<p>Hi. I am currently studying for the SAT test and no matter what I do, i am stuck between the 1800-1900 zone. I have taken around 25 Official SAT Practice tests and tried studying vocabulary from Kaplan's and Gruber's books. I even downloaded apps on my phone to help me study. But I don't seem to be moving anywhere. </p>
<p>I think I am doing something wrong, but I don't know what. Can someone please help me?
Thank you so much :) </p>
<p>I don’t think that is a bad score at all! It is really good, anyways that is just my opinion. Get the Barron’s book and study from it on a daily basis. They have a comprehensive vocab list and tons of practice questions. It is a bit harder than the actual SAT exam, but that is good because you will find the test a piece of cake when you do it! Good luck</p>
<p>What do you suppose is your weakest category?</p>
<p>This are the books/infos that helped me raised my score from 1800 to the 2200-2300 range for 3 months (well, it’s is not official cuz I’m waiting for October to make it come true, but I consistently score in the mentioned range on my practice tests)</p>
<p>1, Say no to any test companies other than the College Board: Kaplan, BARRON’s (OMG!!!), Mcgraw,…
2, For vocab, learn all words you dont know from Direct Hits, past tests (those 25 tests you mentioned)
3, CR: “How to attack Critical Reading effectively” on this forum by noitaraperp, The critical reader (my friends said the book is really good. Haven’t tried myself though)
4, Writing: “How to have a 12 in just 10 days” (or sorts) by Academic Hacker on this forum. Google search for past real 12 essays and see how they wrote.
For multiple choice: The Ultimate Grammar Guide by Erica Meltzer. Rocket Review (excellent for essay, multiple choice writing, and good for CR)
5, Math: Not sure @@ Just keep practicing? I don’t know because I never had a problem with Math except for my carelessness.
6, REDO your tests. Some say it is a waste of time, but for me, I dont know how but by redoing the tests, I gained confidence in myself and, therefore, drastically increased my ability to do well on the SAT</p>
<p>Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>Don’t just aimlessly take the tests. For math, you should have a solid foundation in algebra and geometry. For writing, there’s a lot of grammar rules and tricks you should learn and memorize. Reading takes the longest time to improve, and it’s just about practice. There’s lots of strategies you could utilize as well, such as reading the first sentence of each paragraph and skimming through the rest. Maybe read some good books when you’re not studying for the SAT. All my friends who are readers tend to naturally perform in the 700s for reading. Don’t worry - my first practice test was a 1900 during the summer before junior year. I just kept doing practice tests and even re-did most of them. Got a 2120 in November, studied every day during my 3-week winter break, and finally a 2310 in January.</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone.
I will try to get the books and keep practicing. I am currently weakest in the CR section but I guess the only way to improve now is to do the tests over and over again.</p>
<p>Mind I ask why is it advisable to only stick to CollegeBoard’s books? And is it advisable to go out and take SAT classes or is self-studying enough?</p>
<p>SAT classes are good only if you don’t have motivation to study on your own.
Collegeboard books are the closest prep materials you have for the SAT. Other brands don’t know how to exactly replicate tests; most questions turn out to be ambiguous or just hard to understand.
Follow @phongtheha’s advice, it works. Over the course of a few months, I went from 218 on the PSAT to 2390.
Good luck prepping!!!</p>
<p>@Dream0n Thank you so much.
And yes, I will follow @Phongtheha 's advice. </p>
<p>:)</p>