<p>I agree with btgreat. Taking practice tests is the way to go.</p>
<p>btgreat, so your saying you improved 200 pts? (going from 600 to an 800 on cr)?</p>
<p>Not quite, I think he means he started out getting 600-700 as his range from the blue book or something. So that's not exactly a 600...</p>
<p>im so lost..</p>
<p>btgreat..what was your exact score BEFORE you began the immense review for CR?</p>
<p>Maybe he didn't take an official test before beginning to prep.</p>
<p>haha, I love how I'm completely speculating and answering questions for this guy.</p>
<p>hey bigboy, here's some FYI: The only way to do well on the SAT is study for the SAT. I've been reading TIME from cover to cover for the last three years, and it hasnt helped my score at all. In eigth grade, I got 630 and at the beginning of the summer I got 640.</p>
<p>some people just don't do well on CR.
i did horribly on math but great on CR and i'm sure all the practice tests in the world couldn't help my math score all that much.</p>
<p>I wish I could do well in CR !</p>
<p>Interesting. I received a 670 my junior year, took it over my senior year and got a 700. I was just wondering if I had done what you are, though Im a bit skeptical..could my score have increased by that much?</p>
<p>soprolahh, try following in the footsteps of the AznN3rd, apparently it works.</p>
<p>I don't know if misterwang is on this forum or not anymore, but he PMed me with a question about how I got an 800 without a prep course OR book my first time (no joke, but it shocked me too) and I sent him some things that might have helped me. If anybody's interested...I could post them here I guess.</p>
<p>yes, can you? that would be nice of you thanks.</p>
<p>Alright, here are my tricks to getting an 800 on the CR (if anybody wants tips about how to get on 800 on writing, which I did also, then that can be separate)</p>
<ol>
<li>Take AP English courses if you can. I was actually in IB English, but we did a little AP practice every now and then and the reading comprehension questions are vaguely similar.</li>
<li>Don't read just to learn words. That doesn't help at all, obviously according to the person who talked about reading Time magazine and it not helping. I have always read because I like to read, for example right now in addition to my reading 3 novels for AP English IV I'm reading books on my own. </li>
<li>DON'T TRY TO PREPARE TOO MUCH. If I had tried to prepare, I would have done worse, and I know this. Knowing all of the 'proven tips and tricks' only makes you second-guess yourself while you're taking the actual test. I didn't do a prep course or buy a single prep book, I just did the college board free SAT question of the day online, which helps with the vocabulary portion.</li>
<li><strong>MY MOST IMPORTANT POINT</strong>
Don't be too dictionary-hungry. When you are reading and you come across a word you don't know, silly as it may sound, DON'T LOOK IT UP. Instead, try to rely on context clues (I know this sounds completely futile, but hear me out). Think about it: if you look up a word in the dictionary and read its definition, copy its definition, transfer it to a flashcard, whatever, then chances are in 3 weeks you aren't going to remember it unless you are very diligent or study a lot. However, if you come across that word again (in another book, in the same book, in a textbook), you will remember that YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT BEFORE, AND YOU STILL DON'T. That will force you to rely on context clues again. Eventually you will learn how to do this well (I do this in Spanish, and it works wonders) and it will help you on the SAT CR.</li>
</ol>
<p>If anybody has any specific questions, feel free to PM me or just add onto this thread.</p>
<p>not bad J07. But... for those of us that dont have a 200+ IQ, remember the maxim: practice makes perfect.</p>
<p>i just realized i commented on one of your posts in the harvard thread</p>
<p>but yeah, whats your advice for writing? i received a 750, no point in really taking it over...but would still like to know</p>
<p>haha, I don't think I have a 200+ IQ but thanks anyways.
If it makes yall feel any better I only got a 650 on math...so I'm pretty much not intelligent at all in that aspect.</p>
<p>In general, I am a person who does better on tests the less she studies. If I study, I second-guess myself with things that I THINK I remember. Therefore, avoiding studying has helped me out. That mode of thought probably makes no sense and works for 0.01% of the population, but hey, everybody's different (and I apparently am very very cliche).</p>
<p>Well yes, on some of the easier questions, its useless to apply the strategies you learned, b/c usually you already know the answer just by looking at it and/or its just common sense. I try to apply the strategies for the reading questions and just generally harder ones.</p>
<p>Well, my score went from around a 540 to 740 in a year, but I read a lot. I've been doing a practice test a day for the last weeks, and my CR score seems to have reached a plateau of 790. I always make a few mistakes. Really annoying. IMO just stop the practice tests and read stuff like Nabokov.</p>
<p>You can study too much for the SAT. My friend who got a 2400 believed that once you study to a certain point, you cannot improve anymore. Although you won't necessarily regress, it would be a waste of time to pour in hours a day on SAT prep if you don't improve. Therefore, it is useless to study until you reach 2400 unless you are sure you can do it. Go out and have some fun and get those extracurriculars up because they are what matter when applying for college.</p>
<p>anything is worth the 2400</p>