<p>I am a senior this year and I will be applying mainly to the UC system. My GPA is quite low(3.7WGPA), and my chances are minimal at best unless I can score well above the average the UC's I am applying to. With a 2200 SAT I believe I will have a better chance, although admittance will be difficult still. I have until December 6th test to raise my score.</p>
<p>I just find it difficult to figure out how to get started with all of this studying for the SAT. 1890 is my first SAT score, so I'm sure I can improve on it. My scores are 640 on CR/ 720 on Math/ and 530 on Writing. Writing is quite a difficult subject for me and my vocabulary is mediocre at best. Generally I can do pretty well on math(but looking on these forums many others consider math to be their best subject). </p>
<p>I have Collegeboard's The Offical Sat Study Guide(The Blue Book). Any other books I should go out and buy immediately? </p>
<p>Any suggestions on how I can overcome this monumental task? Anything at all?</p>
<p>@Cookieeater144, just do practice tests and you should be fine. It's not really a monumental task and you should be able to do it. Take practice tests and go over them - go into the test confidently. I was pretty uptight and nervous about my test and ended up sleeping only for an hour (big mistake), but I guess I can ended up with an ok score, though it could have been better. Good luck!</p>
<p>I'm also curious. Can anyone who knows the UC system well provide some insight?
I have a 2140 SAT and I'm pretty sure I can bring it up to a 2200+ in December, but wonder if I should even bother retaking. My GPA is the same as the guy above (3.7 UC gpa) but with a strong upward trend of freshman year 2.2/2.4 to junior year 4.0/3.8 (or 4.0 depending on grade change)</p>
<p>Cookieeater- just like other people have said, nothing helps you on the SATs as much as practice tests. Before I took the test (March 2008), I bought the Collegeboard book for SATs and did all the tests, and I got a 2260 (I didn't take it again). Prep classes don't help, and there isn't much else you could do. CR is most diffcult to improve on, so focus a lot on writing. Is it the essay or the MC that hurt you? In any case, tests give you good practice identifying grammar mistakes and spotting errors. I'm sure you can improve.
Hope that helped...</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation - I keep hovering between an 1850 and a 2000 (big difference..)</p>
<p>I got frustrated at the Blue Book because I was hitting a peak, so I started using Barrons' Critical Reading and Math workbooks, because it exaggerated the patterns of problems that I was missing. It's also easy for me to carry to school, so when I have an extra half hour I just do a section and review my answers. </p>
<p>Read the Blue Book explanation for Writing, and note the distinct types that they point out, then research online for how to see the patterns. I believe Barron's also has a workbook for Writing, but I haven't used it.</p>