<p>I'm aiming for Brown here, so any improvement is needed from this.</p>
<p>To study for June, I read Barron's How To Prepare for the SAT, RocketReview, and I did 3 Blue Book tests. All in about a week or two.</p>
<p>Should I purchase more review books? I was thinking of buying PR for the hit parade at least and perhaps Gruber's... would this be good? I need as close to 2400 as possible [I doubt that I'll get the perfect score, but I just need improvement from my already satisfying-but-not-yet-acceptable June score].</p>
<p>2230 is definitly acceptable at brown....i got a 2270 (1530 M and CR) and im not retaking...i guess because your M and CR are only 1450 you should consider but a 2230 is still a fantastic score and is at the top tier of the 50th percentile</p>
<p>I know it's acceptable, but I really want my SAT score to be more than acceptable, just seeing as how I'll be up against thousands of kids just like me... except many of them will have 250 hours of community service, their own businesses, etc.</p>
<p>I've already decided that I'm retaking, especially since I'll be helping some friends study this summer, so I figured it'd be worth it...</p>
<p>alright. I mean from what I hear once you get your 2200+ there really isnt a whole lot more the SAT score can do for you. Its going to come down to EC anyway so I'm under the impression that one should intern/work over this summer to help build that rather than worry about a test that you already did incredible on...just some advice...</p>
<p>If I were you, I'd brush up my writing rules to get that 800 (800s are very sexy). For math, just don't make silly mistakes. Really focus on the question and what it's asking -- don't solve the problem correctly only to give the wrong answer. </p>
<p>Reading, uh, do lots of practice tests. Look up words in the tests that you don't know... </p>
<p>I have a 2340 and I'm retaking, so I understand your quest for a high score.</p>
<p>Because you have a greater chance of regressing than improving.
Because 2340 looks just as good to colleges as 2400.
Because a 2400 on your third try is nowhere near as impressive as a 2400 on your first.
Because colleges might see the attempt as evidence of conceit or vanity.
Because spending $43 and four hours of a Saturday morning you should be sleeping is incredibly wasteful when there is no great benefit to doing so.</p>
<p>Because you have a greater chance of regressing than improving.</p>
<p>My score report on my first try indicated a higher probability of regressing than improving for each section. I didn't regress. </p>
<p>Because 2340 looks just as good to colleges as 2400.
It's not that I give a damn about the composite. It's just knowing 15,000 people beat me on reading and 13,000 on math that irks me. </p>
<p>Because a 2400 on your third try is nowhere near as impressive as a 2400 on your first.
Says who? </p>
<p>Because colleges might see the attempt as evidence of conceit or vanity.</p>
<p>Meh, I feel I can do better, so why shouldn't I try? If anything, it demonstrates tenacity. </p>
<p>*Because spending $43 and four hours of a Saturday morning you should be sleeping is incredibly wasteful when there is no great benefit to doing so. *</p>
<p>Money already spent. Oh, and four hours? Please. If I have a shot at a 2400 -- the top score in the country that'd give me a 50/50 shot anywhere -- I'll do it.</p>
<p>You have more wiggle room with a 2040 than with a 2340, and more reason to improve. It is much harder to gain the 60 points from 2340 to 2400 than it is to gain the 60 points from a 2040 to a 2100.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's not that I give a damn about the composite. It's just knowing 15,000 people beat me on reading and 13,000 on math that irks me.
</p>
<p>Oh, thats a different issue. Personal pride is a motivation, then?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Says who?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Says common sense and a basic analysis of human psychology. Getting something with less practice is always more impressive, because it demonstrates natural skill. That isn't to say working to perfection is not impressive, but it is never perceived as more impressive than a great accomplishment done with little extra effort. This is especially true with intellectual achievements; coincidentally, this is what the SAT provides.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Meh, I feel I can do better, so why shouldn't I try? If anything, it demonstrates tenacity.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Uh, no. It demonstrates obsession, not tenacity, when the second score is as high as it is.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Money already spent. Oh, and four hours? Please. If I have a shot at a 2400 -- the top score in the country that'd give me a 50/50 shot anywhere -- I'll do it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Just ensure you are not confusing causation with correlation.</p>