<p>Hello everyone,</p>
<p>I've been a lurker on this site for about two weeks now, but have just recently decided that it would be a good idea to create an account! I have just started this thread in hopes that some of you could help me out with a couple of questions that I have about analyzing my SAT score.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore (class of '17) and have just recently become interested in the SAT, this site, and college admissions in general. I'm an ardent, competitive student from a ridiculously competitive private institution, so if any of you are wondering why I'm starting to worry about the SAT now, there's your answer! I took the online CB practice test over the course of two days. I've woke up slightly sick today and I noticed as I took the CR sections that my attention span slowly diminished over the course of the test. This may have affected my scores slightly, but not significantly by any means.</p>
<p>Anyways, here is the score that I received (without any studying): 1960 (650 M | 710 W | 600 CR)</p>
<p>I believe that this is quite a good score to begin with, but I'm also quite worried because after reading numerous SAT-related posts I've come to the realization that CR is the hardest section to improve upon.</p>
<p>A couple of things to note:
- The SAT is changing in the Spring of 2016. I would like to take one test before the end of this year (possibly in May) and one in January of next year to give me two shots at the test before it is drastically altered. If I reach 2200+ (my ultimate goal) before the new test is put forth, do you think it would be necessary to take the new test at all? My reasoning behind taking the old test twice is that it is predictable and learnable; there are many useful, reliable resources out there made specifically to study for it, and I have been told that certain aspects of it are supposedly easier than the new SAT.
- I am only 2 months into Geometry; in the Math sections, I mainly had trouble with geometry problems, so when I have learned all of the material relating to that, I believe my score will be low-mid 700's.
- I am a white male who grew up in the USA, so English is my first language. I hope knowing this will help anybody who is interested in helping a young tyke out assess what my focus should be.</p>
<p>So, to condense this whole post into a couple of questions:</p>
<p>1) How much can I expect to improve after 6 months of dedicated study after an initial score of 1960 (650 M | 710 W | 600 CR)? Is the online College Board test a reliable prediction of one's real SAT score?
2) What do you recommend I do to increase my critical reading ability? Is there any sort of mental exercise or strategy that will increase my attention span? (Please do not tell me to use the CB Blue Book practice tests; since there are only 11 of them, I want to use them sparingly at certain intervals to measure my progress, not all at once to increase my critical reading ability.
3) Am I making the right decision in trying to take 2 SATs before Spring of 2016? If not, please elaborate why the new SAT will grant a higher score/make it easier for me?</p>
<p>Thanks to all who read, and I'm sorry for the lengthy clutter of information!</p>