<p>I am going into my sophomore year. I just took my first practice test ad received a score of
1960 (M: 740, R: 530, W:690). How do I increase my reading score so I can attain a composite score of 2250+? With this score and the help of other things can I get into colleges like Brown and UC Berekley? Thanks!</p>
<p>Read, read, read. ALSO look up the words you don’t know. It’s not enough to just read 
Also I recommend getting a SAT vocab book like Direct Hits. the mroe you read, the more you will become used to the types of passages the SAT presents. Doing practice tests will also help. Be sure to read teh answer explanations. </p>
<p>For Brown, you might want to raise your writing and maybe math also. Do practice tests and read the explanations. This is ESPECIALLY important for the writing. If you don’t where else are you going to learn the hyper-detailed grammar rules?</p>
<p>Good luck. Your scores will also just increase over time with age and coping with harder schoolwork.</p>
<p>Wow! I’m jealous. I’m also attending 10th grade this year and I got a 1400 on my SAT! How about you tell me what you did!</p>
<p>^At least you have time to prepare! I’m gonna be a junior, and i took my first sat yesterday: 1820. Compare that to the OP :'(</p>
<p>Haha. Thanks for the support. Your score is pretty good for the first time. I bet you’re gonna at least get 1900-2000!!!</p>
<p>Kind of a piggy-back question: How long does it take for a score to disappear from Collegeboard’s site? I took the SAT in January of Freshman year (2090) and am wondering if it will still be on the reports when I send my scores this fall.</p>
<p>^5 years I believe.</p>
<p>Like sa0209, read A LOT. I suggest read some older/classic books in addition to whatever you normally read. I’m not a big fan of classics, but they improved my reading skills significantly. I wouldn’t really study vocab (I didn’t, and still did fine), but it seems to be recommended a lot on this board, so if you want to, go for it.</p>
<p>For writing, be harsh on yourself if you’re the one grading your essay. Wouldn’t you rather be surprised with a better than expected grade than be disappointed when the scores come? For the grammar, make sure you know your basic rules. Most of the questions don’t get too complex (although a few are). If any of you English classes stress grammar, PAY ATTENTION. My freshman english class had a grammar unit, and nobody (but me) paid attention. When PSAT’s came sophomore year, the majority of my class commented that they couldn’t find any mistakes in the writing section.</p>
<p>Your math seems great, assuming you’ll learn a few new topics next year and improve with time. If it seems like a certain type of question tripped you up though, you might want to look over them a bit more carefully. Also watch out for geometry questions where they give you info. that could be used to find more than one thing. I often mess up by seeing a circle, and calculating its area vs. half its area or radius vs. circumference. </p>
<p>A 1920 is a great score, especially for a freshman. Be careful though, since this was only a practice test. If you simply did it by yourself, it may not have been 100% accurate. Also, your score should improve with time, given you apply yourself at school.</p>
<p>Well guys for the Math sections just review Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Although people say that Algebra 2 is needed, if you thoroughly review these subjects you will not need Alg. 2. As for writing, look at the formats of the good SAT essays and for the MC just look at the different types of errors that occur on the SAT. And for reading just read, read, and read.</p>
<p>Btw guys I actually got an 800 on the Math section.</p>
<p>Wait, so how did you get the 1960 (breakdown???)? Don’t worry too much about your reading and writing scores. You’ll see that as you progress in high school, so will your scores. I went from a 2090 freshman year (800 Math, 630 Writing, 660 CR) to a 2300 (800 Math, 740 Writing, 760 CR) junior year with absolutely no studying or effort. Live your life and don’t get too caught up in test scores early on. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>You’re golden. I got a 1610 in 8th grade and finished with a 2290 as I’m getting ready to apply. </p>
<p>Math - You probably don’t really need to do anything more for this. If you find yourself forgetting how to solve some of the easier problems on the test, then yeah review those topics, but if you’re like I was before I managed to get an 800 and are just getting a few of the hardest questions wrong, you’ll learn with all the practice I’m sure you’ll do during or right before Junior year.</p>
<p>Writing - As someone mentioned, make sure you pay attention when learning grammar; I found that my sophomore English class which involved quite a bit of grammar was pretty much the reason I was able to get 800. If you don’t get the opportunity, a 690 already is probably high enough so that all you’ll have to do is read an SAT prep book about the necessary grammar rules and how to frame your essay to give yourself a shot at 800.</p>
<p>Reading - My weak point (690), but I’ve heard people find reading books to help the most as has been mentioned. Make sure you start now and get into something of a habit because it could take a year of leisurely reading to see any results. I’ve also heard that reading newspapers (or going to NYTimes.com) can be helpful. And, in the months leading up to the test, make sure you’re working on memorizing good vocab lists (e.g. Direct Hits). I sort of neglected this part and vocab was half the reason I didn’t get a great score.</p>
<p>If you put in a good amount of prep in the 6 months or so before taking it, I’m sure you’ll be able to at the very least put together a 2200 or 2250, which would be overall acceptable for those colleges. Good luck!</p>
<p>@GreyWolf I got the breakdown by taking a practice test and then for the multiple choice a machine graded it and the essays were graded by essay readers. I took this practice SAT in a prep class.</p>
<p>WOW that’s amazing! As other have said, read A LOT. And start memorizing those vocabs. I don’t mean to memorize like 100 a day, but around 5. You got time in your hand, so don’t panic. Assuming that you are planning to take your first SAT’s in fall of junior year, I’d take a practice test every month during the sophomore year, and start going on full speed next summer. If you are self-determined, I’m almost positive you are going to break 2250.</p>