<p>I do. I really can't stand the fact that I have been persistently studying my BUTT off and my CR score is still stuck at the 600s (or 60s for PSAT).</p>
<p>I underline, skim, take notes, draw stupid little icons, circle, cross out, ETC, Really everything every test prep book recommend and I'm not even at a high 600s!, but low 600s (ESPECIALLY 620S). </p>
<p>I've been practicing since MAY of this year. Sure I improved about 200 points, BUT now I'm a SOPHOMORE and next year I'm legitimately taking the PSAT that counts.</p>
<p>Any tips? Especially for sentence completion. I'll by the DH vol 1 & 2 if needed (just kidding, I WILL BUY IT!)</p>
<p>@Dorkyelmo
Seems like you are expecting too much of yourself…and being a little greedy in terms of your goals. If you started practicing this May and already have improved 200 points, I applaud you for your efforts. I have never met anyone who has improved 400 points within, say, a year. If CR is the only thing you are doing your entire life (not true for anyone), then MAYBE you should expect 700-800. Really, don’t be too hard on yourself.
Also, if your goal is to “prepare for the PSAT”, note that scholarships are usually need-based and what’s more important is the SAT.
I used the CollegeBoard blue book, since that book is the only one produced by the actual test makers.
Good luck studying.</p>
<p>You are a sophomore. This really harkens back to when my mom made me take a practice SAT (given under real testing conditions) as a sophomore to win a scholarship. I scored a 2020 on it, with ~650 average on all three subjects.</p>
<p>Give it time. Read good literature. Pay attention in English class. Take AP English if possible.</p>
<p>Set your goals in incremental steps. If you can get just one more question right per test, then you’ll enjoy a steady rise into the high 600’s and then 700’s. I’ve seen your posts on this forum and I know that you know what you have to do in order to raise your score - at least in theory. Just slow down a bit, take a breather, and then go over all the tests you’ve taken so far.</p>
<p>Try and understand how CR is messing you up. I’ld first take a few tests untimed, and see if it’s rushing that is making you mess up. Maybe comprehension? Whatever it is, figure it out and then attack your weak points.</p>
<p>DH is great for vocab since sentence completions are just about knowing the words. The passages are harder to figure out… I’m still trying to do that (weakest section). Combine the methods that work for you and then practice (something I should be doing more of).</p>
<p>So you still have a year right? If you really want to improve your CR score, start reading A LOT, and make sure what you read is challenging. Ask your English teacher for a list of challenging books, and read them. The best way to do well on the CR section of the SAT is to have a developed and mature reading ability.</p>
<p>Woah. Slow down there. As a sophomore I got a 50 on the PSAT and over a year of reading and practice tests, I got up to a 67 in critical reading. It really takes time and can’t happen over night.</p>
<p>But ignoring this for a second…
Can someone tell why WHY direct hits is so effective?? I mean it only has 400 words, yet everyone on CC is crazy about them</p>
<p>It really depends on where you started, Dorkyelmo. If you started at 400, and managed a 200 point increase, fantastic. But that’s where you stop, you don’t go up any further. You have already reached your limit, your capabilities. Had you started at 600 in May, for the first time, then surely I’d expect an increase of up to 720+ or so. Accept the fact, and move on to other subjects and/or get other things on your college application ready. SAT isn’t the only thing you should worry about.</p>
<p>LOL. I really don’t want to give up and be stuck at a 600. Beside, how can I plan my future, when my future school requires such a high SAT score? Exactly I can’t.</p>
<p>Stop doing sat specific studying and focus more on reading novels and classics. That is the most effective way of improving your critical reading score because it builds your reading comprehension. Read some 19th or 18th century books that you understand then take another practice test. That’s how I went from 580 to 720</p>
<p>Repeating the same argument does not make it become true. While DH offers a better proposal than blindly studying long lists of words, it does not offer anything than an adequate review of past tests would offer. The statistics that some have presented here are simply meaningless, if not outright misleading. </p>
<p>DH will not hurt your preparation but there is no magic to compiling words and offering some context to a few hundreds words. </p>
<p>Fwiw, I seriously doubt that a lacking vocabulary is what keeps your CR (relatively) low. Go back and analyze your performance on all the tests you took; make sure to focus on the CORRECT answers to identify if you knew the answer or were guessing with luck. Analyze your mistake until it becomes clear why you made the mistake and why the correct answer is indeed correct. </p>
<p>And fwiw take some more tests without relying on guessing.</p>