<p>Yes I know I'm foolish for waiting to prepare until the last minute. I took the SAT for the first time this month, without preparing at all and now I'm paying for it. Silly me, when I took the test I breezed through the math section bearing a smug face the entire time expecting an 800 or at least some score close to it. I tenuously completed the Writing and Critical Reading sections, unsure of how I did. </p>
<p>I knew I was taking the SAT in June, so I began to prepare for the Writing and Critical Reading sections, spending hours trying to better myself. Imagine my surprise when I see that I got a 750 on the Critical Reading, a 720 on the Writing, and a 660 on the math for a total of 2130. I was completely shocked. I'd been preparing for the wrong section. </p>
<p>Now I have less than a week, and I am looking to purchase the best possible book for SAT math preparation and just dive in to it over the coming days. My goal is to improve math by at least 100 points (hopefully the other two sections by 10 points, though that's unlikely) for a total score of 2250. Do you kind folks have any suggestions for a good SAT Math prep book, or an SAT prep book with an excellent math review? It can't be too obscure, because I need to be able to find it in a bookstore.</p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any assistance.</p>
<p>The best book for practice tests is the College Board’s own book, but you’ll get a lot of divergent recommendations on here about strategy books. My two cents: take a practice test or two and try to identify the kinds of questions that are giving you the most trouble, then drill only those. If you’re scoring a 660 cold (and more importantly, if you’re confident enough in math that you were feeling smug during your first sitting), you probably don’t need to study the entire breadth of what could be tested. </p>
<p>If you’re so pressed for time that you can’t take full tests, I’ve written a few free math drills that are aimed at helping kids identify weak areas. If you’d like to try those, here are the direct pdf links (the second one is more challenging):</p>
<p><a href=“http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1673179/PWNtheSAT%20math%20diagnostic%201.pdf[/url]”>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1673179/PWNtheSAT%20math%20diagnostic%201.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1673179/PWNtheSAT%20math%20diagnostic%202.pdf[/url]”>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1673179/PWNtheSAT%20math%20diagnostic%202.pdf</a></p>
<p>I usually get 710+ on my math sections but this last SAT I got a 670 because my proctor ended time somewhat early (didn’t finish and made 2 foolish mistakes in grid-ins [4 skipped net total] ). I did well on the experimental but, that didn’t count. </p>
<p>I basically went over special triangles, properties of quadrilaterals, supp./comp/ angles and basic algebraic concepts. Knowing some trig can help too (I use trig because it helps cut time down.)</p>
<p>I practiced my math by doing many practice tests and whenever I got an answer wrong, instead of looking at the solution, I tried to solve the problem with no time limit. If I didn’t get the answer, I would go to the back of the book for the solution and would experiment until I got the answer (I used BB2 of course). If you do not like my method, go check out Grubers because it is vouched by many on this forum.</p>
<p>Thanks, both of you. I’ll take a look at those .pdfs.</p>
<p>Since I really only have enough time for one book, should I just purchase the official SAT study guide and stick to the practice tests?</p>
<p>Those practice tests are great, but don’t only do practice tests or you’ll spend too much of your time practicing things you already have down cold. Use the CB book as a jumping off point, and seek out focused practice on your weak areas once you’ve identified them. This msg board is a great resource for specific techniques. :)</p>