<p>I'm really sick of taking this test...Prior to now, I have yet to study at all for the SAT, but with a 2200+ score in mind, I'm looking for some tips on how to improve. My friend, who got under 190 on the PSAT, and is probably reading and laughing at this now, got 2200+ on the most recent SAT... While I know these scores aren't horrid, it bothers me that I'm just barely not cutting the mark. </p>
<p>In particular, I'm looking for answers to these questions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>800 in math, is it achievable? I know Calculus, but I don't know how to reach perfection... How does one go from 760 to 800?</p></li>
<li><p>I know grammar in writing, but 20 minutes hardly gets me over a page of writing on the test. I recognize this as the largest weak spot I have - scoring a 7 or 8 lowers 50-70 points when compared to a solid 10. What do I do?</p></li>
<li><p>Vocabulary in CR, is it worth it? I've never missed more than 1 vocabulary related question on the CR section. Would vocabulary be an efficient use of my time?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>For the essay, I have one word of advice: write more!</p>
<p>Seriously. The key to getting a 10+ is to fill up the two pages. Write big, BS some of it, do whatever you have to to get a minimum of 1.75 pages done.</p>
<p>The more you write the better your score… there was a study done on this theory a while ago which confirmed it.</p>
<p>Really depends on how pressed for time you are.
I think the easiest score to boost up would be math, but personally that’s just me.
And yes, 800 on math is definitely possible. But you have to answer every question and you CANNOT miss even one problem. In some rare instances, you can miss 1 and still get 800, but I wouldn’t count on it.
And knowing calculus doesn’t help at all. As long as you know your algebra and geometry, it’s all a matter of understanding the problem, using your reasoning skills (hence the name SAT Reasoning), and not making careless mistakes.</p>
<p>For writing, the essay is a weird issue. For some people, their pencils just flow on test days while others have a hard time even brainstorming. It is true that generally, the longer your essay, the higher score you’re likely to get, but otherwise, this is just something you have to practice with various prompts and develop a formula for. Also as you practice, you’ll be more use to coming up with good examples. If you are REALLY good, I know some people who memorize like 5-6 examples and can ALWAYS make them work. I’m not one of those people, so don’t ask me. Just remember they mainly want to see that you can come up with persuasive points and coherently organize it into a convincing essay. Your actual “artistic” writing skills doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Finally for vocabulary, it depends on how much time you have to prepare. If you have time, yeah, I say go for it. Maybe go through 10 vocabulary words a day and it’ll boost your chances of getting all the vocab right. Also it’s nice to expand your vocabulary for everyday use. However, if your short on time, I wouldn’t recommend it, since you’re only missing 1 problem each time. I’ll tell you, I crammed ~800 vocabulary words 2 weeks before the test, not 1 of them showed up. All were words that I already knew before. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t.</p>
<p>How does one go from 760 to 800?
This question is really…unnecessary; of course you can achieve 800… you just have to be very careful, though this is always easier said than done…
u have exactly 2200 superscore unless my math skills fail…
but if u wanna retake, you have alot of rooms for improvement, especially in WR. Just follow what above posters had said. write 2 pgs = you’re golden.</p>
<p>I wrote two full pages with a strong introduction and decent conclusion, and even though some of my middle paragraphs were pretty weak (which should be the most important part lol) I got a 12. It definitely wasn’t my best piece of writing. Just throw something impressive-sounding at them and write so much that they don’t have time to scrutinize it carefully :)</p>
<p>730+760+710=2200 unless you meant you want something higher than 2200. On the essay, I would advise you to worry LESS about grammar and spelling and more about connecting viable supporting ideas. I write mediocre essays in my honors english class and got a 9 on the October essay. This time I filled most of the lines up, had good supporting work, and included a conclusion and received a 12. Some people come up with flexible essay examples before the test. I was going to just wing it and come up with one or two life experiences while I was writing the intro, but the March essay prompt gave me a very broad range of potential MODs. You just have to be more careful on math. As for vocab, if you already have a good understanding of prefixes/suffixes/roots, then go for the vocab lists if you have time. But seeing how you only miss 1 vocab question at most I would focus more on the other parts of the critical reading section. Try acing or getting almost all of the non vocab questions right and there’s a good chance that you’ll get that 800.</p>
<p>Yea, what I mean by 2200+, is hopefully 2200 in a single sitting. I’m trying not to depend on a superscore although I know most schools willl take them. For math, I seem to have terrible consistency. I only get 800 like 10% of the time on practice tests, and this is reflected pretty harshly in the scorse I’ve been receiving…I answer all the questions, although some wordings stump me for a few minutes, I’m generally able to figure all of them out in thea lloted time. </p>
<p>Interesting comments on the writing, I will take those into mind. I spend a lot of time thinking of the right phrases/vocabulary to use, along with a smooth transition. I guess I just got to sacrifice some of that for length. </p>
<p>I’ll be taking the test 1-2 more times, depending on how I do on May (June for SAT II’s).</p>