<p>Hi, I got my SAT scores back in May. It was an 1860 (Math:640 Writing:610 Critical Reading:600). I am applying to UPenn, Harvard, Northwestern, Duke, Cornell, Princeton, UVA, and UNC. I want to raise my score by at least 140 points, is this possible and what do I have to do to give my self the best chance at doing so?</p>
<p>Also I am taking them in October and I am a going to be a senior so I have 3 months to study and practice</p>
<p>i improve 170 points from my first to second time. i improved 100 math 20 cr and 50 wr
all i really did was answer the sat question of the day, and just focus really hard during the test</p>
<p>It’s definitely possible. From my first testing date to my second, I improved 210 points without really doing anything differently.</p>
<p>Schedule another testing date, invest in a copy of the Blue Book, and make a point to do as many SAT practice tests as possible. Do the SAT question of the day. Buy another guidebook if you think you need it (there are plenty of reviews online to help you decide which to buy).</p>
<p>It’s important to get a “feel” for the questions IMO. None of the topics tested on the SAT are really “advanced”; questions are just asked in a way that is not usually encountered in a standard curriculum.</p>
<p>So, practice tests. Go. :)</p>
<p>It’s definitely possible. I improved from an 1830 to a 2220 without much studying. I just took a few(5) practice tests to improve my accuracy and stop making so many dumb mistakes. I also reviews vocab every once in a while and taught myself like all the basic grammar rules. I was already really good at math just had to stop making dumb errors. In the end I went from a 580-720Cr,680-770M,and570-730 Writing. Just make sure you understand why something is right and why it is wrong, your opinion doesnt matter on the SAT.</p>
<p>What?!?!? I thought 100it points would be hard thanks for the examples they really made me feel better. For your improvements did you have a gap as large as mine,May to October and I have the guide books from my Princeton Review course, will they suffice??</p>
<p>Make sure you get the college board blue book first and foremost. For writing I used the ultimate guide to SAT grammar(yellow book) and my barron’s ACT36 books helped me with english too. PWN the SAT is really good for math. For reading I just used list of like top sat words and read through them(probably learned like 200 words). When you take practice tests do some timed and some untimed, if you can’t get the questions right without time constraints you can’t expect to do so with them.</p>
<p>Yea that makes sense, about how many hours did you study a day and how many months between the first time and the retake?</p>
<p>Improving your score by 140+ points is definitely possible. It really depends on how motivated you are to study and how effective your studying methods are.</p>
<p>I don’t actually sit down and “study” (unless you consider my practice SATs study sessions. In that case I study for 4 hours a day for two days each week). Instead I just type or write down a list of concepts and vocab words I want to learn, read over the list once, and then keep referring back to it throughout the day. I don’t sit down and study for hours at a time because it gets extremely monotonous. Instead I just have several sporadic 5-15 minute skimming “sessions” throughout the day. It works for me. I raised my score up to the 2200s/2300s by doing that for a month.</p>
<p>Wow! What did you raise it from? And I agree that sort of method seems more efficient</p>
<p>I used to score in the mid 1500s.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have trouble focusing on one thing for a long time, so the nonchalance of my schedule is really effective for me.</p>
<p>Nice, thanks! Any more examples/tips?</p>
<p>Yea ill put in the hours and def. take practice tests. More tips/opinions?</p>
<p>I improved 220 points from first test to second. For CR, really try reading the news. if you live in a big city, you can read the newspaper that arrives at your front door. Make your internet homepage Wall Street Journal or New York Times and click on the articles that interest you. Reading these upper level articles makes you really pay attention to the tone of the work and make you analyze. You don’t have to do the science articles, I read the travel articles and those aren’t considered “scholarly” at all. The quality of writing found at these newspapers are at the level of the SAT</p>
<p>ight thanks guys I appreciate it very much! will the Princeton review manual suffice for review?</p>
<p>No get the Official SAT Study Guide Second EDition released by collegeboard.</p>
<p>saving this~</p>
<p>i went from a 650 to a 750 in CR just by reading NYtimes and Moby Dick… practice sections didnt really help me</p>
<p>Take it from me: 1950 -> 2350!
Note: my critical reading improved from 600 something to a full 800.</p>
<p>My strategy: as many timed practice tests as possible, don’t take prep classes unless you’re one of those people who learn best with human interaction, invest in a good prep book, memorize A LOT of vocab (sentence completions are a give-away), and memorize common idioms. Don’t waste too much time on the essay-it won’t do much.</p>
<p>So a combo of the Blue Book and the SAT Study guide second edition. @cc2468 I have a book of common vocab I’ll try to do ten a day. I def. didnt study enough the first time around…I’ll also read a lot of newspapers</p>