<p>How do people do it? What's the best way to prep? I'd kill for an 800 in math. Or hey, even a 750.</p>
<p>So we meet again.</p>
<p>I always did each math section 2-3 times, depending on time. Go through, mark your answers on the answer packet, do it fairly quickly but don't rush yourself. Make sure you read the questions at the end carefully, as some of them are deliberately tricky. 2nd time around, mark all your answers in the test packet (moving quickly the first time around hopefully helps you not remember what you wrote previously). At this point, if all goes as planned, you should have enough time to compare answers. If you have more time, read any of those stupid "take this symbol to be a function..." questions, and anything else that seemed tricky. I took the old SAT and new and got 800s on both.</p>
<p>try to underline what it's asking you so you know what you're solving for... I always read the question too quickly and solve for the wrong stuff</p>
<p>Hey again, heybucs. </p>
<p>Time is a major issue for me. I'm lucky if I have enough time to get through it once and go back to check the ones I was unsure on. How can I increase my speed?</p>
<p>There's a simple way to do almost every problem. If it seems like it'll take waaay too long, then you're probably doing it the hard/long way, so you'll probably just **** up somewhere. Read each and every question carefully and be sure to check over. You gotta know what ETS is trying to trick you on and what's legitimately easy.</p>
<p>I would say don't dwell on any questions. For the easier questions, the answer that seems right is going to be right almost all the time.</p>
<p>For the tougher questions, like tellall said, underline what you know and what you need to find. I imagine you're getting questions wrong because you're finding something that you think you need to find when you're really supposed to get a solution for something else.</p>
<p>most of them should be pretty okay</p>
<p>of course, know how to do the usual stuff they like to test like:</p>
<ol>
<li><br>
You have a number, 3.81234123412341234.
find the 96th digit</li>
</ol>
<p>2.
remember your addition and geometric functions!!!!</p>
<p>3.
Definitely review your probability, those were the ones i most struggled with</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use your calculator like heck and go on a spree with guess and check if u're a fast test taker ;)
oh, and i use a ti-84...i think the buttons are way easier to speed press than a ti-83, but thats just me!</p></li>
<li><p>yeah like heybucs said, be wary on the end problems...
they had one that seemed uberly simple on the second to last question on one of the tests, but it really wasnt! =P.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you have a solid math background but just somehow always get tricked in SAT, you need to really decrease your speed. What I usually do is to finish everything in 20 minutes (when I could finish everything in 10...) and then spend the last few minutes to check. I say this because I know a lot of people who are super smart at math but they always get tricked. Double check and then triple check....</p>
<p>Best and only way to prep in my opinion is practice with the blue book. If you are a solid math student and understand most of the concepts then work on the following.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Understanding what the question is actually asking. This may seem trivial but it is where most students make their mistakes in math.</p></li>
<li><p>Thinking simply. Almost every problem on the SAT is solvable in 30 seconds to a minute. If the problem seems like it is very complicated and will take awhile to solve, try approaching it from a different perspective.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn the tricks of the SAT, there are a few that College Board tries to pull on every SAT administration and once you know what they are many problems become simple.</p></li>
<li><p>When you think you have practiced enough, practice some more.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also, when you practice, especially in the blue book, try to figure out WHY the college board puts the wrong answers there. Oftentimes they put them there because it is very easy to be tricked into picking that answer, then you can avoid them on the real test.</p>
<p>i dono, i didnt practice for it, i cant really help in the practice dept.</p>
<p>dont second guess yourself... dont check all your answers if you know theyre right. i know i always check my stuff even when i know its right, so dont do that.</p>
<p>thats about it.</p>
<p>i didn't really practice for it and got 770/780 and 80 on PSAT, but I guess timing is really key, i do each problem atleast 2 times because Collegeboard screws people up with their wording...unfortunately they screwed me up too in the SAT.</p>
<p>Jegan, how are your math skills? It would be easier to help if we knew you were getting an "undesirable score" because careless errors or because you did not understand how to solve several problems at all. For me, I recieved a 780 on the math which I plan to retake for a perfect score. The Math portion contains many 'trick' questions that can cause you to make errors you wouldn't normally make without the time constraint. Like icebarracuda had said in his second point, each problem is BEST solved simply. Although there may be several ways to go about it, if the harder route is taken, it greatly increases the chances for error.
Another important skill essential to maximizing your score is learning your calculator. Graphing calculators contain many functions that are able to increase efficiency, and deplete chances of mistakes. I remember for simple graphing problems that can be done through mental visualization, I insisted on spending a few more seconds to punch it into my calculator and letting the calculator do the work. Forget showing off your mental math skills, your calculator is your friend.
Lastly, go through as many practice problems as possible! Practice makes perfect, and familiarizing yourself with the types math problems helps 'like no other.' Well, class is about to get out, I will end this post. I hope this helps, good luck.</p>
<p>I'm scoring about a 620 on the SAT and a 70 on the PSAT (I found that to be a lot easier than the SAT). I have a pretty solid math background--it's generally not the concepts so much that trip me up as the way the questions are worded. On the Jan 28 SAT, I omited 4 problems because I just had no idea how to solve them; the rest I knew how to start, at least. I have a lot of trouble with really complicated-looking f(x) problems, and whenever they throw graphs of functions there towards the end (in the "hard" questions), I'm pretty much just lost. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for all your advice, everyone, it's been extremely helpful. I have a blue book and I'm going to start taking practice math sections and working through the ones I don't understand. Thanks, and here's hoping for a high score :)</p>
<p>Well, if you know that functions are things that are hard for you, you know right now one topic you can start reviewing. :) I've always felt that the ability to do math is mostly a function of how much practice one has solving problems. It's easy to read an example in a book and think you understand it; it's much harder to solve the problem yourself when there's no solution in front of you. Practice, practice, and more practice with actual problems! Good luck!</p>
<p>I finally got 800 on Math after four tries. MIT loves me ten times more than it did before.</p>
<p>I just read the question once or twice carefully. Don't check my answers, don't need to.</p>
<p>i have problems with sat math, i always think its incredibly easy during but i dont do well in math, ever.</p>
<p>Wow, 4 tries just for that 800?
i have gotten 800 as well, but i think it's just being confident, we all know the math is easy, just make sure you are all relaxed!!! read questions thoroughly!!! then don't look at answers before you get your own, then in the end if you have time, work backwords with your answers. I recommend practice tests at home :D
GL, 700 is not too hard, just keep working on it :D</p>
<p>Yes, have the confidence of a mathematician, as my Calculus teacher loves to say.</p>
<p>I believe he is right: 800 M and it was my first time to take the new test. Make sure you check your answers. If you're careless like me, you'll catch yourself (I did 3 times!) bubbling in the wrong answer spaces.</p>