<p>This is my first post on CC so I apologize if this kind of thing is obvious to the rest of you, but I'd really appreciate some tips. </p>
<p>I have only taken the SAT once, and then it was just a benchmark score (no preparation went into it really) because I'd expected to be able to take it at least 2 additional times afterward. Due to complications (which I do not want to get into in detail here) I missed a couple opportunities to take the reasoning a second time, and now seeing as I haven't taken Subject Tests either, I really only have one more opportunity to take the test before ED I applications are due (Oct and Nov, one date I'll use for reasoning the other for my subject tests).</p>
<p>I scored an 1890 on my benchmark test:</p>
<p>690 Critical Reading
620 Math
580 Writing (I was exhausted and hadn't prepared for the essay at all, so I received a 4/12 due to bad planning and using the majority of the 25 minutes to write an outline rather than actually writing the essay)</p>
<p>The way I see it, I have a few months to prepare for the SATs, complete my Common App and Supplements, and maintain solid grades in school. I am currently working through the most recent edition of the Princeton Review's "Cracking the SAT", what additional strategies would you guys recommend so that I can maximize my score? </p>
<p>I am currently planning on doing the following:</p>
<pre><code> - Scheduling weekly tutoring sessions for the month of August, as I'll be away for 4 weeks in July (Chyten maybe? Unless you guys have suggestions for better SAT Prep services)
- Completing the Princeton Review book, doing as many practice tests as I can find
- Working on my vocab consistently
- Memorizing essay formats, doing lots of practice ones
<p>first review grammar, math stuff, etc., learn some vocab, then practice, practice, practice, practice some more, and finally practice some more… And after you practice each test, go over each question you got wrong in depth so you don’t get it wrong again, and write down all the hard vocab in the sentence completion questions to study for later.</p>
<p>For the vocab, you need a good vocab book. I recommend BOTH volumes of Direct Hits. It amounts to ~400 words. It may seem like a lot, but many of the words come up on the SATs. </p>
<p>Other than memorizing essay formats, you should memorize EXAMPLES to use on your SAT essay. Usually, literary and historical examples give the best scores. I often used George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm.</p>
<p>Buy the Collegeboard book and take a test every Saturday. Review each and every answer to understand your mistakes and skills. So if you realize that you can do well on the first 10 questions on a section, you can cut your time and spend it on the harder questions at the end. Also, instead of buying all these prep books, I suggest that you underline unidentified words from your practice exams and create your own vocab list from that. Good luck!</p>
<p>To help your math: I suggest learning the fundamentals on Brightstorm, and then doing lots of practice problems from the blue book; Practice makes perfect on the math, and you have to be pretty close to perfect to score above 700. </p>
<p>For grammar, I’d suggest just using the blue book, and maybe brushing up on your verb tenses.</p>
<p>For vocab, PR is decent, as is Direct Hits, but the Essential 500 is better for getting level 4/5 words (which is what I assume you missed given 690)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the tips guys! I am leaving for a 4 week trip to Peru this Friday and won’t be back until the end of July, but once I get back I am planning on devoting at least a couple hours every other day to SAT prep, and I am planning on taking Entric’s advice and taking a test every Saturday morning. 2200 or bust!</p>
<p>Just thought I’d post in this thread again to give hope to those of you who are in similar situations to mine…as planned, I prepared intensively for the SAT over the summer and scored a 2240 composite on the October test!</p>
<p>My advice to those of you who are hoping to bring up your scores is this:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>DO NOT worry too much about vocab. I did not memorize a single vocal word, but I scored a 730 on Critical Reading. Just learn strategies and take plenty of practice tests. Figure out where your weaknesses are and work on them!</p></li>
<li><p>MAKE AN ESSAY TEMPLATE. This won’t take more than an hour of your time, and it will be a lifesaver. It easily earned me an 11 on my essay. There are plenty of threads regarding essay templates, definitely go read these and then make a template for yourself.</p></li>
<li><p>As far as writing multiple choice goes, just review basic grammar…the most common trick questions are usually very easy to catch if you know your grammar. One very common trick is something like: “Ringing through the concert hall, I allowed the music of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to fill my ears.” NO. This should be: “Ringing through the concert hall, the music of the Boston Symphony Orchestra filled my ears.” This is probably not the best example, but they WILL try to trick you with subject/verb, subject/adjective, subject/whatever agreement. Be on the lookout.</p></li>
<li><p>For Math, honestly just do as many timed practice sections as you possibly can. That’s the best advice anybody can give you. This will allow you to recognize your weaknesses whilst improving your efficiency. You will also begin to recognize patterns with the way that they word their questions.</p></li>
<li><p>Just do yourself a favor and buy methodically complete as many practice tests as you can from the blue book. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Good luck guys! There is always hope. My score came up 350 points, and I really didn’t kill myself when I prepared. I prepared methodically over a long period of time, and it allowed me to take the October test confidently.</p>