Need helping improving my score dramatically did really bad

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I took the SAT back in may and got a 1260 all together. </p>

<p>Writing: 470
Reading: 450
Math: 340</p>

<p>I did horrible below AVG which is unacceptable to me. I know i could of done better if i had extended time which i do get..But the ETS denied it because my Individual Education Program (IEP) test is more than 5 yrs old. So I will be taking a new one in sept and 25 minute sections become 50 minutes or so...I need advice on how to prepare whats the best way to increase my score how should I study? I'm horrible at math and forget formulas quickly. What would you recommend for me on increasing my score? Is it possible for one with these scores to reach 600 plus. Is it doable?</p>

<p>I have these books</p>

<p>Barrons 2400
Official study guide by the College board
Kaplan math work out</p>

<p>And I'm going get</p>

<p>How to prepare for the SAT by Barrons
and Critical reading workout by Barrons.</p>

2

<p>My 1st piece of advice is to set a target score. Where do you want to go? If you want to go to community college, maybe just setting 500 or at max 600. If you aspire to a 4 year school, 650 is probably what you'll need for each section. </p>

<p>Important things to remember: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you're really having trouble, start the test just saying "I don't need to do all the questions, I'll just do the first 10 (or, if that doesn't work, even the first 5 or 6) for each section". If you try to answer all the questions, you're spreading yourself too thin, and you'll make lots of mistakes. Consider asking a teacher or guidance counselor how many questions you shouldn't be attempting. I'd recommend just not doing the last questions in each section, they're very hard and they don't give you extra points. </p></li>
<li><p>Be very careful of tricks. Many questions will talk about x in the question and ask for 2x. If this takes time for you, do it very slowly before moving on. The easiest question is worth the same number of points as the hard one. </p></li>
<li><p>Don't guess unless you have at least read the question and can safely eliminate one choice. </p></li>
<li><p>Try to memorize words for the critical reading. </p></li>
<li><p>Read challenging books to help you for the critical reading. Read them and afterwards ask yourself "What was the author saying?", "What did each sentence do for the passage?"</p></li>
<li><p>Know the basic rules of Math. You'll need to be 100% solid on the basic rules, like the area of a circle, circumference of a circle, volume of a cube, etc. You'll need to know how to apply these rules to new situations, so get very comfortable with them. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Its possible but unlikely to raise your scores that much, but don't let it discourage you. My score rose 150 points for each section from my first PSAT to the time I took the SATs.</p>

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<p>Thnx for the advice..I started to read newspapers daily hoping that would make me a better reader...Also i don't want to go to a community college...If your score rose 150 points per section I think i can do it as well..Any more suggestions??</p>

4

<p>What are you aiming for in terms of plans? 4 Year school? Vocational? </p>

<p>That should play a big role in how you approach the SATs... If you need to get 600, you should just leave off the last couple questions, but if you want to get a 700 per section, you really have to answer every question...</p>

5

<p>4yr school like</p>

<p>Pace, Baruch, Binghamton, Any other Business</p>

<p>Is NYU, BU even possible for me??...or maybe a better shot if i transfer..</p>

6

<p>Just use the collegeboard blue book but taht 790 Math + Critical reading ouch</p>

7

<p>Pace and the other schools seem fairly realistic to me. I still think that you should do the community college, which can be quite a transition good experience, since your SATs tell me that your reading and math skills aren't at the level they need to be at. Even if you do get into college, you might find that your high school experience hasn't prepared you adequately. </p>

<p>Community Colleges oftentimes get a very reputation even though they trump 4 year schools in some respects: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Small classes with PhDs. I've had classes with under 8 people, and I've heard of classes as small a 4 people taught by accomplished and highly educated teachers, with PhDs from fairly prestigious schools. </p></li>
<li><p>Extremely cheap. </p></li>
<li><p>Easy transfer to state school. Most state schools have agreements with community colleges that practically guarantee acceptance</p></li>
<li><p>Nice facilities. Pwns high school. Can be very, very nice</p></li>
</ol>

<p>How are your GPA and extracurriculars? What majors are you looking into?</p>

8

<p>Drop the 2400, IMO.</p>

9

<p>i'm just curious......why do you get 50 minutes a section.</p>

10

<p>ADD/ADHD, something like that, most likely.</p>

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<p>it looks like the SAT really isnt your test at all (sorry to be so frank). but dont fret! i would definitely try the ACTs. ALL colleges and universities accept the ACT. usually those students who arent amazing at the SATs do better at the ACTs, and thats not a bad thing at all. get the real ACT book (its big and red) and try a couple practice tests and sections out of that...see how you do. the reading section is definitely 10 times easier than the CR (believe me! i haaaaaaaaaaaated the cr). keep trying....dont let this score hold you back or keep you worried.</p>

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<p>^ You know, the time limits on the ACT are harsher than those on the SAT. So, if time is the issue, I wouldn't settle for the ACT just yet. However, I have a question. E-A-S-E, did you prepare at all before you took the SAT the first time? Practice definitely does make perfect, in this case. If you practice a lot, and follow the some of the other poster's suggestions (particularly al6200's), I'm sure you'll get a decent score next time.</p>

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<p>if you want to go to a 4 year school you only need like 500 per section, you could probably get away with less, not 650 like some people were saying. Remember that 1500 is the average on the new SAT and the only people who take the SAT are people heading for 4 year colleges.</p>

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<p>rockermcr I did study for the May SAT...but not as much i just used Princeton Review book..I didnt take many practice test or anything i took only one practice test before the SAT and got a 1400...I also only study for one hour i only started to study a month before.....Yesterday night i bought the Barron's critical reading workbook and did the first Diagnostic test and got a 530....</p>

<p>Also the HS i go to isn't that great it retrogress everyone...Has no AP classes no honors and for math class we used something called IMP math which is really the worst math text book ever..Also my school has a tendency to hire student teachers that cant teach at all...I only went to this school since it was brand new..To top it off we get classes three times a week for one hour...So in a week we lose about 30 minutes of learning since other schools are 43 mins per class...</p>

<p>How many questions do i need to get right for Critical reading, Writing and math to get the an AVG score??</p>

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<p>Let me ask you: </p>

<p>Do you know what perimeter is? </p>

<p>Do you know what I prime number is? </p>

<p>Is -2 a root of 4? </p>

<p>Do you know how to evaluate (a + b)(a - b)? </p>

<p>Do you know how to calculate the area and circumference of a circle? </p>

<p>If you don't know all of those things above, you'll really have trouble with the SAT. My advice would be to look at every question you got wrong, and ask why? Was there something you didn't know?</p>

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<p>I don't know all of the above questions. Crap, no wonder why my math score is so bad.</p>

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<p>Here are the answers as best as I can explain them: </p>

<p>Do you know what perimeter is?</p>

<p>Perimeter is the length of the sides of an object. More informally, the perimeter of your house would be how much fence it would take to go all the way around your house. The perimeter of a square is the lengths of all the sides added together. </p>

<p>Do you know what I prime number is?</p>

<p>A prime number is a number that can only be divided evenly by itself and one. 5 is a prime number. Divide 5 by 3 and you get a decimal. 6 is not a prime number. You can divide 6 by 3 and get 2. We would say that the factors of 6 are 3 and 2. </p>

<p>Is -2 a root of 4?</p>

<p>A "root" is a number that can be multiplied by itself a certain number of times to produce a given number. For example, 2 is a square root of 4. Because 2 can be multiplied by itself once (called squaring) to produce 4. -2 is a root of 4 because it can be multiplied by itself to produce 4. </p>

<p>Roots are sometimes represented as an exponent. </p>

<p>x^2 means x * x</p>

<p>and likewise, </p>

<p>x^(1/2) means (the number that can be multiplied by itself to produce x)</p>

<p>so 36^(1/2) = 6, and 6^2 = 36</p>

<p>Roots are often represented as exponents</p>

<p>Do you know how to evaluate (a + b)(a - b)?</p>

<p>This is a rule called "the distributive property". To multiply a + b and a - b, you have to add a(a - b) and b(a - b). Which gives you a^2 - b^2. </p>

<p>If you have (x - 2)(x + 5), you multiply together the two first values (x and x), and add that to -2 * 5, and then add -2 * x and 5 * x. </p>

<p>Do you know how to calculate the area and circumference of a circle? </p>

<p>The circumference of a circle is 2 * pi * radius. Pi is a NUMBER. Pi is a number that we call pi because its decimals never, ever, ever, ever, end. Its approximately 3.1457. Usually on the SAT they won't want you to use 3.14, and they'll want you to use pi, and just put pi in the answer. </p>

<p>The area of a circle is pi * r * r. r is the radius of the circle. </p>

<p>The diameter is just twice the radius. </p>

<p>If anyone has any questions on the above rules, don't hesitate to ask. IMO those rules are key to doing well on the SAT math.</p>

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<p>(a + b)(a - b)</p>

<p>Cant you use FOIL</p>

<p>Also can anyone tell me how what the Triangles are on the SAT??</p>

<p>like 6-8-10 and such...</p>

<p>Also i'm always confused about circles like</p>

<p>Radius circumference are diameter can anyone break that down for me..</p>

<p>Also can anyone tell me the percent thing </p>

<p>New-value*old value/ ??</p>

<p>and what they solve for please..</p>

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<p>Yep, foil is a way of doing (a - b)(a + b). You should know foil really well. </p>

<p>Basically a triangle is a shape with three sides that are closed, rules for triangles: </p>

<p>-The angles MUST add up to 180 degrees</p>

<p>-The two short sides added together must be greater than the longest side
-If all the sides are equal, then all the angles are equal. </p>

<p>-The longest side is opposite of the largest angle, likewise the smallest side is opposite the smallest angle</p>

<p>-If the angles are 30-60-90, then the side opposite of 90 is length 2s, the side opposite of 60 is sqrt(3)s, the side opposite 30 is 1s. The s happens because the sides I gave were RATIOS. You could multiply the numbers above by .5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and the angle rule would hold true. So for example if the longest side is length 3, than 3/2 is s, and use that to calculate the other sides. </p>

<p>-On a square with each side of length x, the line running diagonally through the square has a length of sqrt(2)x. </p>

<p>-The maximum area of a triangle for a given side occurs when that side is the hypotenuse (longest side) </p>

<p>-Circumference is the perimeter around the circle. Imagine if you had a fence in your backyard that you laid out in a circle. The circumference would be the length of the fence used. Is roughly equal to 6.29 * radius</p>

<p>-The diameter is the length from one side of the circle to the side directly opposite of that side. </p>

<p>-The radius is the length from one side of the circle to the center of the circle, 1/2 of the diameter.</p>

<p>-The percent change is the amount added / original value. So if I have 110, and 100, the percent change from 100 to 110 is 10%, the percentage change from 110 to 100 is 9.1%. The two are not reversible.</p>

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<p>Thanks Al.</p>

<p>I have a question. You said, "-The two short sides added together must be greater than the longest side"</p>

<p>Couldn't the longest side me greater than or equal? I always thought it could be one or the other.</p>