<p>Hey to those who are dealing with the same predicament as me and to those who are just plain interested. I've recently scored a 1640 on the SAT. At first I felt really good about it because i originally scored a 1530. However, I have a reputation around the school as being the girl with the Straight A's, so when people say, "Let me guess, you got a 2100?", I really feel super disappointed in myself. So I'm planning on retaking the test on March, and my goal is to jump at least a good 500 points in 3 weeks. Is that even possible??? I'm equipped with the Barron's 25th edition and the College Board website, but other than that, I'm all on my own. I really need to score in the 2000's or my mother is going to so disappointed. Advice? Links? Help?</p>
<p>uh…
500 points is practically unheard of unless you hard core study for like a year. Most people try and improve 50-150 points with studying and maybe 200 if they study hard enough. 3 weeks also isn’t that much time… you’re going to drive yourself crazy. </p>
<p>Take the ACT. </p>
<p>It’s useful to use the college board blue book since it’s most similar to the tests. Analyze where you are making mistakes. Are they careless? Are there math skills you need to learn? Do you need to study vocabulary? Is speed an issue? Is the essay the problem? Identifying weakness is the first step to correcting them.
Best wishes.</p>
<p>I understand the skepticism about my goal. It’d practically unreachable, but I just can’t shake the feeling that I can do so much better. I came from an environment where people scored 2100 in their sleep so not being able to do so puts a lot of pressure on me. I feel like I’m responsible for a high score. 3 weeks are running out. Any more advice is more than welcome…</p>
<p>the SAt is a piece of cake, you just need to know how to play the game.</p>
<p>I had a 500 point discrepancy between my PSAT and my ACT, so try a practice test. You may surprise yourself.</p>
<p>Look, I was in the exact situation as you were. I think I got like a 1740 on my SAT after 2 tries (same exact score…). I took the ACT once and got a 31 without really trying with a 36 in science (my cup of tea). A couple of tries later I got a 32 after getting 33s-35s on practice tests (I thought I was going to score quite a bit higher than a 32, but it was a rough math section for me). </p>
<p>Just try the ACT, I may sound like I’m trying to advertise for it or something but honestly there are so many people who are in the same situation as you but then they get near perfect scores on the ACT because it’s a completely different test. There’s a reason why collegeboard is revamping the SAT soon, it’s because it’s bogus.</p>
<p>As for your goal, try as much as you can. Study as much as you can and see where you end up. Realize that your end goal (college acceptance) can be completed with much much more than just one minor test score. </p>
<p>Well it’s definitely possible. I brought my score up from a 1980 to a 2330 in about a month. Sure, it’s less than a 500 point increase, but it’s harder to raise your score once you get to the upper echelon.</p>
<p>The good thing about being smart, is that it lets you study efficiently. </p>
<p>To increase your score, just practice a bunch. I went through about 16 practice tests (excluding math, though, because I was already very high in it). The key, though, is to review THE WHOLE TEST, not just the questions that you get wrong. That’s really how you understand the questions on the test and see the patterns in the questions. You should analyze the test so much that if you were to retake the same test, you would get a 2400.</p>
<p>Next, perfect your weakest parts. Memorize vocab (Direct Hits, Hot Words, and Krieger’s Essentials are the best books) if you’re pretty weak in it. Look over math concepts if there is something you don’t understand. Study some grammar rules, or find out how to write a high-scoring essay.</p>
<p>That’s really it. Good luck!</p>
<p>My psat score sophomore year was a 159, and my superscored sat score after this January was 2200 so it’s definitely possible. In my opinion, writing and math are just about pure memorization. Good thing you have barron’s because that will set you off perfectly for the math section. Reading may require more effort but just make sure to get a good vocab book. But as long as you do all 10 practice tests in the blue book, that should be enough practice in reading and writing to make major progress. Good luck and don’t give up!</p>
<p>Thanks to all those that responded to my problem. To be honest, I actually didn’t expect people to respond, yet alone positively , about my issue on this forum because it is my first time. I really appreciate the help. So far, this is what I have complied out of all the hints.
- Every breath you take, take a College Board Practice Test (jk, but not really)
- Review your wrong answers thoroughly and consistently, soon you’ll notice a pattern. (i.e. sentence completion, vocab, and mathematical functions
- Nice to have a College Board Blue Book
- Even Nicer to have a Barron’s for Math section
- Vocabulary Direct Hits, Hot Words, and Krieger’s Essentials are beneficial
- The Whole Test, Not Just The Parts You Got Wrong
- When all else fails, you should take the ACT (My class prez actually took the ACT and got into Howard free ride)</p>
<p>This is a summary of the latest comments. Please, to all those who are interested in this topic please participate. I REALLY NEED as much advice as possible . With this help, I starting to devise a pattern and I can post it online for others. ^:)^ </p>