A depressed high school senior who needs SAT Help (taken it 3 times already)

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>So I first took the SAT on March 2009 when I was a Junior. I made a 1420 on it (math, reading and writing). I had a stomach ache and I did not answer many questions afterwards so it was not a regular test for me.</p>

<p>Upset with my results I spent my summer vacation (from June to August) prepping for the SAT. I used the following books:</p>

<p>Princeton Review cracking the SAT
College Board official study guide (not the newest version but the older version)
Math SAT 800: How to master the toughest problems (did not spend much time on it as it was hard to comprehend).</p>

<p>Now when I took the SAT on October 10th I made a 1730, I retook it on December 5th and I made a 1790.</p>

<p>I really do not feel that those results reflect my capabilities as a student. I am at the top 10 percent of my class and I have a 3.9 overall GPA. I have taken about 7 AP classes in Science and Social Studies mainly. </p>

<p>Point is. I want to go to a top university and I recently found out that when you are transferring there, they look at your SAT scores. My plan is to take the SAT on June 5th and do all I can to get a score of at least 2100. If I take it on June 5th I will not have to worry about transferring to a top college.</p>

<p>So guys, can you please give me some advice, I looked on the pinned threads but they did not help me much. I want to get the 2100 SAT score, I am willing to work hard for it. What can I do to increase my score?</p>

<p>I did not have much time to prep for the SAT the third time I took it. I was overwhelmed with a lot of things.</p>

2

<p>Worst thing is I had so much confidence on my current SAT that I actually applied to MIT and Princeton University before I even got my scores.</p>

3

<p>I am not too sure but I heard that if your SAT scores are low but other things on your RESUME look good, colleges may look past your SAT scores and actually accept you. As for getting that 2100 it is possible but you need to stay committed. I say you should spent about 20 minutes every weekday prepping for the SAT. On weekends, just up early and just do some math problems, over and over again. </p>

<p>Read some novels (Charles Dickens is a good author to start with) and try to finish them, read efficiently.</p>

<p>Also, how did you do on each section?</p>

4

<p>Reading = 610
Math = 590
Writing = 590</p>

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<p>isn’t it too late to take it in june 2010? ur HS career would be over, so is there any use to take the SATs then?</p>

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<p>Im taking it again in January.</p>

<p>CR: -500
Math: 500
W: 600</p>

<p>Can anybody here advice me on how I can raise my 550+ Math score to a 650??
And the Critical Reading… I’m going to be studying alone for this entire holiday break.
Writing… on the other hand… I believe I can score 640+ without prep from here til my January exam.</p>

<p>I’m a Senior now… so anyone… please kindly assist me.</p>

7

<p>FOR MATH: Do practice tests and review whatever sections are hurting your score the most. For me, it was geometry/probability and I managed to improve from my PSAT score of 64 to a 79 (which is 640 to 790 in SAT terms). </p>

<p>FOR READING: Get Direct Hits (both volumes) and also KEEP READING! Subscribe to The Economist/New York Times and other magazines that help your reading comprehension. Also, keep at the practice tests; you will eventually get a feeling for what the SAT is asking for you to comprehend in the passages (I improved from a 520 to a 700 on the PSAT, my biggest improvement from all the studying I did).</p>

<p>FOR WRITING: I’m not the best guy to ask for help on this because I only scored a 70 on my PSAT writing and it was my least amount of improvement from last year (590 to 700). All I really did was do practice tests, but I’d like to think that taking AP English courses helps a lot.</p>

<p>Good luck to both of you!</p>

8

<p>^ on the probability questions, for permutation they will usually just ask u to multiply everything and that’s it right?
and for combination questions, you just need to use the combination formula for each pairing they ask… and then do you usually have to multiply everything too again afterwards?</p>

<p>for permutation and combination, you need socks P socks / socks C socks or is it something like socks P shoes / socks C shoes?</p>

9

<p>I made a 740 on the reading, 750 on the math and a 640 on the writing (didn’t really care).</p>

<p>All I can say is for math, work on the Math SAT 800 book and try to comprehend the stuff they give you.</p>

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<p>Look for Xiggi’s advice on the SAT thread. He basically says, get the real College Board tests and practice those.</p>

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<p>He already practiced the collegeboard tests I think (the OP).</p>

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<p>Barron’s SAT Prep book. The math review section is somewhat lengthy, but very comprehensive. It taught me to obtain a 700 in seventh grade.</p>

<p>Study vocabulary for the CR portion. ([online</a> learning, tutoring, and training solutions for K12 students](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.com/]online”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.com/) helped me a lot.)</p>

<p>(My SAT score: 2350.)</p>

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<p>Is it possible for me to get at least a 2100 or a 2000 by June?</p>

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<p>like square said earlier, isn’t June a little too late for college admissions?</p>

15

<p>If its not too late, consider the ACT</p>

16

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<p>Yes, I think so.</p>

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<p>You sound like a very strong student. It must be frustrating what an emphasis there is on standardized testing when it’s such an arbitrary measure of intelligence.</p>

<p>I second the recommendation of checking out the ACT. As for the SAT, with so much practice under your belt, it seems your biggest hurdle is the pressure when actually taking it. Can you think of ways to simulate this sort of environment at home? Perhaps have a sibling in the room making noise to distract you, or place a reward on the line depending on your scores. I would also suggest the McGraw-Hill book if your short on tests; it’s got 10!</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

18

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<p>Now that’s some true critical reading from both of you. He said he’s going to try and transfer into a top university after his freshman year.</p>