Currently, I am a Junior in high school getting ready to take the SAT (2nd attempt) and the SAT II Biology and Math 2 Subject tests (1st attempt). My goal is to get a 2150 or higher on my test. Last June, I took the SAT and received an 1890/2400.
CR: 600
Math: 650
Writing 640 (10 on the Essay)
Next year, I plan to apply to Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with MIT being my dream school. In order to even be competitive in the pool of applicants for MIT my SAT scores need to be a LOT better. Personally, I have had a lot of trouble with my CR section. I got the Barron’s SAT Flashcards but even this did not help me greatly. Can anyone give me some tips on how to study and practice for the CR section to where I can at least get a 700?
For the math section and writing section, I have felt pretty confident about them. From taking the Practice SATs from the Blue Book, my scores have been getting higher and higher but they are still not where I want them to be. I plan to take the SAT in March and then the subject tests, and then another one or two SATs before next December.
We are in the same boat, it seems! (I want to apply to all the same schools you do as well). I've been able to raise my PSAT score from soph year from a 163, to a 195, (and get my SAT to 1990; I'm taking it again in January and I'll hope to top that by 60 ish points)
I had a lot of struggle with CR as well. The first step is to gain a good vocabulary, which can be done in a lot of ways. I learned by taking practice tests and looking up every word on Sentence completion which I didn’t know. I also got the app “visual vocab” which teaches you each word and gives you an image behind it. It helps your retention of words.
However, the best prep method for sentence/vocab is getting the book Direct Hits (Volume one and two) They have all the words you need for the SAT, They’re a great help!
You can definitely raise those scores if you work hard. I raised my scores from a 1720 on my first practice test to a 2150 on my latest one.
READING
Vocabulary! If you want to get a 700+, you need to know lots and lots of vocab. I’ve heard Directs Hits and Barron’s are good, personally I used Princeton Review Hit list which is also good. Learn about 15 vocab words every day and at the end of each week, review all of them so you can retain the words. I loved using Quizlet (online flashcards) to memorize words, it really helped.
Reading passages: To improve at these, practice is the best way to go. After you have finished a reading section, make sure you go back and review the answers you got wrong AND the answers you got right. After lots of reading passage practice, you will be able to understand which answer is the right one.
And remember: THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS IN THE PASSAGE. Don’t choose an answer because you “think” it’s right even if there is no evidence int he passage.
MATH
Do a few practice sections and notice the questions you are getting wrong. Chances are they are all under a few of the same topics. Find out what those are, study them, and do practice questions from that topic. Gruber’s Math is great for this. The blue book also has a great review of all the formulas and question types you need to know.
If you need more help/review, check out the Khan Academy SAT page. It has a full SAT practice test with videos explaining every question on the math sections.
WRITING
Go over all the writing rules that are tested on the SAT (pronouns, subject-verb, quantity, etc) and understand all the rules. PR manual and similar books are great for this.
Just do loads of practice questions and know why you’re getting questions wrong. Once you understand one mistake, you probably won’t do it again.
I had trouble memorizing words, but found this site (www.TheAnaProject.com)…at the top menu, click on Reading…then click on Sentence Completion and scroll to the bottom. It really helped me!
It basically says that the SAT uses the same word types over and over. For example, on one exam the SAT may use the word “capricious” (which basically means impulsive and constantly changing your mind)…on another exam the SAT will use a similar word like “mercurial” or “impetuous” or “fickle” …all these words essentially mean the same thing so it really helped me to memorize the groupings. There are bunch of word groupings on the site. Hope that helps!
