<p>Hi,
I recently got back my SAT scores, which I took in June 2009 of eighth grade. Here's my breakup:
Mathematics: 800
CR: 760
Writing:730</p>
<p>This is my second try; in June of seventh grade I scored a 2170. I improved math by sixty and the other two by thirty, so I guess that's a good thing.. I hope?
I know math is generally considered the easiest section (at least that's what my high school friends told me o_o), but I'd like tips on improving my CR and writing scores. I'm not sure of my essay score yet, though, as my mom didn't tell me.. >.> Plus, I totally forgot about negative marking on wrong multiple choice answers until about the middle of Section 7, so I think that may have cost me ~10-20 points on CR and ~10 points on writing.. oh well. Does anyone have tips on increasing CR and/or Writing as well as a good test taking strategy?</p>
<p>(PS I'm sorry if this seems arrogant or like bragging to anybody. I just wanted some advice from more experienced students and test takers.)</p>
<p>Hey!
first of all congratulations, your score is very impressive regardless of your age.
Secondly, relax! You can give yourself a big(year long) break and still get a 2400 in 1 or two years.
I was always good at critical reading, and that is because i read. You are so young, read good literature from different epochs and you should be fine. If you are worried about your vocabulary then write down unfamiliar words from books or use the princeton review hit parade.
Writing, the questions are not hard. Review your grammar, and be vigilant about colloquialisms. Essays, practice, practice, practice(timed), and just have a clear thesis and you’ll be fine.
Good luck to you, and really give yourself a break. You merit a pause, and are in great shape for the SAT!</p>
<p>Colleges are interested in well rounded people who bring life experience to the table. Taking the tests too many times make you look like a person obsessed with tests and who has no life. </p>
<p>Now you know that you can nail these tests; set them aside and use the time to grow as a person. Develop those attributes that college want, such life experience, a rich history of reading deeply and widely, leadership, passions and athletics. College don’t really want to see freshman and sophomore year test results - wait until Junior year.</p>
<p>I completely disagree. If you have the intellectual capacity to get almost a 2300 as an 8th grader, go for the 2400 now. Shoot, I got a 180 on my PSAT 8th grade, and I still got a 2400 junior year. If I were you, I’d get the Blue Book and start some intensive practice right now. That’ll give you plenty of time to eventually get your perfect score and to have plenty of time to take a bunch of SAT II Subject Tests.</p>
<p>This is of course assuming you want a perfect score. Your 2290 is already a pretty awesome score as it is. You can retake just one more time to get a 2350+, or apply using a score you got in 8th grade which would make you at least sound like a complete savage. Both are good options if you don’t really care about a nice round number.</p>
<p>And besides, if you’re sharp enough to get almost 2300 in 8th grade, I don’t really think you spend your whole life studying. Not even very much. You’ll have plenty of time to do your ECs and have fun. Just buy the CollegeBoard SAT Study guide if you haven’t already and take the practice tests, memorize your vocab words, practice your essays, study your grammar conventions, and you’ll be good to go.</p>
<p>I would never retake. If you retake colleges will think you have no life and nothing to do but study.</p>
<p>There is not much difference in a 2400 and a 2290. In other words, you will not be turned away because of your score because there will always be people who have worse that still get accepted to some of the best universities.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars, awards/achievements, and volunteering are things you should be working on. These are the things that will make the difference between acceptance/rejection,</p>
<p>The College Board will wipe out your score unless you write to them to ask that it be retained, because it’s from 8th grade. My son took the SAT in both 7th and 8th grade; his 7th grade score was deleted, and his 8th grade score remains because I requested that it be kept.</p>
<p>Your scores are excellent. The only prep you need is to pay attention in your classes and read. You might want to take the SAT again in two years – in tenth grade – rather than wait until your junior year, as two years of schoolwork and good reading are very likely to provide the (small) boost in your scores that you seek.</p>
<p>First of all, that is an immensely impressive score for an 8th grader. If I were you I wouldn’t dedicate any more time to the SAT until junior year. If I had to guess, I would say that you will naturally pick up the ability to score a 2400 by then. Spend your time discovering things that interest you and really develop those interests; I assure you that the SAT is the last thing you need to worry about. In fact, I would definitely request that your score be kept, as a 2290 pre-high school is something the vast majority of Harvard admits were never capable of. It’ll show universities that your SAT abilities shine way above the 2400 scale and it’ll probably warrant special consideration for your application.</p>
<p>Good job! I’m jealous. well, if you hadn’t really practiced too much, definitely just put aside studying until sophomore year at the very least. let your brain develop, so that you will soon be able to think like a 2400er. however, if you think you got your score based on hard work and dedication, you might want to take it freshman year when it’s still fresh in your mind, and just study for that 2400 before then. I don’t think middle school SATs count, so you’ll have to take it in high school anyways. might as well take it before you forget everything and have to prepare again.</p>
<p>Woah. Hold on a minute. You’re in 8th grade and you have a 2290. You’re in great shape. You shouldn’t be worrying about anything SAT-related at this point. Just make sure you’re learning a lot in school and, most of all, enjoying learning.</p>
<p>My story: I didn’t really think about the SAT or college admissions at all until January of my junior year. Five months later, I now have 2400s on both the SAT I and SAT II. I think that the reason I did so well is precisely because I didn’t start thinking about the SAT until then. From first through 11th grade, I just learned because I found the subjects I studied to be enjoyable and worthwhile. I just learned because I liked it. Because I was trying to pick up as much as I could just for the sake of it, I learned way more than I ever would have if I had been aiming towards a certain test score or particular GPA or anything like that. And so when I did have to turn my attention to the SAT, I was already prepared. Just some practice tests to get me used to the questions and such, and that was it.</p>
<p>Of course, learning for the sake of it and learning to get into a great college are not mutually exclusive. But just make sure you’re not letting college admissions start to influence you too much at this point in your life. If you go through the next few years the right way, you’ll be ready for it when the time comes.</p>
<p>That said, congratulations on a great score :)</p>
<p>Thank you all for the kind words and advice! I see a lot of people wondering why I took this test not once, but twice as a middle school student. Well, my parents and I jointly decided that taking the test twice in middle school would be good preparation for taking the test in high school, when it would actually count. I also wanted to take it for SET and JHU CTY (and for some fun of course :]). We thought to see how I’d perform on the tests without preparation and to see how much I’d naturally improve between the latter ends of seventh and eighth grade. We were pleasantly surprised by my scores, and my parents plan to keep them. I just have a question, though, since some people briefly touched on similar topics: How would I incorporate a middle school score into a college application? (I have absolutely no idea of the workings of college applications. However, I successfully applied to a fairly prestigious all-boys’ parochial school earlier this year. I have no doubt that college applications will be much more intense though.)</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the scores because they’ll be superseded by better scores later on. Right now they give you clout as when you “ask” to be placed in the higher level classes or to take more than the normal share at a time (like, for example, “nobody can take Chemistry and Biology at the same time in 9th grade…”). Congratulations.</p>
<p>juggler, my son took the SAT in middle school for the same reason (and he’s looking forward to being at CTY tomorrow, though he’d better finish his laundry if he expects to be clothed there!). He’s also a SET kid.</p>
<p>You don’t need to worry about incorporating your middle school score into a college application. If you keep your 8th grade score – and I would request it if you were my kid – it will show up on the SAT score report that is sent to colleges. And yes, I fully expect your scores will be superseded by better scores! </p>
<p>If you can take the PSAT in 10th grade, please do; I’m SO glad my kid took it, and also the SAT in 10th grade, because he decided to accelerate and skip the last two years of high school for college instead. His 10th grade PSAT score was “activated,” as they say, for the National Merit competition, and it’s likely he will be named a National Merit Semi Finalist this fall (though he’ll be a freshman in college). </p>
<p>Other than that, I think you don’t need to do anything different. Just enjoy learning, as you obviously have been, and keep your options open. Good luck to you!</p>