How to improve your SAT by 400 points ???

wOoOw I just realized how many questions I ask on CC…
I’m going to be a junior this fall and I was wondering how can I improve my SAT score by 400 points ?
Tips for SAT study plans/ how to study for the SAT during the school year

Some important (??) information

  • I’ve been scoring around 1100s to 1200 ( my best score so far is 1220 but I took one today and got a 1110)
  • My math is around 580-600 & Reading/Writing is within the 530-580 range
  • I’m not too concerned about National Merit but if there is any way to bump up my scores enough before October then that’s cool
  • Taking AP classes this year
  • Will be going to an SAT prep class for 3 weeks next week
  • Have been using Khan Academy
  • I want to be done with SAT testing by the end of my junior year
  • My target score is 1520+

I cannot recommend Khan Academy enough. I have literally done almost every single question on that site and now on the past two practice tests I got a 1550&1580. The key is to figure out why you are missing those questions, for example in math if you make a lot of dumb mistakes then make sure to take 5 seconds to review your work. A really big way to improve your score is to do really well on the writing section as that will take off a lot of pressure from the reading. If time is a big issue then try to figure out what you could do to be faster. I think if you studied a bit every weekend and really focused you could make great improvement.

Wow, I do not mean to be a naysayer at all or imply you can’t do it, but a 400 point jump seems rather drastic. How much time do you have until you test? It depends on that. I tried a SAT prep class because my high school doesn’t offer Math after sophomore year, but in my experience they can only take you so far as to teach you formulae and how to go about certain questions. At the end of the day, it comes down to PRACTICE on your behalf.

I used Barron’s 1600, Barron’s SAT, Kaplan (do not recommend at all), PR and College Board (don’t really recommend this either, it’s not good for content review). Barron’s in particular has a lot of questions that are more difficult than the real SAT, so if you get the hang of those you should be set. Good luck!

I assume you are talking pretend test results, not actual tests?
Your upcoming PSAT is probably going to be your best predictor, work for it like it matters.
Try the ACT. You might like the format better.
Don’t take cold tests, prep for any tests like they are a one time thing. You are wise to be preparing now IMO. A kid with such a big AP load should be scoring higher though.

I’m taking the PSAT this fall and taking my first official SAT on March 10th next year.

Alright, so I’ve been reading a lot on SAT scores and in particular seeing where I can push myself as high as I can go. There are definitely ways you can prep to get significant increases. What’s significant? Well, it comes down to a few factors. Bear with me.

One recent article I read (https://opencourser.com/post/8xtrxo/practice-taking-the-sat-with-khan-academy-increase-your-scores) looked at using Khan Academy as a prep tool. On average, they found a 115 point increase, which basically means going from 50th percentile → 68th percentile. Not bad!

You have to assume that these gains widen as you move down the percentile chart (someone starting at 25th percentile will probably see stronger gains) vs. someone at the 75th percentile.

Well, mindlescat, my friend, that’s where you score. 1220 is about the 75th percentile, which is pretty decent already.

The problem is though that to make additional gains, you probably have to work much harder. And since you’re looking to score at the 95th percentile-ish or higher, you’re going to need to have a laser-focused game plan.

Since you only have a month before your test date, I’d set more reasonable expectations. For your first real test, shoot for a 1400. Once you’ve had a chance to calibrate yourself, aim to retake again in April, which will give you plenty of time to brush up on weaknesses.

You said you’re going to a prep class, which is fine. That should give you a nudge. What you really need to do is do a TON of practice questions and up your reading and writing. As anyone can tell you though, R/W is really hard to grind up. Naturally it takes time to get good at reading, but it’s possible to work intensively on vocab now and inundate yourself with a lot of reading (not just SAT passages, but dense articles you might enjoy… dig around on the net you’ll find something).