I thought I’d make this thread to exhort more people to simply practice, practice, and practice to those that didn’t do so well on the June and plan on improving their scores in the coming fall This is just another story of one who used to have a low §SAT scores, but through “hard work” receive a higher score.
So I recently received my first SAT score. I received a 2290 with an 800 Math, 800 CR, and 690 W (71 MC + 8 essay). I am disappointed about my essay score (a 9 essay would’ve gotten me to a 2300+). I do plan on retaking it just to raise my writing section.
However, not very long ago, I received a 1700 on a practice SAT (by Princeton) that I had taken only 2 months (4/10/15) prior to the June SAT. A little bit before that, I received a 156 on my PSAT (as a Junior).
Pictures of both my practice SAT and PSAT are provided below:
Freshman Year: 149
Sophomore Year: 145
Junior Year: 154
PSAT scores (Taken in October, 2014): http://grab.by/IoFm
Practice SAT from Princeton (taken on April 15th, 2015): http://grab.by/IoFu
SAT scores in June: http://grab.by/IoGA
As you can see, my PSAT has barely improved since Freshman year (those are my PSAT taken since freshman year). I did not practice at all except for my junior year one, but I only “looked” at the Blue book the night before the test. I did not prepare for the practice SAT that I took 2 months prior to June either.
I wasn’t able to begin studying for the SAT until AP exams were over. My last AP exam was AP Lang and after taking the test, I immediately sought to improve my SAT scores. I went through at least 30 SAT tests from May 13th to June 6th, which I made a huge pile in the middle of my room (I would provide pictures, but I threw away all the practice tests that I had taken upon my Mom’s request). I looked at a bunch of tutorials on this website; Silver Turtle, in particular, (even though my writing section sucked) helped a lot. Also, I had a bunch of prep books. I had the SAT Blue book, direct hits, and Meltzer’s CR guide.
This isn’t a “how-to” thread (there are plenty out there), but a thread to show how “good practice” can make perfect. I didn’t pay for a tutor or some after-school program. It was simply practice. I know that the word “practice” is drilled so deeply into your brain, but I can’t express it enough. So good luck studying over the summer. My only regret is that I should’ve studied MUCH earlier, but kept on putting it off. That was only from me studying for one month… You have the ENTIRE summer! JUST DO IT! YESTERDAY, YOU SAID TOMORROW. JUST DO IT!