1940 to 2200 in 4 Months? Very Worried and Sad :(

Test Preparation
1

<p>Current: 720 Math - 690 Writing (8 Essay) - 530 Critical Reading</p>

<p>I went through the Blue Book, and my SAT score is still extremely low (1940). These are the books I have:</p>

<p>1)-Barron's SAT Book
2)-Barron's Math Workbook
3)-Barron's Writing Workbook</p>

<p>What can I do to improve? I struggle so much in CR and never understand what the passages are about. I've been so worried for the past few days. I'm so worried :'( Someone please give me advice on how to improve and what materials to improve from. Also, what books should I use for practice tests (I already went through the Collegeboard Blue Book and the Collegeboard released tests)?</p>

<p>Can I go from a 1940 to a 2200 from late-August until the end of December? I will take the SAT in January 2015 and MAYBE again in March 2015 if I am completely dissatisfied with my January score.</p>

2

<p>It’s tough since you have already exhausted most of the official tests out there but not impossible.</p>

<p>Here are some tips by subject:
Critical Reading - Brush up on vocab with Direct Hits and/or Quizlet/flashcards. These vocab questions are easily preventable mistakes as long as you master the vocab. For passage-based questions, try to first go through a couple tests without timing yourself. Take all the time you need, but try to get all the questions right. As you improve your accuracy, go back to timed tests and gradually work on timing. Also, know that the answers can be found in the text ~90% of the time. Use the untimed tests in order to discover strategies and tactics that the test-makers use. </p>

<p>Writing - Most sentences can be corrected by the way they sound. If something doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t. That being said, I must warn you that it’s easy to second guess even “no errors” once you get into the 700s (around where you are right now). As for the essay, use literature, history, current events, etc. but oftentimes, just using people gets you to that 10. It helps to brainstorm a list of examples organized by literature, history, people and current events, with attributes/themes associated with each example before the test. Make sure to learn this list, so that you are less likely to have writer’s block on test day (after all, you only have 25 minutes). Also, study the format of typical College Board essays and derive your own formula based on that. That way, you could write a crappy essay on one of those bad writing days, but still get a 10 (trust me, I’ve been there).</p>

<p>Math - You’re in the range where you are probably prone to making simple mistakes. Work with what you have (additional resources for math would probably be useless at this point) and try to improve your speed and accuracy concurrently. If you can ideally finish a math test with 8-10 minutes remaining that’s great as it allows you to go back and review to prevent simple mistakes. A 2200 is tough to attain but the more perfect sections you have (MATH), the more you can afford to miss on other sections (the dreaded CR).</p>

<p>Here are some CR and Writing resources that I have gathered from my own personal experience and through skimming these forums:</p>

<p>CR:
-Vocab: Direct Hits (book), SAT Vocab Cartoons (book), Quizlet (online), Mindsnacks (found on the Apple App store), Test Your English Vocabulary (Android app - just drills you on vocab with 10 question quizzes; great for on-the-go practice rather than studying)
-Passage Practice: Untimed Blue Book tests, Erica Meltzer’s CR Guide (book)</p>

<p>Writing:
-Erica Meltzer’s Grammar Guide
-For the essay: your own list of canned examples organized by people, literature and history, with themes/attributes for each</p>

<p>Know that you don’t need all of these resources (since that would probably cost a fortune) but if I were to recommend a couple, I would say: THE BLUE BOOK (absolute necessity), Mindsnacks (found on the Apple App store - the first lesson with 20 words is free, the other 24 lessons can be bought for ~$5) and Erica Meltzer’s The Critical Reader (I haven’t personally used this but I have heard rave reviews - if you don’t want to buy her book quite yet you could check out her website, which also has Grammar resources: <a href=“http://www.thecriticalreader.com/”>A closer look at "being" - The Critical Reader).</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Good Luck and keep us posted! :)</p>

3

<p>Hi! I’m currently a rising junior. I’ve spent summer studying for my SATs lol :P</p>

<p>I’ve improved my score from a 174 (first practice PSAT) to a 2200 (current practice SAT)</p>

<p>For CR, I would suggest practice, practice, practice. Initially I struggled with Crit Reading too… but I found out that the more I became familiar with the test, the easier it became. I try to understand at least the gist of each passage by underlining the first and last sentence of each paragraph and making sure I’ve internalized those sentences (topic and conclusion sentence). I find that underlining helps keep my mind focused, lol. Also, instead of thinking why a 2nd best answer fits, I think about why it COULDN’T FIT. The answer is usually always found in the passage. </p>

<p>Gruber’s suggests to cross out the answers one-by-one, methodically, that way you don’t skip over the right answer. </p>

<p>Barron’s 2400 suggests to analyze every word for the answers and eliminate words that doesn’t make sense in the context. Also, for line references less than 4 lines, you should focus on subtle wording in the passage. Line references more than 4 lines, you can skim to find the main point. </p>

<p>Hope this helps. Also, I find Barron’s SAT crit reading is easier than the real thing? (In a sense the passages are more straight-forward). </p>

<p>For Math, I have been using Chung’s and I find it is helpful. However, you might already be familiar with those topics, so I would suggest being super careful to avoid stupid mistakes. I would suggest bubbling answers in groups of 5… this personally helped for me because I would bubble wrong…</p>

<p>Lastly, Writing is the easiest section to improve. Just be familiar with grammar rules and the typical questions they ask. That being said, the scoring for writing multiple choice isn’t very lenient so be very careful there. </p>

4

<p>It is feasible if you dedicate time to it. It is pretty much the range of scores my D got from the end of sophomore to the end of summer before junior. However, she did 20+ practice tests within that period of time. It would be harder to do once school resumes. Check out your local library to see if they have any prep books.</p>

5

<p>It is possible, but it will have to take effort on your part. The first time I took a practice SAT freshman year (Kaplan) I scored in the 1600s. The last (single sitting) SAT I took, I scored 2210.</p>

<p>The above posters all give really good tips</p>

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<p>@HeyMrSwag‌ :)</p>

<p>dont worry. it is possible. i improved from 1960(beginning of summer) to a 2300(most recent practice test i took). <-- took only 2 months!
you just gotta practice practice practice!
dont use barrons. the first sat prep book i bought was barrons but i ended up not using it at all because i found other better prep books! :slight_smile:
i strugged the most with grammar. sigh grammar. those idioms man. just take loadss of timed sections. you’ll see patterns. collegeboard tends to only test you a few grammar rules. i improved from a 550 to a 700! now im aiming for a 750+ :slight_smile:
critical reading: go memorize vocabulary. i memorized over 1000 words this past summer LOLOLOL. DW I HAVE A LIFE I DONT SPEND EVERY MOMENT OF MY LIFE MEMORIZING VOCAB. haha. but it really helps. improved from a 650 to a 800! </p>

<p>dont be discouraged. you can definitely do this. im going to take the dec sats. hopefully we’ll both achieve our goals. you can do this my friend :)</p>

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<p>I think it’s possible. I also suck at critical reading and I went from a 620 on my first SAT to a 730 on the next. I don’t think I could ever do it again if I tried. I thought it was a mistake. I didn’t really study although I did memorize root words which I’m pretty sure I barely used on the test. I use kaplans computer program to take practice tests just to get used to the speed. </p>

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<p>A method that I found extremely useful for CR is to answer the questions with the answer key next to you. After you answer a question check to see whether your answer is correct or not that way you will develop an instinct for the correct answer.</p>

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<p>Hey OP, I totally know that feel! I would usually read the CR passages one way, only for it to be as “officially interpreted” into another way so I would get it wrong, and I’m always like ■■■.</p>

<p>But rant aside, I think the key to reading and doing well in the CR is to not feel nervous to believe that you “suck” at CR. Seriously. Here is what I did to overcome my “fear” lol: do a few CRs from an old book or a brand new one, but the key is to not timing yourself, and do it at a leisurely pace and visualize the type of questions that may be asked of you. Really take your time with this - and put your self in the mind of the question makers. Once you have a pretty idea of what YOU would ask, see what they end up asking. And then, very carefully think about your answers to the questions. If you get it wrong, no big deal, but understand what perspective they are taking and continue to try with different questions. Eventually, it will click, and you will be able to figure it out.</p>

<p>So keep at it OP - you’re literally almost over the “bump” so don’t give up! </p>