<p>I was unsatisfied with my PSAT score (I think it was 155). I know I could do a lot better if I knew more and practiced. But that's the problem - I don't know where to start! I need prep books, but when I got Kaplan's, people told me to "burn that trash." Basically my questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li>How was your SAT experience like?</li>
<li>What prep book did you use and/or recommend? </li>
<li>Besides reading the prep book, what else should I be doing?</li>
<li>Any other tips/advice you'd like to share?</li>
<li>Did you take the ACT as well? How as it?</li>
<li>What's the diff. b/t SAT I, SAT II, SAT Subject Tests, the "regular SAT," and any others that I missed?</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for your time! I'd really like to score 2000+, and would love your help. I'm going to be a junior, by the way. Care to share what score you got?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Okay, I guess. Math is my strong point so I got an 800 easily. However my reading and writing are only average.</p></li>
<li><p>I used Princeton Review for reading/writing tips and strategies. Idk how good Kaplan is…a couple years ago my AP Calc BC teacher gave a Kaplan practice test, and we found tons of errors in it.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn vocab words, Greek/Latin roots, know your algebra/geometry/number theory.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t make silly mistakes…I know lots of ppl who got 790 on math sections because of them.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes – ACT questions are a little more straightforward, but you have to be faster. I was pretty used to the atmosphere even though I had never prepared for the ACT.</p></li>
<li><p>SAT I = “regular SAT,” SAT II = SAT Subject tests. The subject tests are individual one-hour, multiple choice tests in certain areas (e.g. math, literature, Chinese, biology) and some colleges require certain subject tests.</p></li>
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<p>My scores were 2070 and 32 for the SAT and ACT, respectively. For SAT II, I scored 800 and 740 on math II and physics.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you so much - you answered everything! I’ll definitely be purchasing the Princeton Review book now (Kaplan’s will be put to the side). Your math must be incredibly strong, and your scores are phenomenal.</p>
<p>I forgot to add the SSAT. Can you explain what it is?</p>
<ol>
<li>How was your SAT experience like? Scored 19XX first time with no prep, prepped for 2 months, improved by about 300 points.</li>
<li>What prep book did you use and/or recommend? I bought a bunch of books but I really didn’t look at or use most of them. All I used were the BB and both the Direct Hits volumes so at the very least, I suggest obtaining those, and then supplementing your weak areas with section specific prep books.</li>
<li>Besides reading the prep book, what else should I be doing? A lot of people say for CR you should read difficult works like journals, Dickens, newspapers, etc.</li>
<li>Any other tips/advice you’d like to share? It may sound cliche but the biggest thing that helped my score was actually practicing. No amount of tips will help more than actually taking the practice tests. I did a total of 9 from the BB. </li>
<li>Did you take the ACT as well? How as it? Didn’t take it.</li>
<li>What’s the diff. b/t SAT I, SAT II, SAT Subject Tests, the “regular SAT,” and any others that I missed? SAT I, or the regular SAT, is the one you most often hear about (critical reading, math, writing) that is required by almost every college. SAT II’s, or the subject tests are subject specific tests (e.g. U.S. History, Chemistry, etc.).</li>
</ol>