<p>I consistently score 800 verbal on practice tests but only 640-660 math. It seems to me that everyone in the world has the opposite problem! :) Does anyone know what to do?! I've wanted to be a writer since I could write, and math has never interested me. Because it appears that math might keep me from the top english programs, I am trying to learn to love it! What can I do to raise my score, and if I don't improve, what schools would accept me?</p>
<p>Tufts would!</p>
<p>hey what are your secrets, i envy those super-good verbals, oh and just so you know, if you can score 800 verbal a lot of colleges (im supposing tha tyou are going to study something related to verbal/politics/writing...) wont care about your math score. If you can actually get an 800 verbal they will really take note of that. Statistics show that many more people score 800's on math than verbal, so dont worry. And, go get BARRONS or PRs math study book and you can easily get a 700
PS PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SEcRETS TO GETTING AN 800 or are you just like a super-reader?</p>
<p>i can give you the secret to getting 800 in math, if you tell me how to get it in verbal, privately message me</p>
<p>yes please, me too...i always end up getting 750-800 on practice SATs...but only around 650 in Verbal...for some reason it's so hard for me to raise it, i guess its cuz english is my 2nd language and i've lived in U.S. since 1998, but since i want to apply to competitive schools I want to raise that Verbal so much...if you have any suggestions that would be wonderful...</p>
<p>Well, it helps that I've always been a voracious reader and writer because I simply enjoy it way more than math/science. Some people are just like that, who knows why. The only really tricky part on the verbal is the sentence completions, because of vocabulary. Even those who have extensive vocabularies sometimes don't know that one word they decide to put on the test. I've never had a question where I was unable to narrow my choices to two answers, and that's where having some understanding of word roots comes in handy. That would probably be my number one piece of advice-don't try to memorize too much vocabulary, unless you know you really need to. Instead, study roots and families of words; it really can help. In my case that was the difference between a 770 PSAT and 800 real deal. As far as reading comprehension goes, the questions are not hard, they are merely complex. They are going to want a certain answer, and yes they are going to throw in distracting answers that "could work" which aren't "the best choice". That's the clincher: they don't really care how well you can get into the head of the writer/understand the reading. They want you to understand THEIR logic. If you start thinking of it in that way, perhaps you can approach certain questions with greater success.</p>
<p>kate.....Depending on what you want to major in I believe you can get in anywhere. Remember that one of the most important aspects of your application are your essays. Use your essays to tie in your passions to whatever major you are going to take. Even try tying in your EC's (you never listed them) to show your passion for one particular subject.
My S has almost the same SAT score as you and got in to Williams.</p>
<p>Most colleges favor high verbal scores. That's because no matter what your major, it will be important to have good writing ability and reading comprehension. </p>
<p>The only colleges that favor high math scores are the tech colleges and schools.</p>
<p>Of course, if you're planning to major in science or math, any college would want you to have strong math scores, but your math scores are still fine for many colleges, even if you do plan to major in the sciences or in math.</p>
<p>same here, im excellent in languages and non-scientific stuff but as soon as a subject has something to do with using that calculator part of your brain my grade plunges down to hit rock bottom.
anyway what im worried about is that maths etc might drag my GPA down a helluva lot. would any top college disregard that (even if i get F's in maths... which i am getting right now btw) in favour of my very very high verbal etc ability if i wanna do political stuff or law or psychology?
sorry kate for hijacking your topic lol</p>
<p>speaking of maths im off to do some maths hwk now. cheerio!</p>
<p>With an 800 on the verbal and a 650 on the math, you can pretty much get into any university save MIT and CalTech. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you can improve your math by a few points, that would be great, but a 1400+ in your SAT is all it takes to be a respectable candidate for a top university. And if you can write good essays, your chances of getting into a top school would be greater than the chances of a student with higher math scores but weaker writing skills.</p>
<p>Kate - re: the roots of words - have you taken Latin in HS?</p>
<p>At my school we are required to take one term of latin, one term of french, and one term of Spanish as 6th graders. Then in 7th-9th grades we take three required years of language, of whichever one we choose. So I have in a sense taken some latin, but I chose to take four years of french instead. (one "extra" year) French is also helpful, I have found, for deciphering some vocabulary words as there was a large influx of french words into english.</p>
<p>Brandeis would take you! I got a 700 V and a 630 M and was accepted there yesterday. Your math score is FINE. (Unless your mission is to go to an Ivy)</p>
<p>Nick3333-Top colleges will understand your high verbal ability, but that's no excuse to get Fs in math. Try and make at least B minuses.</p>
<p>One of my kids scored 690+ in verbal plus 799 in SatII lit but could get no higher than 590 in math (she took the SAT 4 times...) She is a theater type and a great reader and excellent writer - but math killed her. She got into some great schools - just try to find which schools match your interests....and schools that stress english and literary studies such as Kenyon, Washington College, Goucher, and numerous other LAC's....also, I have found that playing the geography game is useful (i.e. if you lifve on the east coast - look at mid-west/west-based schools and vice versa...) - many schools strive to have a good mix regionally, economically, and racially so play into that.</p>
<p>P.S. I think your SAT scores are impressive - you're too hard on yourself.</p>
<p>Don't worry!!! I was in the same situation, and was accepted RD (three weeks early, no less!) to Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Of course, SATs aren't everything! Essays, recs, extra-curriculars are very important. I'm not too bad of a math student, though...I'm taking AP Calculus right now and I'm doing well. I wasn't much of a standardized test-taker, though.</p>
<p>I would suggest you look at small liberal arts schools that suit your interests. Sarah Lawrence, Bard and Mount Holyoke come to mind.</p>
<p>Anxiously waiting for good acceptance results with a verbal score of 770, math of 660 but an SAT II Math IIc of 760. Hoping the lopsidedness is okay. These messages are reassuring!</p>
<p>In "A for Admission," Michele Hernandez stated that a high verbal and a lower math score is received better than a high math and a lower verbal score because usually students have a higher math score as opposed to a higher verbal. So, I think that you should be fine, and you still have a shot at good schools.</p>
<p>Out of curiousity, what would the SAT equilavent to a 34 in reading comprehension and 35 in grammar (or whatever they call it) on the ACT be?</p>