<p>So, I prepped a bit in the summer and a lot before november PSATs, but not didn't feel nearly as prepared as now.
My PSAT was 239
i've gotten mostly 2400 and 2350s before on my practice tests
BUT got a 2260 on on this December, i was sick. i'm so mad
but i took another practice today and got 2270, so i'm starting to worry, could I be getting worse? did that ever happen to you guys?
My wrongs on vocab were on because I knew most of the words but follwed their strict definitions and picked the one I didn't know
Too much SAT prep??? is that even possible? happened to anyone? and how did you fix it?</p>
<p>The difference between a 2270 and the upper 2300’s isn’t that much in terms of questions missed. So this fluctuation, I would assume, is always possible, and does not not necessarily mean you’re getting worse.</p>
<p>has this happened to anyone else?</p>
<p>A friend of mine had a similar problem. He was very good at the SAT but at one point he started doing the tests mechanically “without being there” as they say. What he did was to take a break. He said that he had proved to himself he can crack the tests, knew the format, and could do it in his sleep. But apparently there is a moment when you have to realize that you should stop. He did so: stopped for two days, locked his SAT books far away from him, and forgot the fact that he had to take it in 2 weeks. He simply erased the SAT from his mind. After that “vacation” he took he was doing well again and had 2370 on the real exam.</p>
<p>He called it an “over-winding”- when you simply do too much practice.</p>
<p>I don’t know what your case is but it reminds me of that of my friend. So maybe you should simply have an SAT-vacation and forget about the exam for two days. At least you have time and some very good results behind you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>that’s a really good psat score. that makes me think those practice test scores were legit. </p>
<p>i’m guessing you’re a junior? what were you psat scores from freshman year and sophomore year? just curious. and was this the first time you took the sat? </p>
<p>being sick can do that to you. i wasn’t even sick, just totally out of it and not in the mood for a 5 hour test, and i got a 2130. when i was more determined the next time, i got a 2260. </p>
<p>like the person above said, it’s probably best to take a break. forget about the sat. i think it’s true of a lot of things in life, that you can reach a breaking point from too much practice. once you take a short hiatus, though, you’ll be back at your top level and ready to improve more, until you reach another breaking point.</p>
<p>@Wuchu
yup junior
our school doesn’t offer sophmore or freshmen PSATs and no one takes them so i didnt either
yeah its the first time… in high school, i took it once in middle school but that doesn’t count</p>
<p>@maskerade
well i did take a break after my December one, but now i’m starting again, i’m doing worse, mind you those practice tests were from before the December test
but maybe I am like your friend, i came out of my last practice test feeling better than before, which is so wrong because i used to feel so tired after a test
maybe more focus? half my errors were stupid</p>
<p>A lot of people I know always do worse on the actual exam than they do in practice. I usually do better on the real thing than I do on practice exams, something that I attribute to heightened focus. Or excessive amounts of luck.</p>
<p>lol wedge i’ve had abysmal success on PSATs on test day. always sick… SAT IIs were a real hit for me lol…</p>
<p>The difference between a 2350 and 2270 is really negligible. The 80 points could come from missing 1 more math and 1 more writing question. (800M -> 760M) and (80MC -> 76MC)</p>
<p>The best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes.</p>
<p>i agree with the above; a few questions can drastically change your score</p>
<p>the math curve is extremely harsh, for example. i thought i would get an 800 in math, and i get a 770 because i make 1 careless mistake. and as for writing, i only missed one multiple choice question, but i got on a 9 on the essay, so i wound up with a 770 there too. and critical reading i’m just an absolute failure at, so i got a 720 =)</p>
<p>@OP: since this is only your first time, you’ll be fine. colleges won’t really start to care about how many times you’ve taken the sat until you’ve taken it over 3 times. (this is for colleges that make you report all your scores, like cornell) my friend got a 2290 the first time she took the sat, and then got a 2370 the second time. maybe you’ll have a story like hers =)</p>