<p>Hi. Sorry. I'm just new here and i cant seem to find where i should put this question. Anyway, I'm an international student and haven't taken the sat exam, ever. I answered the college board official practice test and got a 2130 score. math 720 reading 710 writing 700</p>
<p>Is it possible for me to raise it to 2300+ in the actual exam prior to months of preparation i would be doing? </p>
<p>thanks :)</p>
<p>with hard word, anything is possible. Went from a 1980 (590 CR 770 M 620 W 10 essay) to a 2330 superscore (760 CR 770 M 800 W 12 essay). I only prepped for about 5 weeks total, haha. Just make the best of your time, and do lots of practice tests, and study lots of vocab. Good luck!</p>
<p>Yes it’ll take a lot of hard work and diligence but it’s possible. I raised my score from 2150 in May to 2350 (2360 superscored) in October.</p>
<p>How did you study??? I just got a 1900 in October and I really want to have a 2300+ by October 2014. I really want to make sure I’m using the best resources possible since I have about 11 months to study. I’ll probably be taking it again in the spring also. Are there any particular books that you used?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I actually only used the official collegeboard blue book (from my library), and then some official tests I found online. I refused to, and didn’t, spend one dollar on any prep books/ sites/ tutors. I found it was easier to just study on my own. Make sure you are studying a lot of vocab (maybe start now?), because not knowing it can be a real score killer.</p>
<p>And make sure that you are reviewing every practice test you complete, and going over EVERY question, not just the ones you got wrong. Trust me, it helps a lot.</p>
<p>Good luck! I hope you accomplish your goal!</p>
<p>Well you have a lot of time, so I wouldn’t be too worried. I think a lot of the time, the first score isn’t reflective of your true capacity because you are stressed and have never taken the test in a collegeboard test environment. </p>
<p>I definitely would use the BB. Go over the BB with a microscope and analyse each and every question and how to approach it. Definitely use the plethora of answer explanations out there. College Board has a set, CC has a set (I think), and there are many else out there. Star all the questions you felt were difficult and pay particular attention to those questions as well as the questions you got wrong. The Barrons 2400 book also has some really good techniques that I found really my style. Now, you might not find those styles useful, but look around, borrow books from libraries or even look online for recommendations (CC has a good list somewhere) and purchase some from amazon or something. </p>
<p>About 1.5-2 months out, I’d recommend doing sections every single day, and one full test a week on Saturday morning. It gets you well prepared for the feel of the test. I would use the answer sheets as well because you definitely do questions slower with the answer sheet and it is good to get used to it. </p>
<p>And then content-wise, I wouldn’t recommend studying vocab too much because there is just so damn much and it’s just a futile waste of time. Besides memorising dictionary definitions won’t do you a lot of good in the long term. There will be a word used in some context that you only know by its denotation and you’ll get it wrong. It’s better to focus more of your energy just practising vocab and getting a feel for how the test is structure. Then memorising and understanding how the roots work. Much better than pure memorising of definitions. Also, read more. I mean a lot of these words are used in books like Portrait of the Artist or 1984 or Dorian Gray, or etc. You probably don’t read these in your spare time, but they’re actually really good reads and can also serve as good essay topics. (I used the climax scene from Picture of Dorian Gray as an example in my SAT essay) Plus they look impressive on college applications for lists of books you’ve read. </p>
<p>A lot of it really just comes down to practice, especially math. </p>
<p>And one thing that I’ve found really effective is to find a portion of the test that you really like and actually make a conscious effort to look forward to it during the test. No one really wants to take a test that takes like 5 hours out of your Saturday and is really quite miserable but you can try to pretend otherwise. For example, I loathe CR and Math, but I actually really enjoy the 35 question grammar section for some reason, as well as Section 10. And when I wrote the October administration, my day honestly brightened up considerably when the grammar section came along and I really looked forward to doing the ending section rather than being like, “Oh God it’s almost over.” and then burn out. Obviously the test is awful, but don’t make it harder than it already is. At least try to make it enjoyable so you don’t suffer too badly.</p>
<p>Yes, it is possible.</p>
<p>In June I was at around 1850 and I just got 2310 on October’s test. It will require a lot of hard work and dedication though.</p>
<p>Thank you so much guys for your help ^ ^ that really encouraged me 
</p>
<p>btw, i’ve got a princeton prep book but im also planning to buy the barron’s one because if i finish it with a lot of time left, im planning to go for the 2400 version :)</p>
<p>Do you have any tips for the essay? How were you able to get a 12?!</p>
<p>Buy Mike Barrett’s Black Book. It will tell you everything you need to know. Also, it and the blue book are everything you need.</p>
<p>For the essay, you can prepare examples as everyone suggests. It may or may not pay on test day considering a lot of the essays are on vague topics for which the “usual” examples like Abraham Lincoln, Merchant Of Venice, etc. can’t be used.
Also, great books would be rocket review for passage reading in CR and direct hits for vocabulary.
For grammar, refer to the website thecriticalreader. Its great for grammar tips. You can also buy her book if yuo feel the need, although for me the online tips along with BB tests were enough.
For math, PWN The SAT and Dr. Steve’s book and online course are great prep.</p>
<p>You*
Feel free to contact me if any of you aspiring SAT kids need help. I love to help!</p>