Hi CC,
I’m wondering how I can improve my low SAT Math score. My main issue, I think, is time. On my most recent SAT I omitted 10 questions! Also, my weakness (surprisingly) seems to be in Heart of Algebra, and I did really well on Passport to Advanced Math. Does anyone have some time management and content tips? Any good (free) prep sites?
Practice, practice, practice. Math is the easy one to improve on. Easy to study for. The reading and writing part is much harder to study for.
Good luck.
@MassDaD68 My main issue is math. My reading/writing score is a 700, and my math is a 580! I don’t know if I can retake anymore at this point, but I might try to improve and see if I can improve. I think I just need to find time to study it and create a schedule or something. Thanks!!
Every time you solve a problem ask yourself if you could have solved it faster by using a method with fewer calculations or fewer steps. For example if you solve a system of equations often elimination is faster than substitution. Once you have the problem solved in front of you, you might notice that some number simplify or something else. Try to use that next time you find a similar problem. Another example would be percentages. There are a lot of ways to calculate them correctly but some are way faster. Some students still set up the problems as they originally learned them while they should learn some shortcuts. For subjects that often show in the new SAT try to learn some of those shortcuts. That would increase your speed.
As am9799 mentioned speed is key. You do not always have to try to set up formal equations to solve problems but you can use any variety of methods (elimination, reasoning, etc.). Do not feel forced to use one method or another, do what works best and is the quickest for you. Here is a video for you illustrating this point working out a problem on the no calculator section of the test, solving the same problem in two different ways. https://youtu.be/hiK_xVq55I4