Oh, help me!! =(

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Okay, I'm going to be a junior. I'm a pretty good student.
I'm ranked 1st in class.
All A's.
I take the toughest classes offered
My GPA is a 101.98 on a 100 point scale with a 5% weight for honors classes (which isn't a whole lot)</p>

<p>I have tons of EC's which I enjoy and am devoted to:
drama -- - I am a prominent actress who often gets significant roles and lead roles
Speech team --- I often place 1st, 2nd, 3rd in our meets and the state championship.
Band -- I am part of the jazz band. I am 1st trombonist. I have made it into KV band, which is audtion-only. I participate as much in band as possible.
I also play tennis, but I'm no good at it. ^_^
I write on the school newspaper regularly -- a couple of friends and I are going to attempt improving the newspaper next year
I participate in the school's peerhelpers program
I am on student council
I was an ambassador for Maine Youth Leadership --- SUPERBLY amazing program by the way! ;-)</p>

<hr>

<p>I feel like I'm all set to get into a relatively good school -- maybe I might even have a shot at an ivy?.....except for my SATS.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a junior. That means I'm going to take the SATS soon.</p>

<p>I got 85th percentile on the critical reading and writing sections. 79th percentile on the math on the SATS. -_-</p>

<p>What are some ways in which I could raise my score? THe thing is, I'm not naturally intelligent. People think I am, but truthfully, I only know how to get good grades. </p>

<p>I also don't work well under pressure. -_- I'm absent-minded and I can't keep focus while reading long passages. </p>

<p>So far, I've bought a SAT study book, and I've taken a few practice tests. I get about 8 or so wrong each section. :-(</p>

<p>I don't know what to do! I need to raise my scores in each section by 200 points or so, and that's stressing me out so badly. =( Can you guys help me at all? Is there ANYONE out there that has raised their score up by 200!? I'm thinking of hiring a tutor but I fear getting ripped off and I don't want to waste all my parents' money.</p>

<p>How much should I study? WHAT should I study?</p>

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<p>SAT prep courses are good things for people like you. Otherwise, buy a book and take as many practice tests as you can.</p>

3

<p>how much should you study? completely dependent on how much you want to improve. judging by your post, a lot. </p>

<p>study actual tests. missing 8 or so on each section? try borrowing from your library a book with answers AND explanations. make some sense of what they're trying to tell you. the math section has its set of tactics - if you can't do anything else, sharpen up your mental arithmetic skills. the verbal section also has its set of tactics - but a big portion of it is vocabulary and familiarity with the setup. while you try to get a hold of a satisfying book, read voraciously in between your studying and usual activities - mark down foreign words and look them up. i can't stress to how <em>much</em> reading helps (more than just a vocabulary sheet, at any rate). hit a dictionary only if you have superior memory skills; otherwise, you can only take the hard route in order for the new words to stick to your mind. a word of advice: long-term memory kicks in only after 48 hours of initial contact. the two nights before you take the test are good times to review over your list and make sure you don't flop over similar-sounding twins. short-term memory is also good... but probably useful for at most five words in the car ride =P</p>

<p>since you're part of the new crew who is subjected to a writing section, be sure to write timed essays as well. do <em>not</em> be light on yourself... if 20 minutes are up, don't justify it with, well, i chewed on my eraser a little bit, and that kind of put me off with the taste. no matter how well you do at home, it's still practice, and the pressure is off by a factor of six. </p>

<p>list one or two things you can expound very well on a piece of technical writing.. anything related to the 'real world', like a scientific development or a historical time period. reflect on how they can be integrated in clich</p>