<p>i signed up for the May one (late) last week. this will be my last chance to take it since i'm going on vacation during the June one. </p>
<p>as of right now without any studying, my scores are </p>
<p>writing: 640
cr: 650
math: 610</p>
<p>they kind of suck and I really want to make a 2000 or more or else my parents will disown me! just kidding, but they're asian so... yeah. how can i study efficiently and effectively seeing as i only have a week left of spring break?</p>
<p>Hi there… Same here, I’m also taking up May SAT.
IMHO, here is what I’ll do :</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use some very efficient (and I mean VERY) vocab list, and spread them out during the week to study. I recommend Direct Hits. CERTAINLY not 1000+ list of words.</p></li>
<li><p>Do as many practice tests from the Blue Book as possible. Since you only have one week, this will be much more efficient than wading through complete review books. However, be sure to understand why question 3 is right and question 23 is false. Familiarity is key.</p></li>
<li><p>Most importantly, get used to SAT test taking strategies. Stuff like understanding directions beforehand, judicious use of calculator, educated guesses, you name it. Since you are new to SAT, a few tactics here and there can (and will) save valuable time and hassle.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck for you on the SAT.</p>
<p>I mostly agree with Assiduous with one possible exception. I wouldn’t waste time “doing a lot of practice tests.” Maybe just two if you haven’t taken any at all to make sure you are familiar with the structure of the tests, and to make sure you are applying strategies effectively under timed conditions. Normally I would recommend 4 practice tests, but your time is short. It’s more important right now for you to practice lots of problems using effective strategies. You can definitely practice problems from the blue book (in fact I recommend this), but your time is best spent focusing on mostly Level 4 questions since getting more of these right will raise your score (don’t completely neglect level 1, 2 and 3 questions but level 4 should be your primary focus). If you want some free chapters from my SAT Math strategy book feel free to pm me. If you are not familiar with many SAT specific strategies, then you will definitely find this useful (these are techniques you can apply immediately, thus they will be useful even with the strict time constraints you have).</p>
<p>Best of luck (to both of you).</p>
<p>The same here. I will also take the May SAT I. Any suggestions for someone who already scores a 2000? :)</p>
<p>Also practice tests, Mirage. I got a 2110 on the November test and I’m aiming for a 2200 or bust. I’ve been taking practice tests, and consistently doing this is amazing, as long as you do like Assiduous says about understanding why a wrong one is wrong.
And it really does help. I got a 740 writing and 700 reading on the real one in November. On a practice test I took last night, I got 800 writing and 770 on reading. Math is still going to be a challenge however :p</p>
<p>I just want to emphasize something. If you do decide to do a lot of practice tests make sure that:</p>
<p>(1) you really take the time to understand the ones that you got wrong.
(2) you redo the ones you got wrong EVERY few days until you can get it right by itself.</p>
<p>If you don’t follow number (2), then you will most likely NOT get a similar question right on the actual test.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>joshmay94,
Thanks for your response. I plan to perfect my vocabulary by going through all lists. How does that sound?</p>
<p>Vocabulary studying is a good idea, I’ve heard the Direct Hits book is helpful but I’ve never tried it. As for the passage based questions, read this thread. It was a lifesaver for me:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html</a></p>
<p>joshmay94,
Thanks again for your response. I have already memorized both volumes of Direct Hits 2011. As you may know, I am skeptical about reading articles which obviously don’t offer some magic skills and I do think that unless you are a native who needs some strategies, reading an article is useless.</p>
<p>That particular article is useful to anyone taking the test, not just native speakers.
Is English not your native language?</p>
<p>Read the Sparknotes 1000 SAT word list. It may seem like cramming but trust me, you will remember the words or at least most of them</p>
<p>^
cortana431
I agree for 100%!</p>
<p>joshmay94,
No. English isn’t my native language.</p>
<p>Est-ce que vous parlez francais? Je pense que parce que “Mirage” est un mot francais.</p>
<p>^
No. It’s a very powerful Air Force Aircraft! (sorry for off topic :))</p>
<p>So what about english being my second language? :)</p>
<p>Yes, the Mirage is a French air force airplane, so I thought you were French. What is your native language?</p>
<p>We are talking about upcoming SAT. The “French issues” are not relevant. If you want to ask personal questions, please PM. But this is general thread and it have relevance only to the SAT. </p>
<p>So again do you have any advice for me? I am working on my vocabulary now.</p>
<p>I’m also taking the test in may i got a sucky score of 1370, ive got cracking the sat princeton review, and barron math workbook but this direct hit and blue book plan seems to be attracting since I havent studied for sat since the test i took in january</p>
<p>^
Is that 1370/1600? That’s not bad at all.</p>
<p>I improved my math score by almost 100 points (now it’s exactly a 700!) just by taking practice math sections over and over again. I think familiarity with the types of problems really helps. But I’m still stuck with the writing and CR sections.</p>
<p>How does one even study for those? I know there’s vocabulary but what else do you have to know??? Spring break ends in two days and I doubt I’ll be able to study during the school week.</p>
<p>By 1370 I meant that as my sat score out of 2400 
Apparently My scores meet Cornell’s Pre-med requirements LOOL just a problem with math is what I have. BTW I checked out Direct Hits seems pretty amazing, if only I knew about that books before, but for now I’m stuck with Cracking the SAT Princeton Review’s hit parade.</p>