<p>I hate this argument:
"The SAT doesn't mean ANYTHING. If you're rich you can BUY your score because you can afford expensive private tutors."
That argument is prevalent on these boards and elsewhere as well.
I know there probably are people are out there who agree with me that it's simply a flawed argument. I attend a prep school where the majority of students have private SAT tutors...and yes, while the tutors help the students improve, the students aren't BUYING their scores. Simply having a ridiculously expensive tutor is not going to get you a perfect score because a) While the tutor is helping, the student is the one doing all the practice, and ultimately sitting down for the test and b) An unintelligent rich kid isn't going to get a 2400 no matter how much he practices.
I think people overexaggerate about the advantage that rich kids have. SAT books that familiarize you with different problem types can be found for free on library shelves. So EVERYONE can become equally familiar if they take full advantage of what's available to them.</p>
<p>having a tutor is definitely an advantage but it doesn’t mean everything. i feel like the people who have tutors are the ones who aren’t going to score high. most, if not all, of the high scoring people are the ones who are just naturally smart and gifted and were just born that way.</p>
<p>I aint got ****… but my score qualifies me for NMF in IL and I probably got a 2350+ in March. so, yeah, it’s possible… But saying that wealth doesn’t give you an advantage is ridiculous…</p>
<p>The SAT doesn’t test how naturally intelligent you are. If you think a 25 minute essay, assigned an arbitrary number in probably less than five minutes, tests writing ability, you’re mistaken. If you think your ability to mindlessly cram “direct hit” vocabulary is representative of your reading ability, you’re sadly mistaken. The truth is, anyone relatively smart will get a relatively high score on the SAT, but the highest scores really only represent SAT-taking ability. Prep books and tutors give some kind of advantage, but anyone with a lot of time on their hands could probably do really well.</p>
<p>i disagree, some people are naturally faster at solving math problems and dive right in compared to others who need time to read things through and plan a course of action. being able to quickly determine a course of action isn’t something you can learn, its a gift. me, i’m like that, without having to work at it. but my sister, no matter how much she studied, could never acquire that skill</p>
<p>Money obviously gives people an advantage. that fact is undeniable. if you can’t even afford resources, you are hindered. </p>
<p>BUT, I feel that some rich people, who have all the resources, are sort of lazy when it comes to prep. what I mean is that poorer people, sometimes, will realize that its all on themselves to prep for the SAT. Their future depends solely on them. the motivation and drive from taking on just this mentality, if you think about it, is very powerful. with such a mindset, yes, poorer people and people of lower income can push themselves to success.</p>
<p>There is a youtube video of an Indian boy who lives in literally a tiny village and is super poor, etc. he got a 2400 SAT. he can’t even really speak english. this goes to show how the SAT can be mastered through drive and determination. I’m pretty sure this kid couldn’t even afford to buy school books, let alone SAT prep books. no clue how he managed the 2400…</p>
<p>I would guess that some rich kids would try less when it came to the SAT, figuring that the tutors and such should help their score. Not trying to stereotype, but think about it. if I had a tutor (kinda do, i go to PR Classroom course), I’d think that “hey, this dude should be able to at least raise my score 100 points, so i can chill a bit”.</p>
<p>So, money gives one an advantage, BUT lower income students can make up for that with hard work and determination. This is in a general sense, don’t take it personally or anything. Just generally speaking, this is the affect money has and i’m trying to say that a smart student, with a lack of money, can make up for it with hard work and determination.</p>
<p>kameron: I was generalizing a bit; I studied for the SAT by taking a single practice test and cramming vocab the night before, and I probably have a 2350+. I was just trying to make a point that it isn’t a “natural intelligence” test whatsoever. Maybe you have an excellent vocabulary, but personally I take mostly world literature classes and haven’t come into contact with many SAT words. The math section hardly tests problem solving skills at all. Not every high scorer necessarily studies a ton, but their score represents their test taking ability, not their “natural intelligence”.</p>
<p>The major flaw in the “blame the rich argument” is that the Blue Book and practicing/studying vocab are unquestionably the best methods to prep for the test. This method costs next to nothing. If I had the option of having a private tutor 3 times a week for 2 months + as many SAT classes as I wanted or a Blue Book + Direct Hits, I would choose the latter in an instant.</p>
<p>@setentia: how the f do you do that? If I took the SAT basically cold with no prep, I’d get like 1800 lol.</p>
<p>I suck at the Writing section (sentence error part) and I suck at CR because I am a slow reader (never read a lot…stupid me). Math is silly errors. </p>
<p>So, I guess in my situation, I know that I could do really well, I just need some tweaking. So, for me…yea, I need prepping for such a test. I don’t think its a test of intelligence (well you know what I mean, really the difference between a 700 and a 800 in Math is what, like 3-4 silly errors…you get my point). It’s a test of test taking ability and familiarity of the material. </p>
<p>So, in kameron’s case, yes, he would naturally do well, because I assume he is a great reader and enjoys books. that in its self puts you in amazing shape for the W and CR sections. And math, a good math student will get over 700, and beyond that is a matter of focus and not making silly errors. </p>
<p>Just my take on it. The test taking ability that I’d consider relevent to the SAT is just being focused and if you are a great reader in advance…you will do well. It’s not so much an ability per se, but more of a “knack”. If you read you will ace W and CR. Math is just a matter of no silly errors.</p>
<p>You guys don’t know what I’d do to have that ability to just cram thenight before and get 2300+. I’d cram the night before just to get a 2250, let alone near perfect. How do you do it? I never read, so I guess that’s a major problem…</p>
<p>i gotta get my ~2100 SAT to a 2250+ by the May SAT. eek!</p>
<p>kameron: The ability to work efficiently under pressure and time, the ability to guess by process of elimination, etc. I agree with what Viggy said.</p>
<p>via: I wasn’t bragging, I was pointing out that what I said about high test scorers wasn’t meant as an absolute generalization. I crammed vocab because I thought it might be my weak point; fortunately, as it turned out, I knew most of the vocab that showed up on the test anyways. I also read a lot, but as I said before, the kind of books I read aren’t the kind that are packed with SAT words.</p>