Hi everyone. So I took the SAT for the first time in January with minimal prep, and I ended up with a 740 CR, 580 Math, and 600 Writing. Yuck.
I’m happy with the CR score, but I know I can get it higher; writing not so much, but I have Eric Meltzer’s book, and I’m more than confident I can raise that to the 750s, at least.
Math, on the other hand, is another story. I have the PWNtheSAT book, but I don’t think it’s helping. I just have such a hard time remembering what to do. It’s like when I see the explanation I think, “yeah obviously,” but when I try and do it, I draw a blank.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I just keep practicing and practicing?
Ideally, I want to get my math score to around 750 also.
Sorry for any typos, I’m on my phone.
With multiple choice, train your brain to work backwards. One of those andwers is right. Instead of getting an asnwer and checking a bubble, work backwards to eliminate the ones that are wrong. Google this. It may help a lot.
I think the pwnthesat math book is the best source available on math. You should try to focus on your weakness in math. In what do you get the most wrong answers?
How will you answer when a similar question pop out on the test if you got it wrong last time on another test?
Try to work each topic of the book so hard until you get how to do each problem.
Thank you both for the tips.
I think that’s what I’m going to do Jr12317, evenutally I think I’ll know how to do everything that way.
First, there’s a great SAT prep guide by Xiggi right here on collegeconfidential. Search it in the forums (or just look on the front page of the test prep forum) and you’ll find it. There are other great guides here as well. There are numerous great guides online as well. I like prepscholar.com
On a high level, what you’ll need to do is do timed practice sections using the College Board Blue Book tests or the four official CB Practice Tests that are available for free download on the web. Always time yourself. Write in your test pamphlet. As you read the question, underline what you’re asked to solve for. Use your practice test as scratch paper, and always cross off answers you can eliminate. Before you circle the correct choice, re-read what you were asked to solve for, to make sure you’re giving the correct answer. If you’re not 100% sure of your answer, put a “?” next to the question. If you have extra time, re-check that answer first.
When you score your practice test, before you look at answer explanations, see if you can re-do your incorrect problems yourself. Then check answer explanations – for the problems you got wrong AND for the problems that you put a ? next to. Create an SAT math notebook. Every time you do a practice test, write down the 5 trickiest questions you got wrong – or that took you too long to solve – in the notebook. Don’t just figure out how to solve that problem. Do some research and studying on the entire topic. If the problem was a triangle problem, use your resources (I like Barron’s) to study that topic so you really know it. Key for success is to turn each incorrect answer into a gem. Turn each weakness into a strength. The next time you come upon a triangle problem, you’ll smile to yourself because you know you’ve got this one.
There are several sources for in-depth answer explanations. Check out Khan Academy (free and officially supported by the College Board), satquantum.com (has some explanations for free but access to everything comes for a fee); the college board website has free access to answer explanations for Blue Book questions if you’ve purchased a blue book.
Again, the key is to not just gloss over your answer corrections and say “oh yeah, I get that.” You have to dig deep. Write the problems out in your notebook. Find the best way to solve it. Do a deeper review of that topic. On a regular basis, read through your entire notebook to refresh yourself of all the tricky problems. Keep taking more blue book timed practice tests.
Good luck!
As the other poster mentioned, I would go through the math material in “Barrons SAT”. It goes over the math on the test, which you should know, as well as test taking techniques. There is only a small amount of math on the SAT, and you should know it well. Then you have to deal with the tricky problems.
I would also recommend working through the problems in “Barrons Math SAT Workbook”, which are by topic: it is similar to “Pwn the Math SAT”, but easier and more at your level if you scored 600.
Thank you all so much!
I’ll definitely do the notebook idea. I think that’ll help a lot.
I’ll have to ask my parents if they’re willing to buy another prep book, but I’ll check the library too.
Math has never been my strong suit (and I’m in Mu Alpha Theta, go figure), so I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me.
You can get “Barrons SAT” and “Barrons Math SAT Workbook” for $5-10 on Amazon if you don’t get the latest edition. The SAT hasn’t changed much since 2004.
If you get nothing else, get the College Board Blue Book. You can get it on Amazon for about $12. Barron’s SAT would be the next choice, and I agree with mathplustutornj, there’s no reason you need a new version. Used is perfectly fine. I wouldn’t spend time on the Barron’s workbook or the math problems in the Barron’s SAT book, unless you find an area of math that you just don’t get and you need lots of practice on it. In general, the Barron’s math questions are harder than what you’ll find on the SAT. If you’ve got spare time and enjoy spending it on SAT prep, then that’s fine. If you want to be efficient and get the most out of each practice minute, spend your time doing the CB Blue Book practice sections (because they are actual SAT questions from the creators of the SAT), record your notes in your notebook, and study any weak areas using the Barron’s subject and strategy review sections.
Don’t forget – there are four free SAT practice tests available for free download from the web. A basic google search should find them. Each test has 3 math sections, so that’s 12 official SAT math sections that you can practice with for free.
Don’t forget to check out KhanAcademy.com for the math SAT as well. They have uploaded one of the 4 free practice tests and they have videos working through every single math problem. Again, to really absorb it, you’ll need to write down tricky problems in your notebook and then review it regularly.
Let us know how it goes!
Yeh, I was assuming you had the Blue Book, but that is most important. You want to do a lot of problems, preferably real problems, and preferably mid to hard level problems. I also personally recommend studying all the material in the math section of “Barrons SAT”
You should be able to get slightly older editions new of “Barrons SAT” and “Barrons SAT math Workbook” for $5 or so including shipping on Amazon.
Awesome tips, thanks guys!
I’ll definitely look for the Barron’s book then and the khanacademy stuff sounds great too.
I do have the blue book and I’ve been using it in conjunction with the PWNtheSAT book to further practice the sections I don’t understand.
I’ll definitely keep you guys updated! 
Got the scores back and went from a 580 to a 690!!!
(If only I got 1 more question right…)
Wow, great jump!
Though not for ACT and AP Exams, you can get the TI-Nspire CX CAS calculator. Literally plug the equation into the calculator and it spits out the values for x, and so much more. If you want a nice calculator you can use for AP and ACT too, get the regular CX and learn to graph equations to find information. It does everything the CAS does except compute answers for polynomials etc.
Also, if you have some rules you struggle to remember in math, CX and CAS have a documents tab where you can save any notes you need for the section.
On top of that, keep reviewing geometry, algebra, and probability to help that score to continue rising.
I’d stick with PWN after that improvement and maybe supplement with satquantam.com. It’s worth the fee.