<p>Hello everyone - </p>
<p>I took the SAT for the first time this year (as a junior), and my scores are as follows:
800 CR
690 M
650 W (only 4 MCs wrong, but got a 7 on the essay) </p>
<p>I know I should probably retake, since my math and writing (definitely my writing) scores could be tons higher. But would it possible for me to improve my scores to 2300? If it is, how should I go about it? Any techniques, tips, suggestions, advice in general?</p>
<p>Thank you so much:)</p>
<p>Anything is possible.</p>
<p>Tutoring?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say tutoring because that is extremely over priced and in my opinion not necessary. Personally I would say just take practice tests and find your weaknesses so you can work on them. Trust me your scores will go up with practice.</p>
<p>Thanks 4kidsdad and biomedengkid! </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I really don’t have the money to attend tutoring sessions; as for practice tests, I’ve already got the 10 Practice SAT Tests(?) from the Princeton Review. Should I also buy/ borrow the Blue Book too? </p>
<p>Also, how do you go about raising your essay scores?</p>
<p>I had a 2160 (similar scores to you, 780 CR, 720 M, 660 W) my first time junior year. I did literally nothing between tests and got a 2370 (770 M) this November. </p>
<p>Time, familiarity with format, and another year of school helped me, so even if you don’t end up studying, I still recommend retaking. </p>
<p>For the essay: stop trying to write a good essay; start trying to write a high scoring essay. You can make up random books and distort historical events if you can’t think of real ones which fit the prompt. Don’t try to write efficiently; try to fill paper as fast as you can. If you have a choice between a long word and a short one, choose the long one, even if the short one fits the sentence and meaning better. Length, grammar, and vocabulary are the most important things. Logic is nice, but not as necessary. </p>
<p>For everything: check your answers. If you think you’re done checking, check again.</p>
<p>You’re golden. You got 800 on the only subject that can’t be studied for. Now all you have to do is memorize some grammar rules and learn the math topics.</p>
<p>Buy the blue book.</p>
<p>What’s the blue book?</p>
<p>ok… just a question… HOW IN GOD’S NAME DID YOU GET AN 800 IN CR?! PLZ share the secret! I AM DYING! you can easily improve your writing score by making up your own template before hand and using good vocab (which i bet u have! XP) As for Math, prac prac parc! and learn from ur mistakes… I aint no prof i need all the help i need myself, but just tryna help… can anyone help ME NOW on my thread?! It’s “911!!! Plz HELP! IT’S A 1950!” i aint stupid i swear… i just dunno what happened to me in the exam… plz help? anyone?</p>
<p>mapletree, btw, the blue book is Collegeboard’s Official SAT Study Guide… pretty helpful… (We call it the blue book cuz… well… it’s blue… :D)</p>
<p>If you can get 800 on CR, anything in this world is possible for you, honestly. :P</p>
<p>As Someone mentioned you got an 800 on a section which is the hardest to predict and study for. For math just remember the topics are very basic the wording tries to confuse you so just pay more attention to the question, and skip those you don’t know. As for writing the grammar part is very easy, what you should work on when writing the essay is just fill up the paper, answer the question, and include a little concession</p>
<p>I am going to post the same response here that I posted elsewhere this evening. I agree with those who suggest you purchase the CB blue book. It is perhaps $12 at Amazon and well worth the price. I also agree with those who said you have achieved the perfect score on the section that is most difficult to study for. You should find improving your scores in math & writing easier as long as you dedicate some time. </p>
<p>There are several good threads about the essay on the SAT prep section of this forum. </p>
<p>Here is my response to another thread:</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>Thanks econ981, SpaceDuck, 2200andbeyondXD, Collegiate2k, abulkhair37, and CT1417! I’ve just ordered the Blue Book on Amazon, and will probably start prepping soon.</p>
<p>2200andbeyondXD – I think the 800’s because of my penchant for reading novels when I obviously shouldn’t (for example, during class). All jokes aside, I do think reading a lot is much more important (and appealing) than say, reciting tons of vocabulary; CR is, after all, meant to test your comprehension than to see how many obsolete words you know.</p>
<p>Everyone, thank you so much for the advice:) - anything else I should keep in mind?</p>
<p>great CR score! I wish I could’ve gotten something like that :
as for math, I recommend Dr. Chung’s SAT Math prep book. I think it’s a lot more difficult than the real SAT math portion, but when I took the real SAT, the math part felt very easy. As for writing, learn the grammar rules, get a prep book, and practice. good luck!</p>
<p>M and W are most definitely the easiest to improve. It’s definitely possible to get a 2300+</p>
<p>I suggest reading this for essay part :<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days-11.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days-11.html</a></p>
<p>It helps me tremendously.</p>
<p>I have gotten 11 on the essays both times.</p>