<p>In march I got a 1750, 660 math, 570 writing (essay: 10), and 520 reading. I basically just studied a little bit for math and went in cold for reading and writing. This time I spent a long time studying and went through various books and other prep materials</p>
<p>This time I got: 1760
Math: 640
Writing: 580 (10 essay)
Reading: 540</p>
<p>I am pretty shocked on my practice tests I was scoring mid 19s. I plan on retaking in October and I really don't know how to go about my prep now because I went through the blue book, kaplan 2400, direct hits, and a bunch of random practice tests. So how should I go about studying this summer to bring me to close to a 2000?</p>
<p>I haven’t really taken the SAT yet (taking it once in October), but I’ve taken the PSAT last year. Anyway, you should take my advice with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>Math is the easiest subject to improve on for the SAT, mostly because if you teach yourself all of the subject areas tested, your score will rise dramatically. Look at all of the practice tests that you’ve completed and try to find the subject areas that you’re weakest in (e.g. probability, plane geometry, etc.). You should then review those areas in any way possible. I’ve personally found that YouTube was great for preparation, but a quick read through the Kaplan book you have could help as well.</p>
<p>Writing is a bit more difficult to prepare for than Math, and it is not a section that I can do well in either. You should start by looking at practice tests and seeing what you’re weak in. Review those sections as well as overall grammar rules. The nice thing about standardized tests is that they love to test you on a pretty small set of rules. I would say more about this section, but I have yet to understand how crack it myself.</p>
<p>For Critical Reading, if you really feel like you have time to prepare for the test thoroughly, you could study word lists online; however, if you’re short on time, you could also look at root word lists, but you shouldn’t focus that much of your time on the vocabulary section (especially since you’ve already read Direct Hits). You also need to figure out why you’re having problems with Critical Reading in general. If you’re having trouble with finishing on time or comprehending the passage, then I would suggest reading higher-level materials regularly throughout the summer. Also try taking a few tests un-timed and slowly restrict the amount of time you use from there.</p>
<p>Now for some general test preparation materials: I’ve already mentioned YouTube, but another free source that you could look into is Sparknotes. You could also look for some prep materials online. If you don’t know where to start looking, you could always look at the guides made by users on College Confidential. If you’re willing to spend a few extra bucks, I’ve found that Barron’s SAT 2400 is pretty helpful as well.</p>
<p>If all else fails and you don’t do as well as you’d like on October, you could also try the ACT (if you haven’t done so yet). Many people find that they’re better at one test than the other.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Kaplan is on the easy side. You should look for more practice tests. You probably need to do 20 or so practice tests over the summer. Make sure you go through the answers and explanations.
Going for your first attempt without much practice was a very bad idea. But without any improvement after some practice may indicate you did not prepare the test properly. Did you do full timed practice tests? How many did you do?</p>
<p>There are wonderful resources here on CC for improving SAT scores. Check out study plans from Silver Turtle and others on the SAT prep forum.</p>