<p>well, yesterday i took my first SAT practice test, and it was #10 frome the blue book, and i scored:</p>
<p>570-630 in CR
610-670 in math
540-680 in writing (gave myself 2 in essay)</p>
<p>which makes up total 1720-1980 (average is 1850). is this a good score for someone who never prepared for the SAT, and can i manage to achieve 2100+ if i study this summer?</p>
<p>i had much problem with CR section, especially with long paragraphs, as i didn't have enough time to read them and understand fully, so i decided to read more in english. i rented animal farm by orwell, candide by voltaire and scarface by paul monette, and i'm planning to read them within next 2-3 days. is this a good plan or strategy to deal with reading section?</p>
<p>almost forgot, i'm from croatia and i just finished my junior year, so i'd take the SAT in october (november and december are for subjects), which means i need to score well the first time. i have 9 more practice tests in the blue book and 9 in kaplan's book.</p>
<p>i’d recommend that apart from those books, wuthering heights is a lovely book to make your cr scores shoot up.</p>
<p>also DONT EVEN TOUCH kaplan books! they are simply digressive and nonsensical! pm me your email id and i’l give you some previously administered SAT’s for practice. do them instead of kaplan.</p>
<p>to increase your vocab, i’d suggest you surf through some word lists!!</p>
<p>also for internationals, there is a consensus that a 2250 + score would be just fine!</p>
<p>It’s perfectly reasonable to see that high of a score increase. If you do multiple practice tests and practice speed reading you have increase your score by over 300. For personal experience I went from a 1740 to a 2040 over a 2 month period, and I even took my 2040 sat on hydrocodon.</p>
<p>Also another word of advice: colleges LOVE to accept overseas students, so make sure you address your specific struggles and advances in your essays. If English was not your first language or if you do not fluently speak it on a frequent basis (i.e. At home), then taking an english language test will only be beneficial.</p>
<p>well, i’m not sure how much do they LOVE overseas students at harvard, yale, princeton, stanford, amherst and the other “big guys”, because i need a tuition and there are only a few of them (top of the top) who will be able to pay it if i get in
as for the english language in my country, the only english i study/learn is 3 period/week in my school (135 minutes/week, and there are 28 people in my class, so imagine that), and my parents literally do not speak english
do you think i should mention that?
btw thanks a lot for your advice esotericalapp!</p>
<p>A good score for what? Yes, it is an excellent score for an international student for a first try. For top schools, nope. Not good enough. You need nearly perfect scores. Yes, the competition is that tough for those schools like Harvard, etc. Really, to get into any school and get a full ride will need a lot higher scores than that. Take a look at Momfromtexas’s thread on finding full ride schools. Using her methodology and adjusting for being international, you will get an idea as to what you can expect in terms of getting money for college. Look at the scores of the colleges you are considering and see where you have to be to be competitive. Even then, the accept rate of those schools is in the single figures.</p>
<p>@lightsthatstopme
i know i have to take TOEFL, most of the colleges require taking it and scoring 100+/120. the speaking section worries me more than the essay on the SAT…</p>
<p>@creamania
my junior year just finished, im on my summer break (most of which i study for the SAT). where are you from? i’d be glad to have a “companion” in my “mission” :)</p>
<p>@cptoofthehouse
i know this is not nearly a good score for the ivies, but my question was is this good score for someone who took it without preparation
i am devoting my summer to studying for the SAT (reading in english, maths, grammar and stuff), and i hope to see significant improvement in october! what would you consider a good score for an international?</p>
<p>I would also try the ACT, it is similar to the sat but I found it to be much easier (2040 sat and 33 act for me). Most definitely address that you have no real way to fluently speak English where you live, yet clearly you have enough control over the language to hold intelligent conversations with native speakers. HYPS love to admit overseas students because of the push to integrate new thinking styles into their campuses ( Yale for example is pushing to admit more and more Students who have lives overseas, who have relatives overseas, or who are born overseas).</p>
<p>Oh, and I would check the average scores for your schools of choice (HYPS?) and look at the low percentile, which is what you would like to get above to be considered competitive. These scores are published on multiple websites (I have access to a comprehensive list, just ask which colleges you want) and they are separated into low (25th percentile for the school) average (50th percentile) and high (75th percentile). As an example, Harvard has 2075 low 2255 average 2375 high, so for an international applicant, and assuming you have encountered hardships from not speaking English yet endures through those hardships to become the brilliant mind you are, then I would shoot for either a 2075 sat or a 31 act. To prepare for act buy the act red book and practice every sat and act question on their websites. It also helps to read a few books over the summer to practice speed reading. Best of luck!</p>
<p>It’s a pretty good score for the first time. You can expect quite a lot of improvement with practice (better timing, becoming more focused on CR questions, getting used to the grammar tested in writing section etc). Keep up practicing and you’ll do fine.</p>
