If you got 2000 +, Help me!

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>The maximum I've reached on the SAT is 1730
and I'm not happy with it!</p>

<p>I studied my a** off for May 2010 and my score ranged from 1800 to 1900 during practice, however, I didn't do well on the actual test :S!</p>

<p>I get paranoid by just looking at the first page of the CR section. I memorized 500 words and word families to do well. I'm having problems with passage-based questions. I don't know what method to apply when solving them!!! I need at least 600-650 in CR! All my other components are in the 600s+ ! </p>

<p>And regarding math, I'm really good in math but the maximum I've reached is 680. I want 700+. I have difficulties with integer questions & geometry based questions.
For example, How many 3 integer numbers less than 100 are even?</p>

<p>I honestly don't know how to solve those! And things when there's a sphere inside a cylinder and so on. I know that if I don't leave them blank/get them wrong, I'll score higher.</p>

<p>I'm good in writing. I just need practice.</p>

<p>I'll appreciate any given and useful advice.</p>

<p>It's gonna be ironic when colleges look at my GPA & my low SAT score... I know I can do it, I just don't know how!...</p>

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<p>

None lol. There isn’t a 3 integer number less than 100.</p>

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<p>^Lol I was thinking the same thing…</p>

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<p>^^Which kind of proves perhaps why this person is getting such low scores…LoL</p>

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<p>^ Actually negative 3 digit integers are less than 100 lol</p>

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<p>@shahdin…show them who the boss is…i was thinking the same.</p>

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<p>Just get Direct Hits and as for the passages, try to answer questions based on what actual passage tells (not what you think/know is right). Pretend you start from the blank page and the only info you have is what’s on passage. Helped me.</p>

<p>Also, when the line is given during question, there always is a little hint in the passage line telling you which one is the correct answer.</p>

<p>As for your real score being much lower than on practice tests…<em>always</em> the same situation here. I get at least -100 on the real thing than on practice ones… ;<</p>

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<p>I got 2200 composite (not amazing compared to other CCers), but I’ll take it.</p>

<p>How to improve on CR:
-short passages: read questions first, underline line references/quotes, read passage, answer questions
-long passages: read italicized blurb at the beginning (useful especially for “purpose” type questions), very quickly scan for line references/quotes, read passage, answer questions
-how to pick an answer: process of elimination! I found this method to be the most useful: cross out answer choices IN ORDER from A to E. ONLY cross out an answer choice if it’s 1)impossible/totally dumb choice OR 2)if it contains even a TINY bit of incorrect/ASSUMED information <<very helpful
-but don’t be over-ambitious and cross out everything!
-when you cross out 4, you’ll obv be left with 1. Make sure this choice is the BEST possible choice and it can be BAKCED UP BY EVIDENCE IN THE PASSAGE (either direct evidence or inferred tone)
-pace yourself: don’t read as fast as you can, read fast enough so that you have time to thoroughly consider the questions, but not as other people can tell you (“read as fast as you can and understanding it at the same time”)</p>

<p>How to improve MATH:
-you just have to know the concepts, formulas, types of numbers, etc.
-practice math questions, timed
-get your hands on some old math contests / ask your math teacher for hard enrichment questions
-math is the easiest to improve on, but most easy to make a dumb mistake on</p>

<p>How to improve WRITING:
-I improved W by 100 points just by reviewing grammar! for a few days!!
-know grammar rules like: noun-verb agreement, pronoun-verb agreement, noun-pronoun agreement, ETC.
-some tricky rules I found while studying:

  1. Not only… but also < must always be in that order, together
  2. Watch out for sentence fragments
  3. “You and I” < main nouns of the sentence (doing the action), “Me and ___” < having the action done TO them</p>

<p>Hope that helped! </p>

<p>Essay tips:
-practice essays and come up with examples that can be used in many prompts (e.g. Civil Rights Movement, To Kill a Mocking Bird, etc.)
-it’s true that the more you write, the higher your score will be! But, this is not to say that if you write 2 pages of crappy filler, you’ll get 12. That won’t happen.
-come up with a template (e.g. opening comment, thesis, “Firstly” … “Secondly” … “Lastly/Similarly/Thirdly” … concluding thesis, significance to society)
-types of examples you can use: personal anecdotes, literature, science, global issues/social issues, historical events/revolutions/movements</p>

<p>IF THERE WAS ONE THING I WANT YOU TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS, it is that you CAN improve if you try! I got 1800 on practice tests in Gr. 9 (no practice, no previous knowledge of format/anything). I took the real SAT for the first time this year in June, but hadn’t practiced AT ALL besides that one time in Gr. 9 (no study books, no notes, no practice except for that one in Gr. 9) and got 2030. I took it again in October and got 21_ _ (forgot lol), for a superscore of 2200. YOU CAN DO IT!!!</p>

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<p>wow, sorry about the post being so long. I was just trying to help & be specific lol tell me how your test goes and if my suggestions helped!</p>

<p>p.s. I did a couple of practice tests from Barron’s & a few from CB. I love PR for subject tests, but didn’t like the PR book for SAT Reasoning.</p>

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<p>2020 here, 1400 m+cr, i suck at writing. </p>

<p>For the passage based stuff on critical reading, heres what you can do: read. Read the newspaper, read well written books etc. Just by reading consistently you will read faster, saving you time, and you will be able to pull information out of text more quickly. it will also help writing MC since you will have a better sense of how sentences are composed.</p>

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<p>Regarding the integer question
First it was a type and its 1000*
My bad! Second, you have no rights to point your fingers at someone with a low score; keep in mind you got such a score once when you first started… LOL</p>

<p>And MarieM, Rainbow, & Mathematician; thanks for the wonderful advices
Will do so.
But regarding the sentence completion… The words I study are never enough :S
Any suggestions?</p>

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<p>Typo*
Sorry my bad again :slight_smile:
I replied from my phone :)</p>

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<p>For critical reading, I follow my gut feelings. Works for me (-1 on passages last Nov), but it’s also really a matter of luck. Some passages are just hard. For the vocab… if you have much time then reading good books will help. If not, then… I can’t think of anything but word lists. &Eliminating helps~ My mind has an easier time choosing when it sees that a few things are simply not options.</p>

<p>I agree that a template helps with the writing. I read through [url=&lt;a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html][x][/url”&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html][/url</a>], and I was able to finish my essay with three examples. As for grammar, just look through a couple of guides-- Barron’s 2400, Sparknotes, etc.</p>

<p>Math… just work through the Blue Book and google anything you don’t know about. Most solutions are up somewhere. It’s tiring, but it works.</p>

<p>Lastly, relax before test day. You did what you could.
Good luck! :]</p>

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<p>Also, OP should take the ACT as well - some people do better on one test vs. the other.</p>

<p>And OP - go through both of these threads:</p>

<p>How to Write a 12 Essay in Just 10 Days
Silverturtle’s Guide to SAT and Admissions Success</p>

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<p>For math, honestly, plugging-in your own numbers or plugging-in the answer choices WORKS super well!! It avoids you making careless mistakes and goes much faster! Worked for me!!</p>

<p>As for essays, my advice would be to prepare 9 examples from 3 categories - literature, history and current events (just more modern topics) - and prepare a sheet of paper per example with:

  1. date of publication/ date of the event / who wrote it and when if it’s a book
  2. where it took place
  3. a BRIEF summary
  4. a list of the characters (even the ones that don’t play an important role because when you use an example on the SAT, you won’t be using the whole book, just a part of it and that’s when the secondary characters become handy)
  5. a list of the main topics this essay can be used for (you basically have the following topics: Love/Hate, Life/Death, Individuals/Society, Nature/Nurture, Good/Evil and Conflict)
    —> That’s it! And then write at least an essay every day. The more you write, the better you’ll get. It’s as easy as that! Here’s a thread with old essay topics: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/855751-sat-essay-topics.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/855751-sat-essay-topics.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And by the way, NEVER read the quote unless you can’t understand the prompt. The quote narrows down the possibilities. Also, state a CLEAR position. Yes or No, nothing in the middle. When you pick your side, don’t necessarily pick the side you agree with. Pick the side your examples support best. For example, I responded in one of my practice tests to the prompt: “What is the best human value?” by saying it was selfishness because my examples - the French Revolution and a book from the author Zola - supported it really well. In the French Revolution, people were very egotistical and it worked, and in Zola’s book, the main character was not selfish and things ended badly for her. And throughout the essay, constantly remind your reader of the side you picked. For instance in your topic sentences, say: “A first example of <thesis> is <example>.” A last piece of advice on the essay is to always write at least 1 page and 2/3. It will get your essay score up. </example></thesis></p>

<p>Buy the book Direct Hits, great for vocabulary!</p>

<p>I hope that helped!</p>

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<p>Some of the stuff in the exam come with natural ability, however most of the stuff can be practiced, but only if practiced in the “right” way.</p>