advice needed....

<p>should i retake SAT I again, for the third time, in October?</p>

<p>first time: 1900 (m-680, v-610, w-610)...really bombed out
second time: 2130 (m-720, v-620, w-790)</p>

<p>looking at duke, unc, northwestern...should i retake and try to improve verbal? i think if i constantly worked on verbal and vocab i could atleast get a 650...math would probably stay at or above 700 - same with writing...what should i do? does it look bad to take 3 times? and what if i don't do as well or only improve in verbal but not math or writing?</p>

<p>all input appreciated. thanks guys.</p>

<p>no, not at all, i think the average # of times the test is taken is 3 times. go for it...</p>

<p>ok...what should i use to better prepare my self this time around?</p>

<p>what did you do to prepare yourself the last time? Probably just do a lot of practice tests and read a lot over the summer.</p>

<p>last time i took practice tests, but honestly, i did'nt really focus on the critical reading section, which was obviously a bad decision. any specific books you would recommend?</p>

<p>I definitely don't recommend Kaplan's.... especially for the CR. I would probably use the blue book... unless you used it last time. Do you know whether it was sentence completion or the passages that lowered your score?</p>

<p>def. was the passages. i ususally did pretty well on sentence completion</p>

<p>I suggest combining the practice tests with taking up a habit of reading novels. Oftentimes reading can help increase your vocabulary and reading speed, which could help with the passages.</p>

<p>alright, thanks...any good book suggestions?</p>

<p>Try Tolstoy if you're into that style of writing. Tolken and Fitzgerald come to mind as well.</p>

<p>k thanks so much</p>

<p>just read read read. Reading SAT passages over the summer and answering as many as you can would be beneficial. There is a point when you start to "get" the answers they are looking for. You wont be fooled by trick answers.</p>

<p>Dickens, Austen, Bronte sisters, and other British classics are good reading to prepare for SAT's, and they are great pieces of literature as well.</p>

<p>thanks again for the recommendations...so you all agree that i should take it another time?</p>