<p>You need to focus your attention on getting to 650-700 first. That is a task which will take a whole summer of studying, but with a lot of hard work, can be set as an optimistic goal. I’ve got to say that it’s still not likely, but certainly possible.</p>
<p>You certainly seem to think you’re capable of getting an 800. I don’t think you are, but I don’t know you and your capabilities. What makes you think you can get an 800? Serious question. What am I missing here?</p>
<p>If your mindset is more that you NEED to get an 800 or that if you work hard enough that you DESERVE one, I’m afraid that you’re mistaken on both counts. If you don’t have the math skills to pull out a higher score than 490 without preparation, then I don’t think you’ll be able to handle a) the high-level classes you’d need to take in HS or b) college-level math at a top school. Thus, you should look at places other than top schools. You don’t need to go to a top school to be successful and get out of whatever place you live in that has crappy public schools which screwed you over.<br>
Moreover, top scores are not given to the people who work the hardest or want it the most. You got a 780 on another section because you’re that good at that section, not because collegeboard saw how hard you worked and decided to reward you. Yeah, you might have worked hard to get that score, but collegeboard doesn’t really care about that when they give you your score. And I can fairly safely assure you that regardless of how hard you work, you will not be able to take yourself from struggling with the fundamentals of arithmetic to perfect mastery of the SAT math section in one summer. Such mastery requires a starting point significantly higher; a base of skill and math knowledge significantly higher. Getting a 490 indicates that you simply don’t have that.</p>
<p>I think you should work hard and see if you can score 650 in October. And if you do, you should be very proud that you have completely transformed your application profile by improving from 490 to 650. Then, you still can work to move even higher for say, december. But I would not be surprised if you find it harder to move from 650 to 700 than it was to get to 650 in the first place (and that is not by any means guaranteed to happen).</p>
<p>But also, stating these numeric goals is a little silly: go get a review book and review the math concepts and the tricks and strategies. Then go get the blue book and thoroughly study every test. Do all that and you can look back knowing you did the best you could, no matter where you land. That’s what is kind of funny bout all of these “Can I go up X points?” threads…the answer is always “We’ll see – now get to work!”</p>
<p>800 is hard even when you have mastered the material… I’ve never scored 800 on the SAT I despite having scored 800 on SAT II Math, taken all math courses through Calculus 3, and scored consecutive 36’s on ACT math.</p>
<p>IPfootballer is right - but don’t get too down on it. 300+ points on the overall SAT is just exceptional (even worth flagging for cheating) but you have a huge margin for improvement based on your 490.</p>
<p>Why do I think I 800 is a feasible goal? Well, I’ve scored 780 in Writing and 720 in CR (both of which are competitive scores). I do NOT have a deficiency in mathematics, just severely lacking in some fundamental areas. Although, if I can pull out very high scores in the other two sections, why can’t I just focus all of my effort into working on raising my math score? </p>
<p>I’m not an idiot. I took the test once and haven’t really prepared since then. I appreciate all the input that I’ve been given here, but my eyes are still focused on the top universities. Lastly, I’ve taken many social science APs and 4 college classes and have scored a 4.0 in each respective course.</p>
<p>Get Grubers and do all of the math sections. I had a 470, and brought my score up to 670 by doing Grubers, and then doing math sections of the BB, and reviewing them using some site with consolidated answers and explanations…though I can’t remember the name of the site right now. I’m sure I could have brought it up even more, but I was fine with my 670 lol :)</p>
<p>To solve all of this bickering, just make silverturtle post his God-like SAT guide. But honestly it is possible to score 800 on the math section only if you are willing to go into a cave and just study. I honestly don’t think it is worth it. My goals are to score 650 in each section and that is a reasonable goal for ME. Don’t jump for perfects, jump for success. Silverturtle, you mind as well post your guide now. It is complete. We all need it! Oh yeah, silverturtle’s guide is mainly to attack critical reading and writing. Math is just a section where you will have to basically REVIEW material using Grubers. Hopefully retaking Algebra 2 for fun will increase my math score. =]</p>
<p>What makes you think that Calculus at a top university is a good idea when you struggle with multiplying decimals and fractions?</p>
<p>You are insisting that you’re good at CR, W, and social sciences, but that has nothing to do with how good you are at math. If you don’t have the fundamentals of math by now, you really aren’t going to have them by next winter. Moreover, if you struggle so much with math that you have trouble with arithmetic with a calculator, I don’t see how you can expect to be able to teach yourself math in such a way that you can not only do calculations, but have the innovative skills to answer difficult questions.</p>
<p>I don’t doubt that you’re smart, but jumping ahead by over 50 percentile points is not a realistic goal.</p>
<p>as I’ve said, 650 is gonna be tough, but is achievable.</p>
<p>time to learn those fundamentals and picking up on some test-taking strategies. A test prep class might help, but you can also get just as much info from browsing these forums. </p>
<p>What exactly is it that you’re struggling with? Be specific as possible.</p>
Agreed. I had multiple 800s in the math section during practice and 800 math 2, but I still don’t know how I miss 2(!!!) q’s on the actual one, go figure. </p>
<p>OP, how about you not worry about the 800 and try to study as hard as you can? Learn all the basics, and practice a **** ton. 800 is not easy, especially coming from 490, but it’s not impossible.</p>
<p>IBfootballer’s right. idk why he’s being made out tobe the sour-puss; he’s just being pragmatic. get real-a 490 to a 800? the biggest math genuises across the country find that hard to pull off, but nonetheless theres still some hope. First, get the Gruber’s book, and know it inside and out. That’s the basic knoledge that u’ll need to get a 600. Then ull need to take TONS and TONS of practice test, at least all the ones that are in the collegeboard book. The Math section is the easiest one to study for, and is very predictable after taking many tests. After a really devoted summer of prep, taking tests, review, and having ur life sucked out of you, you should be able to pull off a 650-700, if not more. [once again, sorry, but ur starting at a 490]</p>
<p>Last words of hope: true story- someone who i spoke to recently said they improved thier math grade from the 500’s (i dont remember exactly, i think it was 550 but im not sure) to an 800 (yes. i said 800), all from taking tons and tons of practice tests. This guy was just like you, very smart, got great scores on W, CR, but sucked up the math section. So, despite odds, it is possible to get that 800, just like my freind did, and most likely itll happen through doing what he did and taking tons of practice tests. </p>
<p>I think Kaplan has books for specific sections. Try buying a book specifically for the math section. You need lots of repetition on the basic stuff, and that’s where you’re most likely to find lots of problems.</p>
<p>I’m not going to say that you can get an 800, but you can certainly break the 90th percentile if you study hard enough.</p>
<p>Buy the blue book and do as many practice problems and tests as you can. Also, make sure to read the Math Review section INTENTLY. If you don’t understand any topics ask a friend, a teacher, or fellow CCer’s. It’s important to grasp the theory behind the math you need to use and you have to make sure you understand it and are capable of using it. Also, use your score report to focus on specific topics you think you need to work on.</p>
<p>I’m going to second the advice to get the Gruber’s book for the math section.</p>
<p>While I agree that an 800 is a little too ambitious at this point for the OP,</p>
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<p>^^ that seems a bit hyperbolic. Sure, you have to avoid making silly mistakes on the math section, but I wouldn’t call most people who get an 800 in the SAT math “geniuses”. It’s really more a matter of discipline, speed, and consistency than anything else, assuming you know the concepts.</p>
<p>I’m essentially just going to echo what has already been said. In essence, this is possible but will require a vast amount of work. </p>
<p>The best way to do well (given your writing score, let’s define “well” as 700+…800 can be the goal but not the mark of success) is to fully understand the math section. All questions on this test, obviously, are worth the same. You got 3 easy questions wrong…if you want a 700+, that cannot happen. You need to be able to knock those out quickly…anyone who gets a 700+ can. Additionally, you need to go back to basics. You need to really go back to the fundamentals and realize what you’re missing. As a student, I was terrible at math freshman year. I was in Algebra 1 (the lowest possible class) and got like an A- (which I was very very happy with, but the rest of my grades were As). The thing is, I realized that I just didn’t have a strong foundation in math. I went back and taught myself a lot of the basics until I really understood the fundamentals of math. I then took Geometry, Algebra II, Trig, and Pre-calc all during my sophomore year. I took AP Calc AB as a junior and got a 5 on the exam. I also got a 790 on the math section of the SAT. However, I also discovered a passion and love for math. I just wish I learned that earlier. You need to really go back to the basics of math until you have those completely down. Then just build on that. It will be very hard, but you can do it.</p>