<p>Hello fellow College Confidential members,</p>
<p>I am trying my best to get a 2400 on my SAT (or something close to it). I studied for the March SAT by reading all the guides available here online (Xiggi's and Silverturtle's) and taking the first 9 practice tests in the Blue Book. I'm waiting for my score and if I broke 2000 I'm going to wait until June to take my second SAT, but if I did not I will take it in May (Even though it's in the midst of AP Season, and I have 5 tests to worry about this year). I would like to ask you guys what the best approach to maxing out my score would be considering the amount of time I have. I'm willing to invest as much time as needed, but I want to know what would be the most efficient method. I've read that for vocabulary Direct Hits is the Bible, but in this March SAT I knew every word that was tested so I'm not sure if investing too much time there would be wise. For Math I've heard Gruber's is great, and I put it on hold in my library. I'm also going to read Grammatix, since I read it was amazing. What else should I do? Should I try and get my hands on a Rocket Review, for the reading section, even though they're around 120$? I have only one official (College Board) practice test left and a 2005 released SAT I found. Should I take them or save them for later? Should I sign up for the official college board online course for the extra ten tests? How should I go about this? I received a 1900 on my PSAT (without any studying) if that helps and in the blue book tests my score ranged from 2020-2260. </p>
<p>Thank you very much for your help,</p>
<p>SATandAPs</p>
<p>Anyone? Please help?</p>
<p>Why do you think you’ll be able to get a 2400 if you’re struggling to break 2000</p>
<p>Who said I was struggling to break 2000? </p>
<p>I happen to be in the same situation as you. I took the March SAT after using up all my CollegeBoard Blue Book tests; my practice tests were floating around a 2000-2100 by the time I took the test. Since I completed all the blue book tests, I’m at a loss for “accurate” material; everyone always seems to criticize the other SAT books for not being made by the real makers of the SAT. My main concern is the Critical Reading Section. I need a book that offers A LOT of practice passaged based reading sections (I have also gone through most of Barrons and Barrons 2400 and I still can’t get a 700!). If anyone has any insight or suggestions about other books (I’ve heard Rocket Revolution is good, but expensive) it would be well appreciated.</p>
<p>@ThanksIKnow I’ve heard that the best choice for people in our situation is QAS but I honestly don’t know where to find them. I also know on the college boards website they have one prior released exam. I’m seriously considering buying the college board online class, but I don’t know if it’s worth the $60+. </p>
<p>@Thanksiknow</p>
<p>The Critical Reader by Erica Meltzer</p>
<p>@blackhole22 is her ultimate grammar guide worth it too? It’s like 30$ on amazon and in Barnes and Noble.</p>
<p>If you aren’t happy with your practice test scores–from 9 practice tests you should have a pretty clear idea where you stand–and you’re still working hard prepping, why did you go ahead and test? Is it your goal to have scores you’re not happy with on your record? And why would you take the test in May if you didn’t break 2000 and June if you did? Surely if you didn’t break 2000, you would want more time to prep for the next one, not less.</p>
<p>@SATandAPs - Her grammar guide is very useful. If the money is a constraint though, a lot of the information from the guide is available for free online - search for Complete SAT Grammar Rules and her name.</p>
<p>@blackhole22
Does “The Critical Reader” have a lot of practice tests? I feel like I’ve heard all the “tips” and I think I have a decent “system”. I just need more practice so I can get more acquainted with the Passage Based Readings. (Sentence Completion practice would be nice as well, but I do have Direct hits v1 and v2 for that.)</p>
<p>@mathyone Well since I am a junior and have two opportunities left this school year, if I scored less than a 2,000 I’m going to want to have both available and not put all the pressure on the June test date. That’s my reasoning at least.</p>
<p>@CHD2013 Thanks for the tip, I’m going to purchase her books since they receive such high praise from so many people, along with Direct hits v1 and v2. Are there any other books you would recommend reading? </p>
<p>^For math, I like Gruber’s and PWN the SAT. The black book by Mike Barrett is good too.</p>
<p>I bought Gruber’s complete SAT 2014, should I just review the math section for it? And I’m going to buy PWN the SAT too since it’s considered essential, would you say there’s any benefit to the hard copy over the pdf (I don’t mind reading off my laptop). Also do you know anything about Grammatix? I’ve heard it’s good too and it’s by Mike Barrett too I believe. </p>
<p>I would use Gruber only for math. I don’t think you need Grammatix if you have the Black Book. If you have Grammatix, a lot of the Black book is covered but not all (since the Black book is newer and has newer and updated concepts). Most importantly, make sure you have enough old tests written by the college board folks.</p>
<p>is the bluebook only enogh to get 700+ writting ??</p>
<p>^For some people. Give it a shot and adjust if necessary. Make sure you learn to spell enough too. :-* </p>