<p>I'm stunned by some of the stories I've read here. People who had no prep at all do alright on the test but many people who work hard for months are not able to. Why does this happen?</p>
<p>I've read many stories here about people who didn't prepare for the test and got 190+ on the PSAT but after preparing for months I only got a 160 what is the problem here?</p>
<p>Probably didn't get enough sleep?</p>
<p>There are two possibilities. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you aced all the practice tests and fell apart on the real thing, then you need to work on test anxiety, which is outside the realm of SAT prep (sort of). </p></li>
<li><p>If you consistently scored around 160 on the practices too, then you've been preparing wrong, and you need to focus on learning the math/writing material and reading more.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have heard so many people whine about how they didn't improve after going through all of the BB's tests... And this is usually the back and forth we have:</p>
<p>"Did you go over the ones you got wrong?"
"No.? </p>
<p>See, that's a problem. If you just blindly take the test without at all thinking about WHY you got questions wrong, you're bound to get those questions wrong again in the future. Go back through the BB, checking all of your answers, and UNDERSTANDING why you got questions wrong. Then we'll talk about score improvement.</p>
<p>^ same...look over your answers-don't just blindly keep re-taking. </p>
<p>Also, a lot of people are naturally gifted and don't need as much study. That's life.</p>
<p>I review the questions each time and they're not the same or they may not even cover the same concepts. I scored around the same on the practice and real test.</p>
<p>^Every SAT test is the same. if you look hard enough, you'll see that every SAT basically tests the same things... over and over again.</p>
<p>Those people that you speak of may be studying more than they claim.This is a internet discussion forum, not the court house. If you are able to do well, and you want to do well, then you will do well. Most of the times. Study hard, study smart.</p>
<p>not really. i'm an international student and my school is one of the few int'l schools which administers the PSAT. the day i had my paper was an afternoon after a gruelling physics test in the morning on which i felt pretty sure i was screwed. </p>
<p>so i went in frustrated, with a mild migraine and with no idea what the hell PSAT even stood for. i ended up with a 202. so the OP is right when he says people can score 190+ with no prep. in fact i have a classmate who had 221 with no prep</p>
<p>Some people test better than others, and different tests may be better for you than other tests. My S is one who needed no prep other than reading through how the SAT is set up (and that was back in 7th grade!); the way the SAT is written "fits" with the way his mind works. You might do better with something that is more straightforward than the SAT; from what I've read here, some students have better success with the ACT, so you may want to try a few ACT practice tests to see if that's a better fit for you.</p>
<p>But after spending so much time and money on SAT prep how can I even think about the ACT.</p>
<p>^Don't ;) </p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>Tristam: I really don't want you to take this offensively, but what kind of student are you at school? Are you in the A/B range, the B/C range, or worse?</p>
<p>I'm only asking you this because if you get straight Cs, for example, you are an average or below-average student. Thus, you can't expect to get a phenomenal SAT score. However, if you are a straight-A student and you consider yourself to be intelligent in context with other students at school, then a 160 may not reflect your true ability.</p>
<p>Again, I know that some people do well on the SAT but have bad grades and vice-versa, but I'm speaking in a broad sense. Your SAT score will most likely reflect your overall standing academically.</p>
<p>^This is absolutley, Positively, not true. The SAT in no way whatsoever tests your academic ability. It is a standardized test that tests specific concepts in each of the sections. Anyone who puts dedicated study to this test can get a good score: once again, there is absolutely no correlation between grades and SAT scores. </p>
<p>Not only that, grades are a pretty superficial way of measuring intelligence. Different schools have different GPA systems, and not only that, a person with a 3.0 and 10 AP classes is NOT the same as a person with a 4.0 and no AP classes.</p>
<p>It's hard to compete with people that have been "prepping" since Kindergarten, isn't it?</p>
<p>...hmm
in my humble opinion, i think it all comes down to the final 10 days of preparation, especially if one is taking it for the second or third time. i find it helpful to just push yourself. be meticulous and calm. i don't really think it matters if somebody has prepped for 5 months or 5 days, it all comes down to the last few days. </p>
<p>but that's just me...</p>
<p>Does it really help if one tries to learn all the vocab in a 3500 hit parade. Because I just can't remember so many words.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm stunned by some of the stories I've read here. People who had no prep at all do alright on the test but many people who work hard for months are not able to. Why does this happen?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There is a number of reasons this happens, the primary reasons usually being:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Commonly, the person has a strong base in the subjects tested IE. does math competitions, takes hard math classes that require a heavy algebra II base, reads a lot, etc. Just because someone does not specifically study for the the SATs does not mean the other academic activities they participate in (this includes classes) doesn't indirectly help them with their SATs score before they ever picked up a SAT Book. I would imagine this being common on a site like CC due to the high achieving students that challenge themselves in all sorts of rigorous classes and academic extracurriculars. </p></li>
<li><p>Intelligence</p></li>
<li><p>They got lucky</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
[quote]
I've read many stories here about people who didn't prepare for the test and got 190+ on the PSAT but after preparing for months I only got a 160 what is the problem here?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This alone tells little. It is not about how well you are scoring presently after months of study. How much did you IMPROVE? If you went from a 120 to a 160 then maybe you began with a weak base to the SATs but now you are improving. If you have pleateaued at a 160 after months of studying I would say most likely there is a problem with the way you are studying. </p>
<p>
[quote]
I review the questions each time and they're not the same or they may not even cover the same concepts. I scored around the same on the practice and real test.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Writing and Math should stick to a group of concepts no matter what test you are taking. Go through the prep books and check out the math/grammar review parts that cover specific formulas used as well as grammar rules. As for CR the vocab usually stays in range of the vocab hit lists, so check those out. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Some people test better than others, and different tests may be better for you than other tests. My S is one who needed no prep other than reading through how the SAT is set up (and that was back in 7th grade!); the way the SAT is written "fits" with the way his mind works. You might do better with something that is more straightforward than the SAT; from what I've read here, some students have better success with the ACT, so you may want to try a few ACT practice tests to see if that's a better fit for you.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Absolutely agree with this post! Just because you spent time preparing for something more than something else doesn't mean you are going to do better. ACT and SAT are inherently different in many ways. Even if you don't want to test with a real ACT, pick up a book in your spare time and try it out. I know plenty of people who are really good at ACT but suck at SAT and vice versa. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Anyone who puts dedicated study to this test can get a good score: once again, there is absolutely no correlation between grades and SAT scores.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Where do you figure this? Although correlation does not imply causation, I figured usually the people who do well on SATs do well in school. I would love to see any concrete evidence about this. </p>
<p>
[quote]
in my humble opinion, i think it all comes down to the final 10 days of preparation, especially if one is taking it for the second or third time. i find it helpful to just push yourself. be meticulous and calm. i don't really think it matters if somebody has prepped for 5 months or 5 days, it all comes down to the last few days.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Although I do not particular agree with this, I will say the last few weeks or days are EXTREMELY important. This does not mean you should cram however, as some people don't do well cramming. </p>
<p>
[quote]
does it really help if one tries to learn all the vocab in a 3500 hit parade. Because I just can't remember so many words.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not sure about the particular list but if you don't have time to read for your vocabulary you should seriously consider picking up a vocab list (not this one in particular, search some other thread for smaller lists).</p>
<p>For vocab, just use Direct Hits...btw, 3500 words is A LOT</p>
<p>You're probably using the wrong study methods. Switch it up.</p>