Help! My sat and act scores do not reflect my full capacity.
I am a straight A and B (only 2 B’s) student. I have a 3.73 GPA unweighted and a 4.56 weighted. I have been in honors since freshman year (all classes) and am taking my first AP’s this year (Apush , AP English Lang, AP Spanish Lang)
I haven’t taken AP’s any years prior to this year (my junior year) because my school only allows certain groups of students to have AP’s during freshman and sophmore year, which I think is completely unfair but whatever. However, I took the PSAT and I got a 1730. Pretty good but I thought I could raise it up in time for the actual sat. I took the sat and got a 1670. I was clearly disappointed but also realized that the sat was for more math people . therefore, I decided to give the ACT a chance.the first time I took it I got a 23. Ok. That’s what I got my Sophmore year for the PLAN so I was also disappointed. I had hopes I could raise it up and took it again. I got a 22 the second time. I don’t understand what is happening. I am a great student and am dedicated to studying. The PLAN that I took sophmore year said that it estimated I would get a 26-28 on the actual ACT. I have been studying for it since freshman year. I honestly don’t know what else to do because I feel like I’ve let my family down since they have been paying for extremely expensive tutoring. Any words of advice? I will take both the SAT and ACT again in June and that’s the last time I will take them during the 2014-2015 school year (so while I still am a junior). PLEASE HELP!!!
Ps: I also took the us history subject test and the Spanish language subject test . the us history one was hard but only because I didn’t actually study for it at all. But the Spanish one was really easy.
SAT is counter intuitive (it's a standardized test)
Don’t worry though, I did the same thing. I took my first SAT cold because I was wayyyyyyy too overconfident. I bombed with a 1760. For me, such a low score motivated me to try harder and find some reason to do better. After finding out that people who smoke pot and partied all day did better than me, I went nuts and prepared for the SATs more than I have any other test. I took the test last Sunday and I have a good feeling that I’ve improved ~250 points.
For a tip, the SAT isn’t something that people ace on their first attempt blindfolded. Practice practice practice! (Get a blue book) There’s a certain way SAT has to ask certain types of questions, and once you get the hang of it, the test becomes easy.
Moreover, most prep classes are not useful unless you lack material that you should already know by now and have no motivation. Self discipline and self motivation works wonders for these kinds of tests."
The quoted post above probably doesn’t apply much to you, but might be somewhat useful.
I know you said you’ve been studying, but are you doing it right? Do you know why you keep getting questions wrong? Collegeboard must ask SAT questions the same way until the new format, so once you get used to it, it shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure to time yourself too.
Motivation is probably the most important though.
Practice MUST come from the blue book. Don’t use other company’s generated questions. Actually do the questions and don’t worry about reading the whole book. The questions are more important.
General Tips:
English - Read whole passage, and then go back when lines are referred.
Math - READ CAREFULLY, know geometry
Writing - Be careful with the longer part of the MC. Know parallel structure, are/is when plural/singular, false comparison (The wall of building a is darker than building b is an example that is wrong), ect.
Essay: Use a 5 paragraph format; Intro, 3 bodies of 1 example each, and Conclusion. Take up ALL the spaces, the full 2 pages. B/c it’s a standardized test and college board hates being accused of being elitist, they cannot fact check anything (they must check EVERY fact with the same degree if they do), so make up examples to use.
MARPMER IT LOOKS LIKE UR IN NEED OF HELP! MAYDAY MAYDAY ALERT! I have no words of advice but thank god ur done with the chino. good luck on the next sat. May the fourth be with you.
I’m just curious if you are in a competitive high school? Is there a possibility that there is severe grade inflation at your high school leading you to have a distorted sense of your academic ability in relation to other academically inclined students. I’m not trying to be nasty here. The disconnect between the two is pretty startling and you are getting tutored! It doesn’t make sense unless you just completely flake out during the tests because of nerves.
The SAT is not a test for intelligence @educateddarcy. If it was, you would not be able to test prep to bring it up. The SAT is about tricks and it’s more of a game. This is not a reflection of how hard the school is. I know someone who got a 5 on the AP Lit exam who just barely got a 600 on the SAT CR section. That’s the problem with the SAT.
I’m actually just like you. I have a weighted GPA of 4.571, and rank 11 out of 109 in my class. I’m in NHS, takes mostly honors classes, etc; however, I got a 21 on my ACT the first time I took it (I’m also retaking it in June).
You didn’t mention what your practice score was. My practice score was a 28. If your practice score was significantly higher, I assume you have testophobia (like me). The only thing I can really recommend is to relax. When you’re retaking the ACT, just think of it like any usual chapter test in one of your classes at school. It will significantly relieve the pressure, and you never know, you may do better!
My advice to you is to take practice tests every chance you get before the two tests and go over them with your tutor. Maybe switch tutors. You have the whole summer to take practice tests. I also like the advice that three redheads gave you. Go into the test knowing there are really good schools that don’t even care about your standardized test scores. Good luck!