First of all, I am a junior and i have like 4 weeks to study. I recently received my PSAT scores and
I got 1180, 490 Critical Reading, 360 Math, 330 Writing
I am horrible at math, Last year I received 1160, 400 Critical Reading, 440 Math, 320 Writing
I need to increase every aspect of this. I want to get around 1800 on the SAT and I know its too late so I want to at least get around 1500 and then study for the next. I want to increase my math because I am ashamed of how much it dropped by. I do not want to jinx myself but since i am kinda good on critical reading, I want to raise that up to at least a 550. Writing I dont even know. Any suggestions? Thank you for reading this
Well, considering that this is not the actual SAT, then yes. However, even to just see a 100 point increase you still need to put in a lot of work. Are you planning to take the ACT? What grade are you in?
Well, I have experience with the EC and south, and I can tell you colleges weight them equally. It might not hurt you to take both. In some cases, students find that they do better on the ACT than the SAT, and vice versus. Obviously math and writing were not your strong suits. I recommend taking a prep course (if possible), buy a few prep books, created a dedicated practice schedule, and take practice tests. The only way you will improve is with a dedicated study schedule and practice. You cannot just study for a few weeks and expect to get an 1800.
What is your target score? What maths have you taken? What colleges are you thinking of applying too? If you’re a junior, you might want to get in an SAT before school gets out… most people take it at least twice.
I have a few questions then, What kind of prep books should i buy? and when you say dedicated practice schedule do , do you mean like study for 2-3 hours every day? What do you recommend then? I am in Pre Calc, I am trying to apply for University of Maryland, college park and maryland pays for the SATs so we take it in march. Where would i go to apply for the ACT? Im sorry i am new to this.
1 - I am a little concerned that your score was low for math if you're in pre-calc. You want to be at least in the 700.
2 - If you create a dedicated study schedule, then it will help you be prepared and discipline. If you can get at least an hour or two worked in then it will help you. Like I said, you need to make a target score. It takes a LOT of studying to raise your score.
3 - You need to look at U of Maryland's average SAT & ACT scores. You need to get around them. Either a tiny bit lower or better.
4 - SAT Books: SAT Blue Book (College Board), Princeton Review, Barron's, etc. Just search on Amazon or Barnes & Noble "SAT Prep Books". Read the reviews. Also go to the SAT prep section of this forum.
5 - If you want to learn more about the ACT, then go here: actstudent.org
I hate to break it to you, but I will be realistic with you. You won’t improve much on scores if you’re taking it in March. Take it in March, then try again in June and September or October. It’s really hard to bring up scores, but you can take it more than once! So don’t get discouraged.
It emphasizes concrete strategies on working on the test.
And know that you have more than those 4 weeks. For starters, you can certainly take the exam in May. Additionally, lots and lots of Seniors take the exam again around Halloween.
I am only in pre-calc because my schools system is very flawed. I went from alebgra two to geometry to pre-calc all because my counselor is lazy and does not administer correctly. In all honesty, I have never gotten an A on any of my previous math tests. I will either be in AP stats or AP calc AB next year and fail horribly. I just have never been good at math. I feel really depressed because though I am good at logical thinking, i fail at math where the logical thinking applies.
My target score for now is 1600 so I will try to study every day as much as I can.
University of Maryland average SAT score range from 1200-1400
I know in reality I wont be able to receive the score i truly want but I have no choice nor do i have any excuses for my stupidity. I will try as hard as I can
I actually disagree with some if what @southernbelle16 said. I know someone that got a 4 on the Calc AB exam and barely got a 650 on SAT math. SAT math is more critical thinking than actual math. So it’s very possible that the OP could just be bad at SAT math.
Most schools that accept the SAT accept the ACT as well. I do not normally advocate this, but ignore your counselor. The math you will see on the ACT is much more similar to what you will see when you are in class.
You need to learn how to take the SAT. Get a prep book. You only need one. Read the tips and practice. Then, take a full length SAT every weekend between now and March. I guarantee that you will see an increase. There are also a lot of resources on how to write the essay on this website. With a few tips, you can easily guarantee a 6 on the writing exam.
The SAT is very methodical. Each and every section is. Learn the methods and the tricks, and you can increase your score.
Either that, @calicash or they might have test anxiety or overthink things. That happened to me when I took my PSAT, I completely freaked out and over analyzed the math section. I think the bottom line is they can achieve a desirable score if they put in the effort and do practice tests.
@aaazmah you’re not stupid so don’t say that. I had a horrible time taking tests, but after relaxing and studying I improved tremendously. AP Stats isn’t too hard of a class (from what I’ve heard). You might struggle more in Calculus. But for now, lets focus on that SAT. Have you thought about a prep class?
@southernbelle16 the SATs are just stressing me out, it just surprises me that how much i have regressed over the past few years. I try so hard to understand math but i just cant. From the beginning, I never really correctly understood basic math. I dont know if it is too late to even brush up upon them knowing in just a year i will be in college but, thank you. I have thought about prep classes but its a bit too expensive. for example, Kaplan is $700. Yes, there is a chance my scores might increase but that is just way too much for me.
@calicash Thank you, I have the SAT prep book by college board so i am gonna start on that. I have to increase my math rather anything else but thank you again
When I took it, there were coupon codes available that reduced the price pretty much by 50%. Make sure to check out Retailmenot.com to try to find discounts.
I know several people who took the SAT online course offered on collegeboard.com for about $70. It includes 10 online practice tests. Taking 10 complete SAT practice tests should help you bump up your score a bit.
While it is a good idea to try to improve your math score, I found writing much easier and faster to improve. Both sections will take practice, and I definitely recommend the blue book from collegeboard (I always just skipped straight to the practice tests, and given your time, you may want to as well). There are really just a set couple of grammar rules that pop up really frequently, and you should definitely memorize them and practice looking for them. You should also study from any mistakes you make in practice and fully understand how the problem is solved. Here are just a few prominent grammar rules you should look out for on the SAT:
Pronoun agreement in number: Make sure you can clearly identify what exactly is the subject of a sentence and that the rest of the sentence will fit it. It can be a little tricky. For example: Ocean currents that start in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Ocean are initially low in salt content but become more saline as it flows northward into colder regions. The “it flows” is incorrect, because the subject of the question is “currents,” which is plural, so “they flow” is the correct answer. Don’t let the words inbetween throw you off! The sentence is not talking about the Pacific or Indian Ocean. This is a common SAT trick. If you cannot seem to find any other errors in a sentence, double check for this! A variation on it could be: When Doris Lessing published The Golden Notebook in 1962, it instantly established herself as one of the most important literary voices of her generation. “it” should be “she” because the sentence is trying to refer to Doris Lessing, not The Golden Notebook (“herself” indicates so).
One to You shift: if a sentence uses “one” to refer to a person, or “you” to refer to a person and the actions said person should take, they need to stick to using “one” or “you” throughout the whole sentence. For example: Psychologists advise that before making any major changes in your life, a person needs to focus on one’s goals. Either the “your” needs to be changed to “one’s” or the rest of the sentence needs to be changed to “you need to focus on your goals.”
Parallel Comparison: Make sure you carefully read to understand what is actually being compared rather than what should be compared. For example: One reason that an insect can walk on walls while a human cannot is that the mass of its tiny body is far lower than humans. The sentence may sound correct, but “humans” alone is wrong; you are referring to the mass of the humans’ bodies, so some ways of fixing the sentence could be “is far lower than the mass of a human’s body” or “is far lower than that of a human.”
There are obviously a lot of other grammar rules, but I think they may be easier to improve on than math. My own grammar is actually not that great, but I found it easy to study for the SAT writing section and improved my score by over 150 in a week or two of hard studying. Best of luck to you!
@AC20212 Thank you for the great advice!! I guess all i have left is to just take as many practice tests as i can and hope for the best. Starting now i will work and watching Khan academy’s math section videos so i can at least know the methods and such. while also focus equally on reading. I hope for over a 200 point or maybe 300 point increase because I’m not even near 1500 so i know i am just making tiny mistakes that are easily fixable. I am just so angry at myself that i am starting this late. I have till October to take it again but knowing that I have to send in my application for college before November one scares me. I just have to get over 1500. Thank you so much.