Closer to the 2400?!

<p>I'm a junior, and I'm trying to edge closer to that magical yet cruelly elusive number, 2400. I struggle the most in the CR section (the reading part) and the essay. I do pretty well in math, and if I DON'T freak out or make a stupid mistake (which happens more on the real thing than on any practice test, CB or not) then I could get an 800 in math. My writing MC score is pretty high, but my essay always pulls me down.</p>

<p>LAST YEAR--
On the actual SAT and PSAT I took nearly a year ago as a sophomore, I didn't do so wonderful, largely due to test anxiety and lack of preparation. (I had a tough math class that literally involved about 5-7hrs of homework a night, 7 days a week, on top of my other homework for other advanced classes - no time for anything else.) On the SAT, I got a 610 on CR, 710 on math, and 680 on writing. On the PSAT I took last October, I got a perfect 80 on the writing, a 68 on the math, and a 67 on the CR. (Looking back and using My College Quickstart, I saw many of my math and writing mistakes as stupid ones. But in reading, I still struggle.)</p>

<p>THIS YEAR--
Back in June I took a prep class at a nearby school that gave out actual old SATs (many of them pre-2005, before the new one came out) as well as two old PSATs. Both PSATs and one SAT were taken under actual testing conditions, and I hit a perfect score (80) in math, a 78 in writing, and a (way too low) 67 in CR on one PSAT. (The other PSAT was a diagnostic, so I won't count it.) On the SAT, however, I made a 780 in math (again, stupid mistakes), a much lower 690 on the writing (4 on the essay, near-perfect MC), and a (very low) 650 in CR (partially due to a distracting incident during the test, but won't go into that.) I just started on the blue CB tests, so don't have "scores" for that yet. (Yeah, I know I'm a little late there.) I've taken several practice tests from other books. (Princeton Review, Kaplan, and all the rest.) I haven't yet taken an SAT this year, but I will take the PSAT in October, and the SAT in January.</p>

<p>At this point I know that the 2400 I dreamed about isn't close to realistic but I want to know how far I can push this score closer to it.</p>

<p>To get a 2400, you need two things.
Luck and ability.</p>

<p>You're a little ahead of yourself because CR is hard to bring up. A lot of it
comes down to how much a person has read during their 17-odd years of life.</p>