<p>I scored the following on the two SAT exams I have taken this year, and I have to say, I was extremely disappointed, compared to the PSAT. Though there isn't too much of a difference, the thing is, I did so much better on certain sections of the PSAT and just completely bombed the SAT portion. I shall give you my scores.</p>
<p>I am shooting for somewhere in the 2000s, so I could have some fighting chance against the Mr. 2400s at the schools I'm applying to. The thing is, what sections should I focus on improving the most, which is the easiest to improve, how much should I improve for each section, what books should I buy (I'm on a fixed income; I don't want to spend $100 on test prep books, so maybe 1 or 2 will be fine), and how often should I prepare each night? I own the following SAT Prep books:</p>
<p>The Blue Book
Sparknotes 10 Practice SATs (I haven't used it yet; is it reliable and accruate?)</p>
<p>What books should I buy? I am a smart person; many people have told me that, but I'm a horrible test-taker. I heard that many have used Barron's 2400 and that has gotten them phenomenal results. What books would you recommend, and again, please answer the questions mentioned above. All help will be appreciated. Furthermore, in case you were wondering what colleges I was talking about in terms of competition, I am looking at competitive LACs and 2 Ivies (Dart and Brown), so the pressure for a good SAT score is on.</p>
<p>I went from a 162 on the psat sophmore year. Then I took a SAT course over the summer and got a 194 on the psat junior year (main reason was sophmore year I got a 44 on the writing section, junior year i got a 69(70 math, and 55 cr). I then studied cr like crazy (I learned 800 words, and took 8 practice tests). This brought me up to a 640 on the march SAT (I also got a 630 on the writing and 780 on the math). I then proceeded to review writing and took another 6 practice tests (all college board, though these were from the online course). I retook and got my cr up to 710 and my writing to 720 (got a 740 on the math that time). A 590 point jump. If you work (which first would be to learn all of the math you don’t know (diagnostic test?) and learn at least 500 words. And then take alot fo practice tests. (I used the list in the barron’s cr workbook, though im sure others online are just as good (sparknotes has a 250 word list and an 1000 word list). Anyways good luck on breaking 2000.</p>
<p>dont worry. You can win if you want. Concentration and dedication are things you need. Moreover, you should find the best method for you. SAT is a chance for you to understand more about your method of study.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Zorro: What did these individuals do to increase their score 600 points? I would love to know the secret behind their successes. Further, how much time per night should I commit to doing well on the SATs? A full practice test a night?</p>
<p>ari: What did you use to review, other than the Online Course? Did you just do all-out practice tests? </p>
<p>icandoit (how coincidental that your name meshes quite well with the message you are sending me): Thanks for that message, but what exactly can I do to “do it?”</p>
<p>It’s possible, but not exactly likely. With hard work, yeah, sure, it’s possible. I would work on raising your math score to around 700-730s and then work on grammer and get that to around 740-50s, and with a 560-600 CR, that gives you a 2000-2080. Then, if you still have time (ie, not October, as planned, if possible), then aim on raising your CR score from a 560 to the 600s, which will yield a score of in the low 2100s, which is a great score.</p>
<p>Grammar. The thing is, I’m an excellent grammar student, a “Grammar Nazi,” if you will. As for Math, the majority of my problems comes from making simple mistakes; how do I go about preventing making said mistakes?</p>
<p>Two problems: time constraints and second-guessing myself. Normally when you second-guess yourself, you get the wrong answer instead of the right one you originally had. Of course, my scores don’t exemplify that, but I did take a practice test and only got but 1200 on all three sections because I thought certain aspects were wrong.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree with Ren the SAT’er, always reread the question on math and make sure that you’re answering the question that they’re asking. I feel like the ETS is so tricky that more often than not, they’ll have you solve for something and then do another simple calculation to actually get the right answer…</p>
<p>you know ? i had 1800 too. But then , i found a book , “Rocket Review”. And it has changed my method of studying SAT a lot. I realized many things : my bad habit or sth like that. And i spend more time in reading . now, i find novels are very interesting to me.
You know ? Before that , i read Pride and Prejudice but i easily got bored and gave up. Instead , i watched movie . => it brought nothing .
But then, i read Wuthering Height. I tried to stick to this book . Gradually , i found this book helpful and interesting to me. i have increasingly loved novels:X:X while i used to be computerholic not bookholic.</p>
<p>I am a “bookaholic” myself, but I think that this shows that reading tons of books does not help me at all when it comes to the Critical Reading section.</p>
<p>which part of critical reading are you having trouble with? is it the vocab, the literature passages, or the science passages? i had trouble with the science passages, so i started reading popular science magazines. it helped.</p>
<p>math is probably the easiest to bring up, but you might find it easier if you had an instructor. you should try to identify what types of problems you’re getting wrong there, too. </p>
<p>i went up 200 pts. last summer, and then another 100 pts. by the time i took the test in jan. you might surprise yourself, too.</p>
<p>i think its due to the questions . Questions are sometimes so tricky. You should check explanation to find the reason why it is C not A or B. ^ ^ Learn lesson from mistake ^ ^</p>