@kbj5332
Math
You have a great score for the math section! Are these careless errors or problems you donât understand(if so try Chungâs sat math book)? If itâs careless errors, make sure to reread the question before bubbling and make sure you are answering the question. Sat writers are tricky son of a beaches and will do everything in their power to screw you up like they did to me :C. So be careful and donât end up like me.
Otherwise, start doing practice tests and make sure you CUT OUT ANY PROBLEMS YOU MISS AND GLUE THEM INTO A NOTEBOOK. I cannot stress this enough. If you donât learn from your mistakes, I guarantee that you will not improve. If you do, its pretty much impossible to not improve.
At the end of every week, go back to your notebook and look back on your mistakes, write the proper solution and internalize the problem.
Critical Reading
For Cr, are you having trouble with sentence completion or passages?
If you find yourself missing more than one sentence completion per test, you are giving College Board your points back. Go through Direct Hits (you can find copies online, not advocating this just noting that they exist). Direct Hits volume 1 and 2 have 400 words total. Just try to memorize as many words you can each day. Since you have around 30 days, 10 words a day sounds reasonable. A good way to internalize words is to write down a memorable/humorous sentence for each hard word. Skip Chapter 10 (the hardest words)- since the probably wonât show up- if you are feeling like you donât have enough time. Start today!
For the passages:
If you havenât read Apocâs or Noitaraperpâs advice go and read those immediately. I used to suck really badly at passages, missing 4-5 each section. I did around 60 sections of cr and it went down to 1-3 questions. For me, cr was kind of about something clicking, allowing me to move on to the next âlevelâ. Not sure how many practice tests it will take you but I will guarantee it will not happen without practice. So donât worry if your cr score doesnât make any dramatic increases, just give it some time and practice. Cr is all about finding out what kinds of answers CB likes. That being said, do not take any practice tests that were not made by CB. Baronâs Princetonâs are pretty much useless and will set you back. Find some QAS tests on the internet and finish the blue book. Just stay away from non-CB tests like they are the plague.
Also, if youâd like some more concrete instruction in the form of a book, I would recommend Erica Meltzerâs The Critical Reader.
Writing
Essay
Nice essay score! Perhaps read academichackersâ how to get a 12 in 12 days if you want to improve upon that. I practiced writing an essay every other day. Just pick a random CB prompt and give yourself the essay sheets, a number two pencil and 22 minutes. It is important that you give yourself less time and take it in the same manner you would for the real thing.
Grammar
If you donât have The Ultimate Guide to Sat Grammar, stop reading and get it from Amazon now. This book will be your savior. If you donât mind shelling out more money, the workbook companion is really helpful because her problems actually resembles that of the real sat, something most other prep books canât say. Otherwise though, apply the same technique I gave you for math. CUT IT OUT AND GLUE IT IN YOUR NOTEBOOK. Review ALL mistakes weekly blah blah blah. Try for a section or two a day, and do all of the questions in the book. Hopefully since it looks like you are good at the essay, you can afford to miss one tricky one.
Practicing:
Alright this is the most important part. If you havenât done the blue book do those, then move on to QAS tests.
(if you donât know where to find any of these things please pm me and I will help you!)
I know that school is very demanding but try to squeeze at least 1-2 hours a day for studying (more on this in the bottom). If you are naturally good at the math section donât waste your time doing them. Try for 2 sections of cr and one section of wr every single day at the very least. Saturday, go for a full test (everything), build up your stamina. Save a good chunk of time to go over mistakes
As a final note:
Please remember that this test is probably the most important test you will take in high school. So put in as much effort as humanly possible. But know that whatever score you get, as long as you worked your butt off for it, is a good score.
Also donât study the week before the test and get 9+ hours of sleep every day the whole week before. Your brain will feel refreshed and ready to destroy that test.
Also, this quote really helped motivate me.
âNever give up on a dream because of the time it will take, the time will pass anywaysâ
This last summer, I got rid of the video games I played in order to focus on studying. Please just get rid of all distractions and anything not of importance for just 2-3 months. Donât waste your time thinking you canât achieve your goal or waste time in general. Spend that time preparing. Afterwards you can party all you want with no regret.
If you ever feel like in a slump just watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0
If any of this confused you or if you have any other questions please pm me or reply in this thread. Also sorry for the poor grammar and late reply. This took me quite a while to type up and Iâm too lazy to check it :P.