save some of the full-length practice tests for closer to your exam date. You can also download a current practice test off the CB site. Search this forum for other practice tests. Try to sit and complete one section of a test every day and then in the weeks leading up to the actual exam, sit and complete full-length timed tests straight through. (There are free timer apps for the iPod or iPhone.)</p>
<p>After you have completed several sections of each type of test (CR, M & W), go through and evaluate what you did wrong and how to improve. I agree with the poster above who suggested you outline essay responses. I would find it impossible to write a five paragraph essay if I hadn’t thought up some boilerplate responses. (Again, search this forum for old essay topics or just pull from the ten in your blue book.)</p>
<p>Erica Meltzer’s Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar and Gruber’s math book are both useful. If you can identify the areas of geometry where you need help, use Gruber to brush up on skills. My son found Gruber helpful in the way it broke out subjects.</p>
<p>Someone else mentioned SAT Habit. If you can’t find it as SAT Habit, try Testive. The site supplies ten math or CR questions/day and adjusts the difficulty of the questions posed based on your responses. They will also email you a question of the day which could serve as a reminder to pop on to their site to complete ten questions.</p>
<p>It is possible to increase your score but you will need to dedicate hours to prep. Good luck!</p>
<p>I waited until the summer before senior year to take the SAT. I scored a 750 math, 800 reading, and 680 writing. That was good enough for me, so I didn’t retake. My best suggestion would be to learn as much as you can using resources like Khan Academy and MIT OCW for math.</p>
<p>As far as reading goes, it was pretty easy to me. If you need help, I suggest you simply read well written books and news articles. When you don’t understand a word or its usage, look it up.</p>
<p>Most of all, don’t stress out. You’ll do much better if you don’t take it too seriously.</p>
<p>@OP, when did you take your first SAT (score of 1720)?</p>