<p>I'm trying to get a 650 in Math and apparently I have a major difficulty answering the hard math problems. I'm not very good with geometry, functions, and don't know shortcuts when it comes to median problems and usually right out all 100 numbers. I generally do o.k. with medium problems but the hard ones really bother me. I've done countless amounts of SAT practice tests but don't have anything positive to show. Any tips would be helpful</p>
<p>Hey! Didn’t I just help you out on another thread? </p>
<p>Anyways, the SAT Math is about three things: mastery of the material - algebra, geometry, number theory, counting/probability (this gets you about 60% of the way there); familiarity with the SAT test (another 20%); and finally, creativity, patience and speed (this is three things but you really need all three to get past the 80% mark). It seems that you’re about 70-80% of the way there. The biggest thing I would advise is that you get your hand on as many SAT Math problems as possible. Since your goal is to attain 650+ and since you have already done countless SAT math problems, this could mean resorting to non-College Board material (ex. Barron’s, PR, Kaplan, Gruber’s, etc.). You won’t get accurate scores and may even get problems that will rarely be on the actual SAT. But, you will get practice.</p>
<p>Besides for that, I would recommend that you familiarize yourself with the handful of concepts that you’ll probably never learn in school (or will be vaguely covered) but will show up on the SAT including but certainly not limited to: the Triangle Inequality Theorem, special right triangles, common Pythagorean triples and their multiples, Heron’s Formula and special factorizations. Knowledge and mastery of these types of special concepts (which are not too difficult, just frequently missed in the school curriculum) will ensure that you ascend the score ladder, up from the 600s and even into the 700s.</p>
<p>Hope this helps! Feel free to message me with any other questions! Good Luck! :)</p>
<p>A lot of SAT problems tend to have multiple solutions, and one of them may be much faster than the other. Very rarely do you ever need to list out all the cases to a counting problem (I posted an SAT-like problem on another thread: How many positive four-digit integers have strictly increasing digits?). Finding the most elegant solution will save you time for the harder problems. Of course, this takes some creativity and practice.</p>