When I first took my PSAT as a sophomore I thought I would never get into college with my score of 167.
I have always been a straight A student and school was fairly manageable for me so this came as a shock.
After a lot of hard work and time (the summer and some of junior year), I finally got good SAT scores. I got a 2310 in one sitting.
While I was aiming for a 2400, I think it was a significant jump so I am going to dedicate this post to motivate anyone out there: you CAN improve. Don’t let College board define you. If you put hard work and time into anything, you WILL get results. The SAT presents itself as a giant at the gates of success. While it may seem intimidating, it is just another test created by just another person like you! Don’t let a score knock you down and define you as a set number because you have the capacity to define yourself through your efforts.
For the rest of this post, I am going to be blunt. So here goes my tips to WRECK the SAT:
- Grammar:
-Erica L. Meltzer “The Ultimate Guide to SAT grammar” - This is the holy grail for the SAT grammar. I read this twice until I felt very comfortable with all the rules and examples. After my second time, I decided it was time to be more efficient. I made flashcards of all the rules I could find in the book. On the back of the index card I would put an example of the rule. Before any practice test or whenever I had spare time, I would whip out my flashcards and read them all. This took me like 15 min each time. I would even bring them to my test center and cram them the morning of right before I had to start the test. I probably looked strange but it was worth an 800!!
-Also, buy her 'Eight Multiple Choice SAT writing tests"- there are 8 multiple choice tests and the author describes the rule and correction for each option in each question of the writing tests. It’s the same author as the previous book so you can review the rules from the questions you got wrong.
-“The College Panda’s SAT Writing” guide- I found this a good review of rules and the examples/practice problems helped hone some skills. I liked their essay tips too. The book basically gave you a template to follow which I got familiar with but I adapted my own style in the end.
-“SAT 2400 in just 7 steps” by Shaan Patel: I found the book very helpful all around for writing. It has real college board examples which is better than the made up problems from Barrons and Kaplan, in my opinion.
-ESSAY (got an 11): Fill all 2 pages.
-Intro: If you’re into philosophy like me, don’t be afraid to make a 2 sentence speculation about the prompt’s implications. If not, start off general and DO NOT put cliche quotes. Then, make the connection to the prompt and list your examples clearly in your thesis.
-Body: This could be 2 examples if you elaborate and go in depth or 3 shorter examples. I find 2 better since depth creates a better argument and 3 is more superficial. Nevertheless, if you are scared of going off into tangents go for 3. Avoid personal experiences as examples, go for literature and history- makes you look scholarly. Ask yourself: What books have I read in my english class lately? What topics do I recall from history class? Relate ANY claims you make to the overall argument in a concise but evident way. Stating random, loosly related facts may help you look smart but not get a better score- make it easy for the graders. The conclusion should be short but insightful-make a connection to humanity, the world or our existence, etc
- Reading
-“SAT sentence completion workbook” by Erica Meltzer- Tons of practice problems (over 350) and long explanations for each one, also gives you some vocabulary lists and tips for answering them (yes, there are actually different types of sentence completion questions); the answer explanations define the words too
-“The Critical Reader”- changed the way I thought about SAT reading- gives you themes/trends in reading passages, how to spot and dissect typical real college board passages and look out for specific types of questions.
-“SAT 2400 in just 7 steps” by Shaan Patel- I already referred to this before- good for grammar and reading- math is a little too watered down, but I would read it if you’re beginning. The reading is FABULOUS. Goes over real examples and explains why each answer is right or wrong. Encourages a ruthless mentality when eliminating wrong answers and painstaking reference to the passage to verify an answer. Basically hunt for the answer and make sure you can predict what it will be before reading the answer choices. Helped me get into the high 700s.
-“IES SAT reading comprehension Advanced Practice Series”- a lot of practice passages. used this to practice my timing.
-Vocab- “Direct Hits Toughest and Core vocabulary”- know these words like the back of your hand
- Math
-“PWN the SAT Math guide”- reviewed multiple times, lots of strategies and tricks to get “hard” level questions, makes it easy to understand, the author is very funny and down to earth. The math SAT is not a math test, it is evaluating your ability to find ways to use less math.
-Practice tests- hunt them down online, the blue book maybe
-“Barron’s Math Workbook”-this was ok, not similar to the test but was challenging enough to have an effect
My opinion on the Blue Book: Waste of time to do the first half- useless standardized tips. If you do decide to purchase it don’t take your scores too seriously because they are very old tests and the scoring and material is much more lenient than it is nowadays, in my opinion. Do the practice tests anyway. Once you master these go on to more recent ones.
Wow, this was a long first post. Hope I didn’t annoy anyone. I studied a lot and I treated it almost as a sport. I would spend weekends and nights at the library cracking books. At times I resented it, but mastering it and getting it over with is worth all the effort. Delayed gratification, people! Hope these tips help you guys out, I think they worked fairly well in my case.
Yours truly,
The Hispanic “Asian” 
I wonder too Jennings. Apparently the new SAT combines reading and writing. I still think the same grammar rules will apply so hopefully people can still use it.