Good SAT score? Ways to improve?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

For my March SAT I got a 1220. 670 in RW and 550 in Math. Would this be considered a good score? My next SAT is scheduled for August 25th. What ways can I improve my score? Specific advice on studying? I’m aiming for anywhere between 1,300-1,360. Is that range a good SAT goal?

2

For each school of interest, check their Common Data Set sections C9 to C12 to see how your numbers compare to those of the last entering class. A SAT score is good if it’s above a school’s 50th percentile.

3

shoot for 700 each category, that means you need to work harder on math. Math is all about speed. If you can recognize the format of question, what they are asking, how to approach based on the info provided. Say there are 15 topics, each topics you create a note with 20 standard/commonly asked question format. You hope next time you take the test, you have confident that you know what they are asking, and know how to solve in within 10 seconds and solve it in another 20 sec. Once you have your note compiled, learn how to choose the answer even faster. Can’t tell you much here. The key is, you no longer doing test and exam in class. you don’t need to show all 10 lines of steps. And it is impossible for you to finish SAT math section if you do it the old way.

4

It’s all relative to where you want to get into. I’d say for ivy leagues, you generally want a 1450+. I believe it also depends on what your demographic is. A 1220 is not the strongest for a top tier school, but it’s great you’re trying to improve! For studying, I would definitely check out the Khan academy videos, and make sure you truly understand each math problem you get wrong. I made flash cards out of index cards, and wrote down any formulas I needed to know.

5

“Good” and “Bad” are incredibly relative.

You should be aiming for as high as you can get.

Here’s my perspective as a math teacher and SAT prep teacher:

  1. Know the rules, in particular for the free response questions. They're in the middle of a multiple choice section, and you don't want to be bogged down reading those instructions! In particular, know that that section includes no negative answers and no mixed numbers, and that repeating/non terminating decimals can be rounded (at the last digit) or truncated.
  2. I always suggest the Barrons books because at the end of each practice test there's a grid. It tells you which questions tested which concepts. After you grade each practice test, highlight the ones you got wrong. List the topics that gave you trouble. After a few practice tests, you'll know which ones you need to brush up on.
  3. My other favorite resource is the book "Up your Score, the Insiders Guide to the SAT." It's all strategy, no questions. But the strategies are solid.
6

OP a score in the 1300’s is a great score to have and I think a realistic goal for a lot of students. Since you are scoring below 600 in math you should really focus on the basics and be willing to guess on the harder questions so you have more time to concentrate and do well on the easier questions. Do not rush through the test. Double check the easier questions. The difficulty goes from easy to hard until you hit the grid questions and then again the difficulty goes from easy to hard. From books I like PWN.