Realistically how much can I improve by?

Test Preparation
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<p>Hi all! Quick question: My first diagnostic SAT, I scored a 1660 (math: 630, reading: 580, and writing: 450 -this last one kills me to look at considering my English teachers constantly praise my writing style, and I usually have no problems in English). </p>

<p>I'm a junior currently and just attended my first SAT class (specifically The Princeton Review). How much can I improve by? I realize where I fall, and that this is a pretty average grade so there's no need to tell me that. All I want to know is if I even have some potential to get me by the 1900s or -dare I say- even a 2000?</p>

<p>Oh and how can I stop feeling so stupid? My average is a 99 so my parents are expecting an AMAZING score and keep going on and on about it. I just can't get over how...average my grade is, it's a blow to my self esteem (and yes I realize this is the most arrogant sounding sentence; sorry for how b****y I seem right now...)</p>

<p>But yeah, realistically can anyone give me an estimate? (all this depending on how hard I work)</p>

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<p>Realistically, you can probably get… at least a 2200… I don’t know if it’s safe to say that a 2400 is realistic but it’s possible.</p>

<p>I personally also did quite well at school and then mediocre on the SAT when I first tried it; nothing you said really makes you come off as “b****y.” And for the most part no one is going to pop their head in tell you that your score is average and be on their way.</p>

<p>The very fact that you’re speaking in terms of “diagnostic” tests speaks to how unexposed to the SAT you are. Not sure exactly what to say to make you feel less stupid, but it’s the case that as your exposure to the SAT increases so does your mastery over it.</p>

<p>All that being said, I don’t feel that catering to your self-esteem through words alone will work very well. Results help.</p>

<p>START HERE: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-new-feature-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs-please-read-before-posting.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/763933-new-feature-best-sat-prep-forum-faqs-please-read-before-posting.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That page has a huge collection of knowledge from the greatest SAT-minds on here (which is saying a lot). Use those resources at your own risk as most of it is very detailed and frighteningly extensive. However, almost all of it is extremely helpful. Once again, a word of warning that it is A LOT.</p>

<p>I’d like to highlight a few resources (contained on that page as well):
COLLECT $200 AS YOU PASS GO HERE:<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html&lt;/a&gt;
Xiggi was a monster at the SAT and has advice to help.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html&lt;/a&gt;
That page really helps on the essay. It works. It’s a shame they grade the essay almost by word count (length is invariably an indicator of score) but it can be used to your advantage.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html&lt;/a&gt;
Also decent, didn’t rely on this too much since by the time it was posted I had already picked up everything from all over this forum, but this is a great consolidated list of ways to handle each section/test/whatever.</p>

<p>General things accepted by the SAT:
Taking more practice exams = higher score. True. 100% true. Memorize vocab, do math drills, speed read ancient British litterature as much as you want, none of it helps nearly as much as simply doing practice tests - timed or not (though the other things help too).
SO one of the largest used resources is the “official” collegeboard SAT book. It has like 10 practice SATs in it. Yeah, that one. You’ll probably want one of those.</p>

<p>Helpfulness of prep classes are pretty disputed. It’s generally accepted that you can do everything a prep class can do for you on your own, if you spent the same amount of time just working on your own. Of course you have to have the discipline to do that. That’s where prep classes help. They force you to prepare for the test.</p>

<p>Tutors on the other hand (though I’m not fond of them) are looked a bit higher upon as they can help you achieve progress in a faster amount of time if they’re good. That’s the catch, they have to be good. And good ones are rare. Not to mention fees but that shows up everywhere.</p>

<p>The amount of material offered on this forum is enough to let you completely obsess over the SAT. Try not to.</p>

<p>Oh yeah, back to the estimate thing. Honestly, there is absolute no reason you can’t break 2000, 2100, 2200, and more. It does depend, as you said, on how hard you work. But just to put a number to it, my estimate is… 2180. Just because.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that a lot of sat courses make the diagnostic test a lot harder than the others, so that when you take the final test, it shows improvement. In one two-week course, I scored a 1610 on the first test and a 2170 on the last one–most of that was because the final test was much easier.</p>

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<p>SAT writing is also different from school writing. PROPER Grammar is tested; most people use incorrect grammar daily, whether speaking or writing an essay-- its important to learn what’s what. </p>

<p>I also considered myself a fair writer as well, but got a 680 on my first writing section. Then for the most recent one, I just learned to diagram sentences. It’s cumbersome, but remarkable effective. I managed a 800 on it.</p>

<p>Just practice practice practice-- I’m sure you’ll break 2000 easily by the end, and 2200 if you really want it.</p>

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<p>*this last one kills me to look at considering my English teachers constantly praise my writing style, and I usually have no problems in English). *</p>

<p>I don’t know what kind of school you go to, but many schools are not strong in teaching English. </p>

<p>*My average is a 99 so my parents are expecting an AMAZING score and keep going on and on about it. *</p>

<p>Is it possible that your school has grade inflation? Many kids have A averages, but don’t end up with high test scores. There’s a large pool of kids with high GPAs; there is a much smaller pool of kids with high test scores.</p>

<p>Have you taken the toughest curriculum at your school? Lots of APs and honors?</p>

<p>Is this a public or private school? </p>

<p>Did you look over what you missed? What kind of questions were they?</p>

<p>Since you’re only a junior, you do have time to bring up your scores. Good luck.</p>

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<p>I had a 490(with a 9 on essay and 1720 overall) on writing when I took it on June without any preparation. Then a 600(with a 10 on essay and 1840 overall) when I took it this October with some preparation ( not a whole lot though). I guess you have to figure out what went wrong. In my case, I’m just not a good test taker, I can write but I suck at those multiple choice questions. I’m taking them again this December and I’m hoping to get 650+ on writing section and hopefully a total score of 2100+ for the merit based scholarships.</p>

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<p>definitely by a lot
i started off with a 1530
now have a 2210</p>

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<p>Study hard I moved up from a 1620 to a 1990 just by hard work and a practice test nearly every saturday morning.</p>

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<p>I scored a 1600 on my first sat (although it was a practice) the summer before my junior year. I was worried so I started studying maybe around 2 or 3 hours a day during the summer. I then focused on school during junior year (AP Classes T.T). I have reviewed somewhat recently and I can score around 2200. Im taking the SAT in Jan and I hope for a 2300+! :smiley: Good Luck.</p>

<p>Another example:
A CCer got a 164 on his psat. Studied one hour a day until the next year and scored a2340. </p>

<p>The SAT is something you have the work at, without study you should get an avg score. I see you have high grades, now do you get them without work or are you just a natural genius. The same thing applys with the SAT, you just need to work at it.</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids:
I’ve only just started taking AP classes this year, I’ve been taking all honors since sophomore year, and even before that I was a year ahead in math and foreign language so I’m in precalc and College Spanish now. As for how strong of an English Department my school has, I wouldn’t know exactly, just that my high school is one of the more difficult schools in general- and it’s private if that matters. Either way thank you for the response. :)</p>

<p>moodragonx:
I’ll be sure to look at those links, thanks for both those and the advice! :slight_smile: I am actually very new to the whole SAT thing- especially when compared to my friends who have started obsessing over it this past summer while I’ve been away, so I guess you can say I feel like I’m starting late. But again, thank you SO much, your post really calmed me down.</p>

<p>qwerty43:
Yeah, my father told me the same thing about the courses. I don’t know. I still feel as if I should be doing better on them. Do you mean they’re designed to be harder compared to the other diagnostics but equal in level to the SATs or just harder in general though?</p>

<p>xFocus:
Hm, well I do study, but I wouldn’t be considered a “go-hard”. I work the areas I need, and I relax about the areas I know I can get good grades in without too much stress. And thank you! Good luck to you too! :D</p>

<p>As for everyone else, thank you so much. The fact that people are telling me it’s possible to improve by “x-amount” helps; I was reading something about how it was difficult to get better, and I got really worried.</p>

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<p>I went from a 1600ish to a 2200 after taking countless practice tests and taking the real test only twice. It is definitely possible!</p>

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<p>My advice would be study for it on your own. Buy the blue book do all the tests and understand why you got every question wrong. Memorize vocab words (but don’t overdo it) and practice math problems and your math and CR score will go up. Search the SAt forum for some well know guides that will help. The 1st poster already listed a lot of the good ones. For writing, specifically, read the Sparknotes deadly 7 writing mistakes and just practice. I went from 570 to 710 on the actual test from practice. You can do it. My PSAT score was 178 junior year and my SAT score senior year after studying was 2130. It’s possible. You have to be dedicated and study SMART. My advice is for you not to take any other tests beside the blue book tests. When is your SAT date? Plan your study schedule based on that. My advice would be to take it in january or march to allow much time for you to study for it on you own. This is very important—Prep courses usually only get you to 1700-2000 (generally). If you want to really do well, your going to have to motivate yourself and study independently. Good luck :)</p>

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<p>Well you obviously need more improvement on your writing…</p>

<p>Practice more and stop baosting</p>