<p>So I thought I should post an update in case anyone remembered and for anyone in the future who wishes to do the same thing as me.</p>
<p>I applied to Pitt early october and was rejected a month later and sent to Pitt Greensburg. We asked and they said it was only because of my math SAT score and my CR+M because my scores were pretty bad, but I had a good gpa and go to a good school that they know of well.</p>
<p>I decided then to do an appeal. I spent 28 days studying ACT and SAT and was able to improve my scores...I wish more:</p>
<p>--my SAT Math went from 470 to 560, 90 points
--ACT math went up 4 points and all my other subjects went up 4 to 5 points, and my overall went to a 26
--with ACT math incorporated, my SAT score went from 1700 to 1830, 130 point improvement</p>
<p>I was also able to get an A in calculus, and had my teacher write me a recommendation. My counselor also wrote me a recommendation. On top of all this, I wrote a personal letter to the Pitt admissions counselor who helped me through all of this and also a letter to the general board of admission.</p>
<p>SO......I WAS FINALLY ACCEPTED TO MAIN CAMPUS! All of this was done to show MYSELF that I am capable of better scores and that I DO deserve to go to Pitt Main.</p>
<p><em>I’d also like to add one more thing for anyone else who struggles with standardized testing</em>: (Within these 28 days) After trying to do basic “tutoring” by going through an entire SAT prep book and some sessions with one of my math teachers I found that my score DID NOT change at all. It seemed that I had a problem with the “reasoning” portion of the SAT which sounds a little absurd and is a problem that I think most people overlook, and may be more of the reason that people do not get as good scores. It’s really not a hard test at all, it’s all about the reasoning of the problems. </p>
<p>I then went to my dad who pointed this out and we identified the “rhythm” the SAT math seems to have and realized a lot of the problems follow the same kind of pattern of question. </p>
<p>Sometimes, the answer to getting better scores ISN’T buying a tutor and going over STRATEGIES, but really carefully going over each problem and one’s thought process when doing the problems. If you think you have this problem, it really is best to do this with a parent because they know you best (as painful as that can be lol) and a tutor who teaches strategies will probably not do this.</p>
<p>I feel like I didn’t identify this problem until close to the end (actually like 3 days before the test), and I know that if I had identified this strange issue earlier and had more time to focus on my issue of reasoning problems I could have gotten mid 600s. I think it really accounts for the huge gap between my high grades and low scores.</p>