<p>I just got the results back from a Princeton Review SAT that I took and the scores were a solid 100 points lower than my practice tests. Here's the breakdown:
Math: 720
CR: 660
Writing: 550 (Essay got a 5)
Total: 1940</p>
<p>Now, being a freshman, I still have a good amount of time to work on this. But, this fall, I will be applying for NCSSM and I will be taking the SAT for that in October. What can I do to raise this.</p>
<p>Additional Info:
On the math section I got all of the hard questions right and missed 4 easy-medium questions from silly mistakes.
CR: My vocab is not so great.
Writing: I wrote two pages in which I poured out my thoughts, but my handwriting is pretty bad. Are there any ways to improve my handwriting at my age?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any advice.</p>
<p>Hi TheRealDef,</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t think Princeton review accurately simulates the difficulty and content of the SAT. I would recommend getting the College Board Blue Book with 10 official SAT Tests. That is by far the best study book for the SAT. </p>
<p>For math, I usually do problems in my head and then do them again but on a calculator to ensure that the answer is correct, and it also ensures that I didn’t type the problem into the calculator wrong. This should stop most of those “silly mistakes”.</p>
<p>In CR, it is definitely helpful to learn vocab from a SAT Prep list. Here is one: <a href=“http://www.ivyglobal.ca/sat/Downloads/IvyGlobal-500_Most_Important_Words.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ivyglobal.ca/sat/Downloads/IvyGlobal-500_Most_Important_Words.pdf</a>. But perhaps the best way is to take SAT tests from the Blue book and underline any word in them that u dont yet know. Afterwords, Write the words down and memorize them. The difficult words on the SAT usually repeat themselves over tests.</p>
<p>As for your handwriting (if it truly is unreadable), if you write in cursive I would suggest writing in print as it forces you to write clearer. Otherwise, you may need to slow down your writing slightly to make sure its readable. For the Essay structure, you should plan clearly what you are going to write about. I think the best way to do well on the essay is to follow this post: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html</a>. His idea of planning a universal template will almost guarantee a double digit essay score. </p>
<p>There are some very helpful posts on CC that you should look at. This link has many of them condensed into one post: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-everyone-read-before-posting-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-everyone-read-before-posting-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs.html</a>. Since you are a freshman, you have plenty of time to prepare. Just be confident that you can do well (that’s one of the things that causes most people to think that they cannot do better). I hope this helped. Good luck on your academic endeavors!</p>
<p>Thanks, by unreliable do you mean too easy, to hard or just not a good example of a real SAT? Also, my handwriting isn’t unreadable, it’s just not neat and borders on bad. I do write in print already.</p>
<p>Using non-CollegeBoard “SATs” is rather pointless (especially in terms of critical reading).</p>
<p>Also, quality of handwriting is supposed to be immaterial on the essays as long as it is possible to read. That aside, don’t blame a 550 on writing on your essay score. You definitely need to review grammar rules and ace the multiple choice. I recommend the guide in Silverturtle’s sticky.</p>