<p>Ive been getting consistently in the 1930-1980 range on all the practice tests that ive taken (6+ by now) and i dont know how to get my score to jump the 2000 hurdle. ive already signed up for a twelve hour course that runs through December and January (taking my first SAT in january) but i'm not positive if that willl be enough to get me in teh 2200-2300 range I need. Any study tips, suggestions??</p>
<p>how about analyzing tests you’ve taken and mistakes you’ve done? I’m now preparing for SAT this way and starting from 1760 I’ve gone to ca. 2100
Have you tried it?</p>
<p>What’s your breakdown, from the practice tests? As in Math, Critical Reading, and Writing. On practice tests I’ve been scoring at 720 CR, 750 W, and 620 M. This is assuming my essay isn’t given a perfect score; the one I had the AP Lit/SAT Prep teacher read was supposedly “perfect,” but I don’t wanna’ bank on that. So if I took that as a fact, it’d be about a 780 W. Anyway, I think I’ve developed a really good CR strategy, but if you’re already doing fine in that area, I won’t bother explaining. Does anybody have any math tips to get that 620 of mine to a 650 before I take the SAT in January? It’ll be my first time, and I’m pushing it kind of close to a certain deadline, so any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I seem to be able to answer the easy problems without thinking, and some of the hard ones come naturally to me (or by process of elimination), but all of the other problems are… Murderous. Can anyone make a suggestion for help with that? </p>
<p>Sorry if I seem to have “hijacked” your thread, ahah… But maybe you’re struggling with the same things I am, who knows. Share your breakdown with us, it’ll make it easier to give you help(: If you’re struggling with CR, especially running out of time, I may be able to help(:</p>
<p>First, I read over them but i end up making similar mistakes, mainly on math.
Second, the tests pretty much run with writing being about a 750-800, CR 630-670, and Math being a 550-580 :(. Math doesn’t come naturally to me at all (its actually the main reason im doing the SAT class), but i would appreciate some critical reading tips. Time is never my issue, just those really tricky questions. As far as math goes, my problem solving skills are slow at best; ill bomb a question on the test, look at the answer and realize that i knew that i could have gotten it if id have tried it the second time instead of skipping.</p>
<p>With the math, if it doesn’t come to you right away, either skip it or take an educated guess, but put a star next to it so when you’re done, you go back to all the ones you starred and reread the question. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve misread a problem, which made the question seem really difficult, but when I reread it I completely understood how to do it. Also, there are many ways to solve any equation. You only have to think of 1 of them. Think abstractly, and think about all those different things that you know. For example, on the november SAT (which scores are coming out in 3 and a half days) there was a question about the slope of a line tangent to a circle. I didn’t know how to come up with it so I said “what do I know about tangent lines?” Then it came to me. Tangents are perpendicular to the radius that it touches. So then You find the slope of the radius based off of its center, and then make it the negative reciprocal and I had my answer. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. SAT is only looking at basic concepts, it is the abstract thinking that is needed.</p>
<p>I will have to agree with giatn4210. I know when I took the SATs the first, I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. I took some practice tests and found that I wasn’t reading the test questions properly, especially in math. Once I figured out that if I actually read the full question my test scores shot up. It also helps to be really familiar with the test. I know a friend of mine got a near perfect 2390, because of years of test preparation/ becoming really familiar with the test. Also don’t skip any questions.</p>
<p>PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. That’s how you do it. Repeat the ones you got wrong!!! :P</p>
<p>@EliKresses: u said u have developed a good CR strategy. can you please share it? and do u have any suggestions for improvement in the passages part of the CR?</p>
<p>I think it is easier to increase scores in Writing and Math. You only need to be careful and go over all the concepts</p>
<p>"PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. That’s how you do it. Repeat the ones you got wrong!!! 
"</p>
<p>What happy girl said!</p>
<p>The passage part of CR is where my strategy lies… Unlike on many other tests, you don’t need to read the passage. Sort of. </p>
<p>In a passage-based question, it’s generally laid out where the first… We’ll say… Six, of the problems, are referring to specific bits of the passage. The last 2 or so problems generally refer to the mood or tone of the passage. Since the lines of the passage are numbered, and for the first type of questions, where it asks about specific bits of the passage, and gives you the location in terms of the line number… Don’t read the passage until you hit the questions (generally the last 2 for the passage) that require you too. Doing this not only saves you time, but it clears your head and ensures you’re only basing your answer of the right material. One you’ve answered the first ~6 questions by not reading the passage and referring to the line numbers, read the passage, and answer the last ~2, which ask about mood, tone, diction, voice, stance, etc. </p>
<p>This is what I do, and while I’ve yet to take the SAT, in practice, I’ve went from a 670 CR to a 720 CR in 2 tests, so I’d say it works pretty well, especially if you’re struggling with time or the passages. Though it’s obvious, I’ll say it anyway, this gives you more time. You can use this time to check over your answers, answer blank questions, etc. </p>
<p>Now for non-passage-based questions, I can’t help much, other than to say that… 2 of the answer choices will generally have words that mean the near opposite of the correct one, and one will have a choice that’s close, but too awkward to be correct. It’s between the two left… Now this may not help you to choose between the two remaining answer choices, but knowing your stems/roots of words well will really help you eliminate the wrong answers quickly. </p>
<p>Hope I could help, and best of luck everyone(: Sorry for taking so long, I’m sick, plus I’ve been busy with APUSH.</p>