<p>The second was harder for me cuz I was studying for my school leaving exam and had to travel to take it. I wanted to cancel my score but i did not how ( i am an international student ) but I think it is easier if you really prepare it</p>
<p>Right I want to get it done in the middle of January- no big tests</p>
<p>Yeah since you good at the english part, just focus on the math. It’s not like calculus there is a lot of logic. I did not do any review and i believe I got everything right for all sections except that damn section 3 ( it was such a burden ) they should compensate the students who went through that confidence - killer at the beginning of the test tho</p>
<p>3 ruined my 4 but the last two I knew</p>
<p>Here’s what I think. Each of my daughters excelled on a specific section of either the ACT OR SAT --but to be honest it was kind of random. I saw scores for both of them go up and down for absolutely no reason at all. So therefore these tests are NOT an exact science, and the best you can do for yourself is to play the game to your advantage. To me, the more tests you take, the more options you have.</p>
<p>D1 got a 630 M, 650 V, 780 writing on her first SAT
Then… 650 M, 670 V, 680 writing</p>
<p>ACT: 35 M, 32 Reading, 30 Writing, 27 Science (no preparation other than what was done for SAT --which was minimal) Can’t remember English score.
Then: 35 M, 23 Reading, 32 Writing, 33 Science (hardly any more preparation). Obviously we re-scored the Reading…but it remained a 23!!</p>
<p>Sent all scores and let the colleges figure it out :)</p>
<p>D2 got 580 M, 650 V, 680 writing
then 610 M, 660 V, 670 writing (but had 72 on PSAT !)
then 560 M, 720 V, 680 writing</p>
<p>ACT–can’t remember all scores, but got 35 on English (36 Reading, 34 Writing)
Her math score was slightly lower than SAT–science decent at 28.</p>
<p>Again we let the colleges figure it out. Sent 2nd and 3rd scores for SAT and last score for ACT.</p>
<p>Both D’s attended NYU for talent based programs. (Music and art.) Older D got accepted by Barnard and Brandeis and a bunch of other schools like GW, American, Muhlenberg. Didn’t apply for ivies because they didn’t have vocal performance/ wouldn’t offer merit aid.</p>
<p>Bottom line is test scores were inconsistent for both D’s. And I’ve seen similar ups and downs for many of their friends too!</p>
<p>What is your “circle”? We are in the top schools on Long Island “circle”. And we know a bunch of kids in NYC private schools, too.</p>
<p>Any tutor who advises you to stick with a test that you cannot do your best on, is not giving you the best of advice. If you want to be a snob about things, first get into the ivies. No point in being a snob about tests and not getting into your dream school.</p>
<p>As for your friend who is uncertain about his outcome at Columbia with a 36 ACT, well he should feel just as uncertain if he had a 2400 SAT. Because plenty of those are rejected by the Ivies, too, as are Valedictorians!!</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be snobbish in the slightest. I’ve committed to the sat, and I want to try once more before thinking about the act. I’m not trying to belittle the actual test, I’m just stating that in my particular school it has that stigma which is why I’m timid to run to it first. I shouldn’t be but I am :/</p>
<p>I’m sorry for the confusion on that point</p>
<p>Are there any tactics I can try for the SAT math at this juncture or am I out of luck?</p>
<p>I understand and agree that you should take the SAT again…take it three times even. As I stated ,my feeling is that the more times you take these tests, the more opportunity you have to go up. And with score choice you don’t need to send any scores you’d rather not have the colleges see.</p>
<p>As for tricks on the SAT, I think that you need to work with a good tutor to show you shortcuts and patterns in the test. They also have to hone in on any mistakes that you seem to be making on easier or medium level questions so that the only difficulty you may have is on the hard questions. </p>
<p>And really don’t worry about what your high school is doing or what your classmates think about this or that. Once you are in college, it will seem silly. Trust me, on accepted student day at whatever college you get into, the last thing kids will be talking about is their SAT or ACT scores. They are all too excited just being there!</p>
<p>Thanks! I try to take it in context but it seems so big now. Thing is, I already got my parents to spend around $800 on a class (and trials of others) that I found to be pointless, yet my friend used the guy privately after and claims he went from a 640 to the 800s he gets now. I’m wary to ask my parents to give any more. Also I got my psat back today and got the exact same score (212) that I did before even opening a book. So it seems tutors really can’t help me I got 7 wrong (all hards). This is a really sticky situation :p</p>
<p>If you keep getting stuck on the hards, then seriously the ACT may really be the test for you. So take the SAT again, but then go for the ACT. And leave yourself time to take the ACT twice.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>You said you found the math experimental section to be very tough. Many of my students also thought it was tough. </p>
<p>Were you aware of the experimental section before you took the test? </p>
<p>If you’re confident enough in your abilities and have done enough practice, no matter how difficult the section you have to remain focused. Odds are if it was significantly harder than any practice section you’ve taken, then it was the experimental section. </p>
<p>As soon as you saw there were two fill-in sections, then immediately you know that one of them was the experimental (the scored math section consists of 1 25 minute math non fill-in, 1 25 minute math fill in, and 1 20 minute math non fill-in (section 8 or 9).</p>
<p>Give the SAT another shot! Now with this knowledge and a bit more practice between now and then, you should do fine. Just be confident in your abilities. You can’t let the difficulty of one section distract you from the next section.</p>
<p>There were actually 3 multiple choice and one fill in</p>
<p>I see.</p>
<p>Well, the experimental math can either be an additional fill-in section or an additional 25 minute non-fill in section. So you’re fine.</p>
<p>Ok. But the question still remains- I’m an AP Calc mathlete, yet the intuition still seems fuzzy. I have friends with lesser math skills get high 700s. It seems like they all didn’t even use tutors, it just came naturally. I guess the question is in your experience are there tricks that allow you to bypass/develop the intuition out there that I just haven’t seen, or is it an inborn talent that I lack?</p>
<p>As an SAT tutor, let me tell you a secret.
<em>Nobody</em> walks into the SAT without practicing and gets an 800. It doesn’t matter what your friends claimed to have done, I can assure you that they practiced a ton. Disregard whatever your friends tell you and don’t follow their example.</p>
<p>There are tricks to solve some of the harder problems, yes, but you don’t need a tutor to figure them out. You just need experience doing the problems. A high 700 is usually 53/54 questions right, and nobody can do that consistently without practice.</p>
<p>You may know how to do every problem, but somebody that gets an 800 in Math is able to do every math section in half of the time limit and then do every problem again to check their work. </p>
<p>I was a strong math student in AP Calc and AP Stat when I took the SAT and couldn’t get higher than a 680. A 680 is like a 48/54 on the math section. </p>
<p>It took me 11 full practice tests before I was able to consistently get 800s on SAT Math. </p>
<p>If you aren’t getting the results you want, then you need to practice more. If you want an 800 on SAT Math, you need to take like 20 timed practice tests.</p>
<p>I already finished the blue book though…</p>
<p>For students who have “finished the blue book”</p>
<p>Can you literally open to any problem in the book and explain how to do it?<br>
Can you do the problems more than one way?<br>
If you used algebra last time, can you solve it this time by making up numbers or playing with the answer choices?
If you used trial-and-error last time, can you solve it this time by doing algebra?</p>
<p>If the answer to all of those is “yes” then you are truly finished with the blue book and probably ready to go do great. But if you still want to take more practice tests, use released pdfs or spring for the on-line course. But don’t use fake tests.</p>