How to get a 2300+?!

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I'm going to be a junior in september but my mom's expecting a 2300 :(
I'm taking the October SAT...it's probably a little early and impossible to get a 2300 lol...i myself would be happy with a 2200, then 2300 next October, but my mom bribed me with a Macbook Pro ^_^''
I've been begging for months so she struck this deal with me...</p>

<p>So far I've only been getting 2000+...I haven't broken the 2100's yet, but my highest was 2080. I suck most a reading...my highest was probably around 640 or something, lol -_-
My best score in math was around 700. And my best score in writing was 740.</p>

<p>Reading is the worst...I can never fully concentrate and grasp the passages, esp. the science ones, since they don't interest me AT ALL.
My math, I'm improving in...I think it's just slight errors that are killing me but with more review I should get 750+.</p>

<p>I have DH and it's working, I'm getting less wrong on the CR but how do I improve passage reading? Is it really just practice? I have 1 month of summer left and a little less than a month during September, but I only have weekends + Fridays since I need to focus on schoolwork...</p>

<p>So I guess my main problem is reading. How do I get it up to at least 700? And for writing, I usually miss about 4. My essays are usually 11's and 12's (I have an SAT writing teacher who grades them) but how do I stop missing those few grammar errors? Also, for math what's the best way to aim for an 800? I would like full score writing and math and 700 reading...
Does anyone know how many I can miss in reading to get a 700? </p>

<p>And also, how accurate are the Princeton Review 12 Practice Tests? Is Kaplan accurate also?</p>

<p>I have the Blue Book and I'm going to work on those tests last as a last minute touching up after I go through the 12 tests.</p>

<p>Please help :( Is there some kind of strategy to the reading? Like what should I be underlining in passages? Also, I'm kind of a slow reader so how do I keep pace..?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance! :D I really want to make my mom proud ^_^ </p>

<p>Also, what's the best book for CR? Idk if books help...or are practice tests more effective???</p>

<p>T_T</p>

2

<p>You can’t turn a 2000 person into a 2300 person.</p>

<p>Even with hard study, the score you get will approximate your true ability. You can’t decide in advance that you want a 2300. </p>

<p>That being said, my kid raised his ACT from a 31 to a 34 with no study, and his 720 in CR to an 800 with no study, and his math from a 660 to a 700 with no study, so if you keep taking the exams, you will no doubt improve each time, due to mere familiarity with the exam.</p>

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<p>First off all, that’s nutty, tell your mom that you will make SMALL steps. Not large leaps. Like her that she should set her goals at 2200+</p>

<p>And practice.</p>

4

<p>Rutgershopeful,
I’ve written this guide and been posting it nonstop on the forums. Its helped a lot of people (including myself) and I hope it helps you too.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Passage-Based Questions:
Let me start by telling you I have the same problem. I can’t stand my friends who tell me “it just comes to them naturally.” I’ve done a lot of improvement on CR myself. I’m in the process of going for the 800 on CR right now. The best advice I can give you is you need to do them untimed at first. You can’t expect to just rush in head strong with 25 minutes and to analyze everything - its impossible. Slowly take it at your own pace. Do about 2 to 3 sections of isolated CR per day. You must go slow. Whether its the lengthy dual comparative you’re facing or just analyzing a small article, you must go slow. Really read, and then answer the question. Plain and simple. I’ve found that underlining the groups of lines can help (lets say a question says referring to lines 5-9, go underline those and pay attention to them whilst reading). Now, lets attack the biggest problem: You’re looking at the selected amount of lines, you’re looking at the entire passage, you just can’t narrow any, or at best 2 answer choices out. Now what? Remember: the answer is staring back at you. Here is why you don’t want time pressure at first: you can calmly assess the answer choices and clear your head at this point. Cliche, but I just take a deep breath and count to 10 nice and slowly. I’ll look back at the question and attack it THEN. Don’t stress yourself with time because you just won’t improve as fast as you want, or, need. I know this sounds cheesy and you might be thinking “I’m no idiot, Aceventura74 has no idea what he’s thinking! He’s helping people who get 400s get a 500…” This method helped me go from 450 to 730. So I’m speaking to you if you’re going for 1800 or 2400 my friend. Seriously, get rid of time, do isolated sections, and don’t just brush over the answer explanation. Read EVERY WRONG EXPLANATION. Don’t be like “Oh I knew it was b or d, its no problem” and hurry up. This will take a lot of time. But soon you’ll be getting that constant 700 you want.</p>

<p>Sentence Completions:</p>

<p>Ah, another thing I hate. I’m a math man. I can learn any formula and navigate, factor, and graph in my head. Give me a _______ in a sentence and I’m a deer caught in headlights; or at least I used to be. Direct Hits is the way to go. If you have a long time (1 year or 6 months+) get a hold of Barron’s Gigantic flash card set. Not sure if its still printed, but I recall hearing about a large set; about 3000 or 5000. If you memorize those words, you won’t ever be guessing, i assure you that my friend. But, if you’re like most people, you’re pressed for time, because you’re a genius who started studying last minute =P (guilty of that myself…for multiple exams xD). Get Direct Hits. I know people “rave” about these “awesome 100 (or small #) of flash cards that are GREAT!” BS. Direct Hits has a 70% “hit rate;” meaning 70% of the words show up and most students excel. So, get the Direct Hits books and start studying. Hope I helped, best of luck my friend !</p>

<p>~Aceventura74</p>

5

<p>Don’t listen to those who say you can’t make it. I went from a 1800 in practice tests to 2310 on the real thing. Now maybe that’s because I am an A student and just got familiar with the test but I know that without studying I could not have done it. I also had the most trouble with the reading sections. The best thing you can do is to just do a couple reading passages each day. Learn to focus and time yourself better each time. Now I had the privilege of a SAT Prep center where they helped me analyze my choices and tell me why they were incorrect. Although it’s much easier with a tutor, it is possible to analyze and correct yourself. All in all, the only way to improve is to keep practicing. Wish you the best of luck!</p>

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<p>Yeah, you can definitely you do it floridadad is 100% wrong.</p>

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<p>Math: Before you go on to the next question, read the question again. Make sure you are giving what the question is asking for.</p>

<p>CR: Keep practicing. Always go over why a question was wrong or right. Make sure you get it.</p>

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<p>Floridadad has some truth, however, he is probably only 40% right. It depends on dedication. However, the SAT isn’t a test where you can do large leaps at a high score.</p>

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<p>One technique you could try for reading is to not time yourself as you do all the sections. Focus on what’s the right answer rather than trying to get as many as you can in the time limit. Eventually start setting time limits. But by then you should have better grasp of what’s right.</p>

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<p>To respectfully disagree, it is definitely achievable, especially when superscored. I have seen 1800s become 2250 + with minimal studying simply with retaking the exams. Just study!</p>

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<p>I wish that would happen ^</p>

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<p>thanks for the encouragement :smiley:
well a macbook is WAY over what we normally spend on a single laptop, so my mom wants me to work my butt off for it :/</p>

<p>so is it really just practice makes perfect?
and will reading NY Times help?</p>

<p>also, how do you guys deal with the questions asking for the author’s tone? i suck on those b/c i can never choose between 2 :frowning: i’m such a bad guesser and test-taker…</p>

<p>also, how do you guys suggest i practice for the CR? should i do the CR parts of the practice tests timed, then try to figure out why i got the ones i got wrong? i find the explanations for the reading is very brief. sometimes it just says something like, “the author uses the word ‘dreary’ and ‘gloomy’ to convey that he’s sad, so the answer’s D.” But how do you pick out those tiny little words in a whole passage?! D: </p>

<p>btw, good luck to you all taking the SATs too! :slight_smile: let’s all get into our dream colleges.</p>

<p>and what is the most i can get wrong to get at least a 700?
also, i read in one of the posts that when practicing i should only give myself 70% of the time given. like if it gives 25 minutes, give yourself 17.5 minutes. should i get used to doing that or just give myself the allotted 25?</p>

<p>also, will just studying DH volume 1+2 for the vocab part be enough?</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Yes practice makes perfect, but the only practice tests you should do are the ones from the BB since they are the only truly reliable source of practice tests, and don’t exhaust those too quickly.</p></li>
<li><p>Reading any type of magazine or books of a higher reading level will help you in the long run.</p></li>
<li><p>For the tone questions…I don’t usually get those wrong so I guess it just comes naturally to me. All you can do for those is practice or look in a prep book.</p></li>
<li><p>To practice for CR, start off by doing isolated sections from practice tests UNTIMED. Try to get all of them right no matter how long it takes you and then go over them and understand all of the ones you get wrong. Then move on to timed tests.</p></li>
<li><p>In order to get a 700, the raw score varies, I don’t know exactly for each section, but for math its something like 4 or 5 wrong? Just check in the back of the BB on one of the previously administered exams.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t start trying to do the tests faster than normal until you are comfortable enough with the material. If you can’t get the answer in 25 minutes, you definitely won’t be able to get it in 17 minutes so there is no sense in doing that.</p></li>
<li><p>DH is great, but if you want to go farther, get the Barron’s list of over 3000 words and you will never guess. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope I helped :)</p>

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<p>DUDE, I am also a rising junior, taking a SAT class, getting 2000s, not breaking 2100(yet), being bribed with a laptop, going for a 2300+, bad at CR, but good at math and writing. I am literally astonished. Also, I am getting better, I am starting to consistently break 700 on the CR section.
My advice:
1.Continue with vocab. If it is getting tedious while reading the book, take practice tests and just write down and look up words you don’t know.
2. For the Passages, this is a really good strategy I developed after looking around, Scan the questions, look for line ref, mark them on the passage, after you’re done doing this(as fast as possible) read the whole passage, including the blurb at the top. Read it fast, but not too fast(since you are not a strong reader, continue to practice with practice questions and you’ll get better). When you get to a place you marked, go straight to the question and answer it. After you’re done, you only have the gen questions left. Answer them to the best of your ability, which is not that difficult because by then you have a general feel for the passage.
3. For the double passage, again practice makes perfect! For the shorter double passage, just read the passage and do the questions in that order since it’s shorter and easier to remember. For the longer ones, do the aforementioned strategy.
4. For the Writing section, if you cannot identify an error, mark it as no error. Don’t try to invent one in your head because it usually just messes you up. Find a general SAT grammar guide(Silverturtle’s is amazing) and just memorize all the rules. After that, you can consistently break 750 like me =D.</p>

<p>For now that is all my advice. I still have trouble with the hard math questions, but I’m working out the kinks. Even though it may sound clich</p>