<p>Hello, to the College Confidential community (especially those with 2300+ SAT scores),</p>
<p>I am one of those people who is really good at math, but I struggle a bit in writing, but especially critical reading.</p>
<p>Here are my scores/other information. How can I improve, what strategies do you have, and anything else that could help me?</p>
<p>By the way, I am a sophomore as of around Late August of 2014.</p>
<p>SAT scores:</p>
<p>Math: 800
CR: 640 (I really need help! I know that I can study vocabulary, but I really need to know how to answer the passage-based questions, as this is where I think I need the most help. Also, when should I skip...and something more than "when you are unsure"...like when specifically, and how many can I skip to get a good score like 750?)
Writing: 720 (77 on MC, 10 on essay)</p>
<p>I've only taken 1 SAT Subject Test: Math II: 800...I'm taking AP Calc BC</p>
<p>I just really need to improve in critical reading, especially since I want to have a competitive advantage when applying to hard computer science schools where the top 25% is like 780 in CR...and also writing...I need to improve...</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>I suggest you buy Erica Meltzer’s book “The Critical Reader”. If you’re skeptical, go to her website first and see what you think; she has a lot of free info there. </p>
<p>@CHD2013 Thanks! That website does have a lot of info, even without purchasing the book!</p>
<p>If you’re a rising sophomore (which it looks like based on your post), you’re already pretty solid. CR should improve just from being in school because some of the required reading is likely to boost your comprehension significantly. Other than that, just keep reading a variety of stuff and do untimed Blue Book tests. This will improve your accuracy. Then, after reaching close to 100% accuracy, you can revert back to timed tests to improve your timing. Also, try not to skip questions - (you’re good at math, calculate the expected value of missing/skipping/getting the question correct once you’re down to 2 or 3 options…trust me, you’re better off guessing).</p>
<p>For writing, are you sure you received a 77 MC and 10 essay to score a 720? A 10 essay should either help you or not affect your score at all; rarely should it hurt you and that too, by such a large amount (50 points). But as far as tips go for Writing, try to read the sentence out loud during practice (and then internalize your voice and do it in your head on the actual test) and that should by itself get you close to an 800. The rest will be tricky grammar questions that can be mastered through practice and review of grammar rules. Make sure that you consistently get that 10 on the essay, though - it’s a nice boost to have if you fall shy of a perfect and it is enough (with a perfect MC score) to get an 800.</p>
<p>And math…well you already have that 800 and you’re doing Calc BC as a sophomore. You should have no trouble getting an 800 again; just don’t make simple mistakes.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks @EngineBus2015 ! And yes, I’m sure of my 720…I was somewhat shocked too…According to the score report, I missed 1 medium difficulty question and 2 hard questions…maybe the curve wasn’t too good…???idk…but thanks for your critical reading tips!!!</p>
<p>@EngineBus2015 Also, I didn’t skip any in writing.</p>
<p>@EngineBus2015 For reference, my twin brother took it too, and he got 3 difficult questions wrong, skipped none, and 9 on his essay…and he got a 690…I was honestly quite shocked (although that was my first time breaking 700 in writing, I definitely thought my essay deserved more than a 10, and my overall writing score should’ve been higher)</p>
<p>Guys, I might have made a mistake…I just checked my scores, and idk why i said 77…idk where i got that number…all I know is that I got 46 questions right out of the 49 questions…idk what the system out of 80 is…could someone explain? thanks</p>
<p>I don’t remember my scaled score out of 80…how do I calculate it?</p>
<p>I know this: I got 1 medium difficulty question wrong, and 2 hard difficulty questions wrong…so 46/49…so my scaled score would be______/80?</p>
<p>@performante If you go to your score report and click on the Writing section (from the tabs at the top), the multiple choice and essay score will be right under the overall Writing score (upper left hand corner). 3 wrong is probably around a 70 or 71 MC score (maybe slightly lower since it looks like the curve on your test was somewhat tough).</p>
<p>@EngineBus2015 OHHHHH ok thanks! I just checked, and I got 70 :-/ Hah I guess I really need to improve now!</p>
<p>@performante Nah you’re fine… don’t stress. Just for reference, I got 3 off on Writing MC on two different test administrations before getting an 800 on the third try. I didn’t do anything different between each test (I only concentrated on CR since I started out fairly low at the beginning of junior year - lower than where you are actually) and still got the perfect on the Writing section on the third try. Sometimes it’s just luck and your brain’s tendency to overthink, but just to be sure of a solid score, I would recommend that you ensure familiarity with grammar rules and patterns. Good Luck and feel free to message me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>@EngineBus2015 </p>
<p>What was your final SAT breakdown when you applied to college (unless you’re a rising senior)?</p>
<p>If your CR was good at the end, what strategies did you use?</p>
<p>Compared to some of the people on CC I wouldn’t say my CR score is stellar - but it’s a step up from where I used to be. I am a rising senior, but I’m done with SAT prep with a final breakdown of M 800, W 800, CR 720. To prepare for CR, I personally found that taking AP Lang junior year helped A LOT because we not only did difficult multiple choice tests (college level, designed by the College Board but much harder than SAT CR), but we also had to analyze various types of passages for their literary attributes (ex. how style influences meaning) and write timed analysis essays. So, if you have the opportunity to take this class during junior year, take it. Even if you’re not a stellar English student, it’s really good in preparing you for higher level text analyses.</p>
<p>However, as far as SAT prep goes, I mainly went through the Blue Book, doing untimed tests whenever possible. Rather than doing all 3 CR sections at once, I often did only one at a time (and that too, only when I had some free time because tbh I never spent hours upon hours laboring over SAT prep). Doing only one section of CR at a time could, of course, irk you since you wouldn’t know your composite score right away, but just aim to miss no more than 2 (maybe 3 if there’s a tough passage). Doing untimed tests is pretty helpful since you’re able to analyze every answer choice to the fullest extent, deciding why one answer is correct and why the others aren’t. That being said, don’t overanalyze. Try to spend no more than a minute on each sentence completion (feel free to look up and note definitions if necessary), no more than 5 minutes on a short passage and no more than 15 minutes on a decently long passage (when doing untimed tests - obviously figure out better timing for the actual test). Gradually, your accuracy will improve and your timing will, too, as you become better at SAT Critical Reading. </p>
<p>And, just try to improve your overall reading habits. Even though this isn’t direct preparation for the SAT, it will indirectly help. You seem like a bright kid with an excellent future so don’t worry about SAT prep too much; a high score should come almost naturally. Obviously prepare but you don’t need to go full-throttle until next summer.</p>
<p>Good Luck! Feel free to message me with any more questions. :)</p>
<p>@EngineBus2015 Thanks for your helpful tips! And yes, I will be taking AP English my Junior and Senior year (Language and Composition, Literature and Composition)! </p>
<p>And I will message you if I have any more questions. Thanks, once again! 
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