<p>Today is March 10, 2011. I'm planning on taking my first SAT in June as a junior. I got a psat score of 162, but i want an SAT score of 2000+, it seems like an impossible goal but im willing to do what it takes to get there. i got the will but i just need some guidance to reaching my goal score of 2100-2200. I purchased the blue college board book recently but i don't know how to approach studying for the SAT. Should i isolate the sections and study each in part (practice CR, then practice math then writing) or should i ________? Can i possibly go from the projected 1620 to a 2100? I have about 3 months and i dont want to waste time practicing/ studying wrongly. How do i approach this massive challenge? Also, do you guys think that such a feat is even possible? How optimistic are you about somebody doing this? I appreciate the help/opinions of anybody who takes time to give a genuine answer.</p>
<p>I’m faced with a similar challenge Jrock, I think you are able to do it because the SAT is all about practicing. The more hours you spend on it the better you will perform on the real test. What I do on the weekdays is do a section of each, math, verbal, writing; this is useful because it helps me practice on all questions and will help raise my score. On the weekends I take a full length practice SAT test to see how I perform, repeating this method weekly. Try reading the forums on CC about various strategies and see if they work, I tried an strategy and it seems to work for me; the more questions I answer the better the strategy works. Don’t be stressed out about taking your first SAT, you get multiple chances and the SAT is just one main aspect of getting into college.</p>
<p>It can be done, but it will take a lot of hard work. gman’s advice about perusing the forums here is great…there are a number of great strategies and you can mix and match to find what works best for you on each section.</p>
<p>i was in your situation too!
for one, sign up for the act too… youll be shocked with how much easier it is - SAT is realy hard to study for b/c it is intelligence based (basically if your really really dumb no ammount of studying will get you a 2400) but the ACT can be studied for liek a traditional tests: going over formulas, etc. they are similar but i find the act to be easier… everyone is different!
sign up for sat tutoring if you can afford it
take a ton of practice tests and make sure to time them
just approach it like you would studying for a math test. literally just go through, do practice probs, find your weak areas and do more in those areas. doing a ton of practice tests (like in full format) will help you pinpoint that also. For the sat studying is really all about learning how to take the test… strategies to read faster, plot data easier etc! so just find what works for you.</p>
<p>This is not an impossible task. I can only make recommendations for the math since that is my area of expertise. Since you didn’t give the breakdown of your scores, I’ll assume your math score is roughly a 540. So you want to increase your math score roughly 140 points. So we’re looking at a 680.</p>
<p>Here are some suggestions:</p>
<p>(1) Make sure you know as many SAT specific strategies as possible. There are many sources where these exist. I personally just released a book “The 32 most effective math strategies.” It’s available on amazon pretty cheap in paperback. If you want a downloadable version for free you can pm me (mods, if it’s not ok for me to mention my book just let me know and I’ll remove this part of the post. I am however offering it for free to anyone who contacts me on this site). </p>
<p>(2) I usually suggest practicing SAT math problems for 10-20 minutes each night before bed. This (in conjunction with learning the proper strategies) would certainly boost your score 70-100 points. Since your trying for a bit more I would suggest adding an additional shift of 20 minutes 3 times per week. For example, do SAT math problems for 20 minutes at lunchtime, and 20 minutes before bed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the others days, just 20 minutes before bed. </p>
<p>Note that two 20 minute shifts is much more effective than a single 40 minute shift. Your mind retains more when study sessions are kept short.</p>
<p>(3) Make sure you do 4 full length practice tests before the SAT, one about every other week. Keep in mind that actual SATs and practice SATs are missing the experimental section therefore making it seem like the test is a little shorter than it actually is. I recommend that you add an extra section to each practice test you take so you can simulate the actual length of the test. Add either a math section or critical reading section - whichever is weakest. Doing this properly will ensure that you are prepared for the amount of endurance you will need for the test.</p>
<p>Ideally your practice tests should be actual SATs (with an experimental section added in). If you don’t have access to these use the tests in the college board book.</p>
<p>Four practice tests is plenty to make sure that you are taking the test in the best way possible. The rest of your time is better spent practicing applying SAT specific strategies to individual problems. Based on my guess for your score you should be practicing problems of Levels 1 through 4, with your primary focus on Level 3 and 4 problems. Make sure you periodically retry problems you get wrong until you can get them right on your own.</p>
<p>When you are working with the College Board Blue Book (second edition). Leave the first 3 tests which are actual SATs to the end so that you can test yourself closer to the time you take the test. Divide up tests 4-10 and do a section at a time making sure you understand what you are missing before you move ahead.</p>
<p>Silverturtles Guide is very helpful at the top of this forum.</p>
<p>any other advice/tips/comments?</p>
<p>It’s really not impossible. I know a bunch of people who went up about that much. You just have to be really willing to work hard.</p>
<p>FOR THE SAT:
Strategically it’s best to skip as few problems as possible. As long as you can eliminate one choice, guessing is better. I know its tempting to skip questions bc you don’t want points off, but guessing brought my score up. Also, don’t get too caught up with one problem. If you are spending a long time on a problem, chances are you find it difficult and might get it wrong anyway. The time you spend thinking about a hard problem could be used to answer a few problems that you find easier. The more questions you answer, the higher the probability of success.</p>
<p>FOR THE ACT:
I didn’t end up taking it, but I took practice tests. It is impossible to get to all of the reading passages in the allotted time, so what really helped my score was to choose a passage that I wasn’t going to read, and fill in a random answer. If you choose ONE letter (C for example) and fill it in for every answer on that question, you WILL get a fraction of them right and will have time to focus on the other passages, rather than rushing through them. The ACT doesn’t take off for wrong answers, so it won’t hurt you.</p>
<p>That being said, I find it really difficult to go by strategy and that the best way to do well on the SAT is to figure out where you are having problems and actually try to fix it. If you understand the question, you will understand how to find the answer. I know that sounds obvious, but I wasted so much time trying to figure out how to “win” the SAT; once I understood how to “play”, my score improved (sorry I just cringed as I wrote that but I couldn’t think of how else to say it). Also, there are definitely some helpful strategies on here, but there is also a lot of speculation over theories of ways to beat the system.</p>
<p>I hope its ok to mention this, but my verbal tutor has a blog (ultimatesatverbal.blogspot.com). It basically says all that she taught me, which raised my CR 130 points and my writing by 100. She seriously knows the SAT inside and out (you can read her the answers, and she can tell you the question). I really wish she had it up before I took the SAT… she posts every day and focuses on different subject matter so that you can actually master the material and not just learn it for the test. if you have as much will as you say you do, reading it daily would be really beneficial.</p>