Hey guys! I’m a rising senior who took the SAT in December of my junior year and scored a 2370 (800 CR 770 M 800 W). If you guys are taking the old SAT from the fall months to January 2016, I have some tips that worked for me that might help you. If you’re taking the new SAT from beyond January, I hope these still might work. Good luck and I hope you find some resources that will help you too!
Before I go in depth for each section, I just wanna say taking practice tests is SO important. Get the Collegeboard Blue Book and keep periodically taking practice tests and it will help you so much for your comfort level for the test and ultimately improve your score!
For the Writing section, I used Erica Meltzer’s Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492353299/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1495933180&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0E21Q1BZZBCBMKPZYS1N) to score an 800. Honestly, other people on this site can attest to Erica Meltzer being the best of the best resource to writing. In school, I never really learned grammar and sucked at it in the beginning, but by reading her book I basically learned everything I needed to know to do perfectly on this section and improve my writing skills in general. If you know nothing or very little about grammar and want to do well, this is the book to get.
For the Critical Reading section, I didn’t do as much for Writing, but I did use Erica Meltzer again for her Critical Reader (http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Reader-Erica-L-Meltzer/dp/1479224715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439839368&sr=1-1&keywords=erica+meltzer+critical+reading). I realized just now she also has a new one for the New SAT (http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Reader-2nd-Erica-Meltzer/dp/1515182061/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439839427&sr=1-2&keywords=erica+meltzer+critical+reading). Hopefully she will have a New SAT version for her writing book as it is the best! Anyway, for Critical Reading, there isn’t a ton you can do besides maybe get this book and a few others and KEEP READING. Read books, newspapers, any high-level reading you can get your hands on. For the SAT, you need to be a fast and efficient reader and still comprehend those long passages. If you can get your natural reading abilities up, you’ll already have a great start into this section. Some people say it’s the hardest section, but it’s really not that difficult if you can read well and find those key points in the passage. Remember, every question’s answer can be found IN THE PASSAGE. It’s as simple as that. You just need to find it quickly, don’t second-guess yourself too much, and move on.
For Math, I’ll admit that I took a class for this and did not self-study as I did for the English portions of the test. However, the Pwn the SAT site helped me immensely for questions I didn’t understand (pwnthesat(.)tumblr(.)com). This guy REALLY knows his stuff and his answers are clear and can clear up any questions you have about the Blue Book Math section. Though I never used it, I heard his book is really good (http://www.amazon.com/PWN-SAT-Guide-Mike-McClenathan/dp/1495933180/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439839664&sr=1-1&keywords=pwn+the+sat) and it will really break down the fundamentals of the Math section for you. Remember, the Math section isn’t technically hard at all. It more tests your ability to think about the questions rather than how much trig you remember or if you can do complex formulas and theories. Once you get those basics down, you are set for the Math section.
Good luck to my standardized test-takers of 2015-2016! You will be amazing and remember, a test score doesn’t define you. Try your best and don’t be too hard on yourself. The SAT doesn’t measure your intelligence but rather how well you can learn to take one test. Hopefully these books and tips will help you score what you want. I’m rooting for all of you and don’t hesitate to comment or PM me if you have any questions!
it’s so frustrating when prep books are too expensive. However, I’ll tell you this – my friend scored a 2300+ using just the Blue Book. She took each practice test and gradually found her weaknesses through the tests and improved on them. It is possible to study for the SAT using just the Blue Book, in my opinion. If you continually check on your mistakes with each test and work on them, I’m sure you’ll do great. Other than that, perhaps you can find some of these books at a cheaper site? Maybe EBay or a used copy from Amazon will give you a cheaper price. You can probably find these books used somewhere. Just dig a little on the internet!