<p>Revising all my prep material (Barrons, Gruber's 9th edition, Bruber's Math Guide, BB 2nd edition), study all the vocabulary in the Rocket Review books and Direct Hits (1 and 2), and practice all the tests in these books and other tests I may have?
What is the best way to get most out of the explanations of the test questions? Do I only review the wrong questions or everything? I also have a problem with time. How do I improve on that? I have the Summer vacation to prepare so if anyone has any study guides that could help, please post them. My goal is 2200 and above. Also, if you want, you can suggest some prep material that I don't have that would greatly help me. Lastly, is it true that with a lot of practice of previous SAT tests, I can improve my own. Again, you help would be greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>I posted this in another thread, but I’ll repost here because it’s relevant:</p>
<p>I would (and did):
- Read the Blue Book text and do the example problems.
- Google “the 1000 most common sat words” and download the first pdf result. Print it out. Take it EVERYWHERE with you. Read it when you’re bored. I had some teachers that even let me read it in class when I finished an assignment early.
- Take practice timed tests from the Blue Book, at the library (or a similar quiet, isolated place), at 8 am, until you start getting scores you like.
- A few weeks before the exam, group the 1000 SAT words by a one-word meaning (good, bad, smelly, sad, happy, shiny, etc.). The SAT exam will never ask you to distinguish between two very similar words. You do, however, need a grasp of their approximate meaning. Read your list, and highlight those words you don’t already know. Study those, reviewing the ones you already know, focusing on the approximate meaning.
- A week before the exam, start going to bed early and waking up early. Start eating a healthy breakfast.
- The night before the exam, go shopping. Buy pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, granola bars, fruit juice, and a giant jar of almonds. Sharpen your new pencils, pack your bags, watch an episode of Scrubs or two, and go to bed early. Don’t study.
- The day of the exam, wake up early, eat a healthy breakfast like you always do, and leave early. Don’t drive, and don’t study. When you get nervous, eat an almond. On breaks, eat almonds.</p>
<p>For writing, if you get all the multiple choice right you can still get an 800 without writing a perfect essay. To do well on the multiple choice in both writing and critical reading, you need to learn how the questions work and the kind of answer they’re looking for. The only way to do this is to take a lot of practice tests, and analyze every mistake you make afterward.</p>
<p>For the essay, don’t think too much. Draw an outline in the first three minutes, then write as fast as you can, throwing in words from your vocab list whenever you can. Reread afterward, crossing out any brain typos.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your reply. By the way, how did you do on your exam? Also, why do you suggest I eat almonds? Just curious!</p>
<p>I went up from a 2140 to a 2360 single sitting. I just did the BB, learned the careless errors CB tries to get you to make (That’s all it is for me), and boom. I did terrible on the essay (8), but my 80 MC brought me ato a 790 anyways</p>
<p>Oh wow Junhugie! That was encouraging…
I got a 2010 in may… and am going to take it again in october… so i really need to do well this time…
btw, whats bb - barrons?</p>
<p>blue book
Collegeboard’s official study guide</p>
<p>If you have a problem with time, then I suggest you ask a smart friend to take a math sectiion and have him/her time how long it takes to get each answer and compare that time to your own. Frequently students miss questions at the end, not because they can’t work them, but because a simple question takes up too much time earlier in the test.</p>
<p>this thread is very motivating.
lidusha’s advices are very helpful.</p>
<p>@anthonsmit: I got a 2360 (800 CR, 800 W, 760 M) on the SAT, first try. On SAT2s I got 800s on chem, literature, and math 2. (Chem and literature were initially 770-ish and 730-ish (I don’t actually remember.), but I managed to bring them up my second try.)</p>
<p>When I took the SAT2s my mom bought me this ginormous jar of almonds, with a green screw-on cap, and whenever there was a break of any sort I ate them. I even offered my proctor a handful, but he just looked at me like I was crazy. I dunno, I guess it was a sort of good luck charm for me, and it really helped me stay energized and not stress out. (Eating crunchy things helps me stay focused…I guess I’m just weird…)</p>