I got an 890 on my PSAT this year and I feel like that does not showcase my abilities whatsoever. Factors that could’ve contributed to this: guessing on the last 10 questions of each section, the fact that the proctars screwed up and gave us NO breaks so I had to use the bathroom during my math section if I didn’t want to pee myself. And also I was a junior and didn’t expect that I would be taking the psat that year and kind of got put into it the day of with no studying. Also, my sophomore year I had a 1010 psat score and didn’t finish 30% of the test because my time management really needs some work, I also had only as high as Algebra 1 math knowledge, and did minimal studying before hand. (Significant drop I know) freshmen year my psat was the same as my junior year score so I knew something couldn’t be right. So, I’m taking the SAT this week and I’m shooting for a 1350-1450. Does this seem realistic? I’ve done extensive studying for the past few months, I have a 4.0 unweighted gpa, challenging classes, I’ve completed Agebra 2 /trigonometry so I think with my new knowledge of math I can definitely improve my score on that side. Also I’m in IB English and we’ve done a lot of things that helps with the SAT like vocabulary tests every week from challenging books we’ve been reading. I just want my score to reflect my knowledge, my gpa, and what I know I’m capable of. I know an 890 isn’t me. What are your thoughts?
Whoa, deep breaths.
You gave lots and lots and lots of reasons why you didn’t do as well as you think you should have. But it wasn’t necessary. None of us know you, no one here is judging you or your scores.
But, again, no one here knows you. We have no idea of your capabilities.
Instead of shooting for a 1350-1450, just shoot do to as well as you can. It’s that easy.
But spend some time on SAT prep. It’s very different from regular schoolwork, and requires a different kind of prep. One of my favorite resources is the book “Up your Score, the Insider’s Guide to the SAT.” It was written by a group of kids who received perfect SAT scores, and it’s nothing but strategies. (My usual disclaimer: they try very, very hard to be cool, and totally overdo the “kidspeak.” But if you can get beyond that, the strategies are solid.)
You’re absolutely right. I guess I’m just super stressed out and worried being a rising senior and knowing that my score is the last thing left I can do to give me a chance in getting into more selective schools. Thank you for the advice!
Why is it necessary that you attend a “more selective school”???
It’s not that is necessary. For what I want to study I found that a lot of selective schools fit my desires.
Hey don’t panic! Slow down a little and plan. You want to be able to control your outcome as much as possible, so I would start doing daily practice sets. Don’t only study material, but study testing taking strategies. I find that the way a person approaches the exam is highly important. Certain techniques allow for more efficiency and accuracy, wasting you less time and thus more time on actually answering the questions. When you go over your practice exams, don’t just note the number of questions you got wrong, re-do them again and see if you get the correct answer. If you do, hey, maybe you made a silly mistake. If you don’t, read the explanation, etc. so next time, you understand what you are solving.
Another tip, although I’m not sure I recommend this because not all schools superscore… on exam 1, try maximizing your math score as in you only prep for math. On exam 2, maximize your english score, i.e just prep for that. This way, you may end up with a much higher superscore.
Like I said, I don’t really recommend this strategy but it is a strategy I’ve seen others use.
An 890 is an extremely low score for someone with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, which suggests that you should be able to score substantially higher with some prep work. If you want to know what a realistic score is for you, take some practice tests and see what you get.
I think you can do it. I have a friend who got a 1280 PSAT but then ended up getting a 1500+ the first time she took the actual SAT. If you really prepare and study hard enough, I think you can achieve that.
You can definitely achieve a higher score. Due to a variety of factors (stress, proctors messing up, getting my period DURING THE TEST and getting really bad cramps) my PSAT score was not as high as any of my practice tests- I got a 1430, and I had been getting close to perfect scores on my practice tests. Took the SAT next month with a proctor who knew what she was doing, without feeling so stressed, and without feeling like my insides were being torn to pieces, and I got a 1550. It really is about your environment and mental state. If you’ve been doing a lot of prep work, you’ve been challenging yourself with difficult courses, and you’ve been taking plenty of practice tests and scored in the range you’re aiming for, chances are that you’ll reach your score goal.
Just remember to RELAX! During my PSAT I was incredibly stressed, but before my SAT I felt much more calm and collected. Eat a healthy breakfast, get a good night’s sleep, and don’t worry about your scores. If you go into the test with the mindset “I must get x score” on the test, you’ll probably end up putting so much pressure on yourself that you won’t be able to focus on the test. Instead, think about how much preparation you’ve done and how you’re ready for this test! Best of luck!
Relax, take deep breaths, focus, and if you don’t know the answer to one question don’t spend too much time on it, go on to the next question. There are a few questions on the SAT that they expect only a tiny fraction of students to answer correctly. Also, use the bathroom just before the entire test starts.
Preparation makes a big difference, and it sounds like you have prepared this time.
One student I know did very well on the SAT, yet ended up at a university that doesn’t even look at SAT scores. Why? because she had the same GPA as you (4.0 unweighted), got in based on GPA and references, and it just happened to be where she wanted to go. I expect that you will do well on the SAT but even if you don’t it isn’t the end of the world – there are good schools which are SAT optional and even a few that don’t consider it at all.