Anybody else feel like they're under too much pressure?

Okay so I start my junior year of high school in about 10 days, but I take my SAT tomorrow. I’ve been studying throughout the summer and gradually improving. I started out at around a 1350 and am consistently getting in the low 1500s now. My dad says that this is still not nearly enough and won’t get me into anything besides community colleges and low tier state schools. I just wish he would at least acknowledge my effort to get up to a 1500 because I’ve put most of my summer into it. Anytime I’m doing anything other than studying (playing videogames, taking a nap, going on a run) he says its all a waste of time, and that I should be studying. I really want to take the test tomorrow, get a 1520+, and never even look at an SAT ever again! My dad says he wants me to retake unless I get a 1580.

I go to a boarding school, but I don’t live there. I wish I did because of everything I have to deal with at home. I know I’m gonna face a lot of criticism from my parents at home during my junior year, and I don’t feel like I can deal with this anymore. How can I deal with this?

Honestly, your scores are actually really good and its impressive that you were able to improve that much (I wish mine would that much lol). From my knowledge, those scores will get you into more than just community and low state schools.

A good tip to look up schools you’re interested in and see what their average SAT scores are and show him. Of course, it also depends on your extracurriculars and essay which I would focus on more if your scores are already that high.

I’m lucky that my parents are pretty understanding and if I show them the logic in things and that I know what I’m doing, they tend to back off.

As someone who just finished Junior year I would say what’s most important to dealing with the stress is taking time for yourself every now and then and having fun with your friends.

Good luck! I think you’ll do great.

Maybe your GC can tell your father that you are doing just fine.

I agree with @twoinanddone. Sometimes you need to get your GC to say things that you know perfectly well. People (including parents) will sometimes listen to a person in a position of authority even if they won’t listen to someone else saying the exact same thing. Hopefully your parents will listen to your guidance counselor.

I got into MIT with less than 1500, although that was a long time ago. One daughter got into McGill with less than 1500 much more recently. Those are both pretty good schools. I just checked a few of the highest ranked universities. I don’t think that there is a single public university in the US with an average SAT score as high as 1500 (eg, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan all have average SAT scores in the mid 1400’s, Georgia Tech and UVA are a little bit lower). As far as I have been able to find (in a very quick search right now), there is only one single university in the US (Caltech) with a 25th percentile SAT score over 1500.

An improvement from 1350 to 1500 is VERY impressive. The closer that you get to 1500, the harder it is to gain another 10 points. You get to the point where there is very little that you are missing. 1500 or above is at least competitive for any university in the world.

I wanted to add: Good luck on the test later today. I hope that you do well.

OP, Good luck. Learning to deal with stress or unrealistic expectations of others is not easy, but will serve you well.

Once you’ve learned all the subject matter, then test taking involves some mental toughness, maintaining your composure, understanding how to use your time during the test, recognizing patterns, or other test taking strategies.
Good luck junior year.
There are many ways to succeed in college and life, especially via regular public universities; top unis are not the only path.

Your dad is probably doing it from a place of love, but he clearly does not understand what to do for maximizing learning. At this rate, all that will happen is that both you and him will burn out. I agree with other posters, go talk with the school counselor. Explain everything that is going on at home, the pressure you are under, and ask for their help managing your dad’s demands and expectations. Hopefully they will be able to get your dad to back off a little bit.

Honestly, to be blunt your father is ridiculous. It might be a good idea to work on accepting that his views are out of control and to work on strategies to deal with him without eroding your own self-confidence and self-worth. It might be time to work with a counselor on that because you will need strategies to deal with him for the rest of your life. He sounds like one for whom it will just never be enough.

With that being said, your stats are great and you have a very bright future. Good for you! I hope you can find a way to relax and enjoy your life and achievements. You only get one chance at this world. Live it and love it!