Practice ---> Real Deal

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>My strategy:</p>

<p>Practice tests - did 4 total, wrote 3-5 practice essays (just the essays) and had some others look at them. Did practice tests in the interest of saving time, i.e. 15 minutes per section, no time spent checking.</p>

<p>Went to bed about an hour early the night before the test (just chilled that night, no work/studying). Had a good breakfast, drove to the test center, took the test. Ate an entire sandwich during one of the breaks as a snack and drank a bottle of water throughout.</p>

<p>Result:</p>

<p>I scored as expected in CR and Math, but slightly lower in Writing (I blame the scale and the fact that I checked…one of my two errors was due to changing answers while checking). Overall, I was satisfied (2360).</p>

<p>Also, for an interesting anecdote:
I didn’t prep for my sophomore PSAT at all and scored a 231. Did 2 practice tests prior to the junior PSAT (shooting for a 240)…scored a 227 (1 more question wrong).</p>

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<p>^that’s crazy…2360. That’s my dream score lol.</p>

<p>So basically, the consensus is to do nothing the night before?</p>

<p>And what are some minute (last 2 week) things to do to try to get from 750 M to 800 and 710-720 W to 800? Is there anything to improve these 2 areas in 2 weeks?</p>

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<p>practice: avg 2330</p>

<p>Real: 2390</p>

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<p>man I’m so jealous of you people who can easily score 2300+</p>

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<p>lol same here. </p>

<p>so what’s the ideal breakfast anyways?</p>

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<p>what you usually eat. </p>

<p>If you usually eat two pounds of bacon and 10 eggs, it would be a catastrophic ideal to eat healthy in the morning. </p>

<p>Similarly, if you usually eat cereal, dont go chomping down one of those breakfast sandwiches from Denny’s.</p>

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<p>I had cereal and a glass of Cranberry Juice if I remember, though I was so nervous/excited/anxious/etc… I couldn’t finish the cereal.</p>

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<p>From what I remember, I had some eggs and toast. Don’t overdo it.</p>

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<p>ok thanks. </p>

<p>And right now, I keep making 3-4 errors in W. I have barely any time before the SAT too. I want to cut down to 1 error. How can I do this? And also, if you have any tips for getting -9 CR to -5 or -6, it would be very helpful.</p>

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<p>It isn’t just about picking a random time in the day to answer questions off a section. It also needs to be done by taking the practice tests under timed pressure. I recognize that as one of my errors to the atrocious results of my score.</p>

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<p>^ i take tests under the time constraints, but i stop and revieiw answer explanations aftere each section, then move onto the next section. so, in all, it takes 4hr. or so complete an entire test.</p>

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<p>Ok, and also, how do I keep the same mindset and calmness that I write tests at home with during the real test? I do so much worse on my princeton review diagnostic tests than I do on the practice tests I write at home. </p>

<p>For example, my most recent diagnostic score was 670 M, 660 CR, and about 680-700 W. As you can see, I CHOKE when I write it at the PR class. I am so much calmer and in a better, more focused mindset when I’m at home. I don’t know why. </p>

<p>It’s not like I’m getting stressed out at the testing center, but something makes me perform much worse. How can I translate my performance at home (~2130…wanna pray to get low 2200s on the real deal) to the actual testing center. There is some kind of major gap happening and I don’t know what’s going on. I do much worse at the testing center than at home (on average 100-150pts. worse).</p>

<p>EDIT: and if I plan to write the SAT in June and October 2010 as well, should I finish the rest of the BB tests right now? (i have 5 remaining). Or should I save them for the next SATs I write (when I prep more)?</p>