How to improve my score??

Hello everyone! I am currently a Junior in NJ! My school’s curriculum is quite rigorous; one of the top schools in the state. I am in all Honors/AP courses, and maintain a very high GPA. However, my SAT score is horrendous. On the PSAT Sophomore year, I got a depressing 139. CR 45, M 51, W 43. I took the PSAT again Junior year, and my scores did increase to a 157. CR 46, M 62, W 49. I took the SAT in March with little practice, and it was lower than my Junior year PSAT score. I got a 1540. CR 46, M 57, W 51 w/ Essay: 8. I am quite disappointed with my results on the PSAT/SAT so far. I know I can do so much better. I do practice tests in the “blue book” and easily get 60+ in CR, 65+ M, and 60+ W. My goal is to break the 2k mark. I have no idea what to do! I need some advice. My dream schools are UCLA and NYU, and to get into either of these schools you at least need a 2k. Please help me! I need advice! Thank you.

Hey! I was in a similar situation as you when I first took the SAT.I’m currently a sophomore/junior (technically sophomore age because I skipped a grade), and started preparing for the SAT in the beginning of Freshman year. Well, kind of. I only did practice problems and reviewed them to see what I did wrong; I never really reviewed my mistakes. To be honest, the writing and critical reading section was quite arduous for me. When I first took the practice test for grammar, I only got HALF of the questions correct. YES HALF! Also, my essays weren’t stellar. I had my teachers grade my essay, and I would only receive 7-8. This would correlate to a 500, if that (LOL). During the summer of my Freshman year leading into my sophomore year, I STUDIED STUDIED STUDIED. I meant hardcore study. I went over all the grammar rules that were provided by CC, and I read some guides on how to write the essays. I can’t find the grammar guide, by I know you’ll be able to find it easily. Here’s the essay guide: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-to-write-a-12-essay-in-just-10-days-p1.html I USED THE BLUE BOOK, WHICH WAS KEY TO MY SUCCESS. I currently have two blue books; one was for general studying, and the other one was for reviewing in the weeks that lead up to the test. The first “official” test was my sophomore PSAT, which I took last year, October 2014. My scores are as follow: 53 CR, 61 WR, and 80M. Even though my math score was really high, I was devastated by my other scores. I was in a state of abysmal, because I really didn’t know what to do. I kind of just gave up, because I didn’t know if I could actually break the 2k mark. Originally, I thought I was going to take the January SAT, however I procrastinated and rescheduled it to March, the same date you took it. Leading up to this test, I studied all the materials again, with an emphasis on critical reading and writing (a mistake, which you will see later). I belabored the vocabulary words and grammar rules until I could recite them in my head. For CR, I recommend trying to predict the question before looking at the choices. Also, here’s a guide that LITERALLY SAVED ME. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-to-attack-the-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html Even though I discovered this guide 3 weeks prior to the test, I was still able to dramatically increase my critical reading score. I raised my score from a 53 CR to a 660!!! Even though this isn’t a stellar score, I really couldn’t believe the improvement! Currently, I’m practicing very hard, and am trying to break the 700 mark. For writing, with hard work and dedication, I was able to go from a 61 psat to a 720! A book that I will recommend is “The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar” by Erica L. Meltzer. As a fellow Asian, I know that grammar can be difficult for us (not trying to stereotype), however you can see that anything is possible. For math, which was very surprising, I only received a 720. Lesson learned: never study only certain parts of the SAT. Not to be haughty, but I was already pretty good at math, so I didn’t need any specific materials and/or guides to help me improve my score.

Overall. here’s what I recommend:

Since you’re a Junior, START STUDYING RIGHT NOW FOR THE OCTOBER SAT!!! Use the time during your summer wisely. I don’t mean you should study 24/7, but take 2-3 hours our everyday to go over all the problems that the SAT encompasses. For reading and writing, it’s all about PRACTICE. As you can see, I went from a 400-500 WR to a 61 PSAT, to a 720 SAT, and I’m STILL practicing to hopefully get a 750+ in June or October. For Critical Reading, PRACTICE!! Go over all the vocabulary words. I recommend going on quizlet and typing SAT vocabs. I used direct hits 1 & 2 and Princeton Review’s vocabulary book. I know that my reading score isn’t the best, however with persistence I will be able to get over a 700, and SO WILL YOU! For math, I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ve started studying extensively for that section as well. It seems like you’re also pretty good at math, so I would believe it’ll be pretty easy for you to get over 700. AS LONG AS YOU’RE DEDICATED AND PASSIONATE, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Oh, and if you can afford a private tutor, that would be great! I didn’t have a private tutor who specialized in SAT, however I had my teachers. Even though most teachers don’t have much experience with the SAT, they are still able to tell you what’s wrong with that sentence, or how to do a specific math problem. I’m also applying NYU and UCLA, and I hope that we can both get in!

@dc3225 Thank you so much for this post! I appreciate it tremendously!

Oh, and a reason you might be scoring higher on Blue Book tests is because you’re less stressed out; you’re in an environment that’s not as stressful and high-pressure as that in the test room. So another advice I can give you is: BE CONFIDENT, DON’T STRESS OUT, AND DON’T OVER THINK YOUR ANSWERS. This was also KEY to my success. For critical reading, even though I felt like some problems were really difficult, I kept telling my “It’s fine, just keep moving, it’s only one question. You can always retake the test. You can do it.” Just give yourself confidence, and you will naturally do a lot better. Also, don’t set up a requirement. It’s nice to have a GOAL, but don’t expect a score or have a “minimum”. That helped me get through the test because I knew that whatever score I got, it will reflect the hard work I’ve put in thus far. Good luck on your future endeavors, and hopefully we can both score higher on the SAT!