<p>I took the SAT and got a 1970, and I want to do better. How can I increase my score by 250-300 points in 3 months? </p>
<p>Reading: 650
Math: 660
Writing: 660
Essay: 8</p>
<p>I really want to do better but I don't know how to prep for it.
Thanks to anyone who can help! :) </p>
<p>Okay, lots of other contributors will post recommendations for test prep and strategies for raising your score. I hate to be the skunk at the garden party, but I hope you realize that a score increase of that magnitude is exceedingly unlikely. The good news is that you stand a decent shot at breaking 2000. I have re-posted official statistics from the College Board on several threads. Bear in mind that they WANT you to keep re-taking the test and purchasing their study guides, so they have a vested interest in exhorting students to aim ever higher. Fifty-five percent of all seniors who retake the SAT will improve their scores. Thirty-five percent of scores will go down; ten percent will remain the same. Great! The odds are that your scores will improve. The average 3-score increase is 40 points, though. That means only 27.5% of seniors re-taking the test will see their 3-test composite score rise by more than 40 points. What do you suppose the odds are for a 250-300 point increase? That is 6-8 times the improvement that barely one-quarter of the second-time testers will have. All those re-testers want their scores to go up. They would not spend the time and money if they didn’t. Many will have received lots of advice to improve your scores. Here’s my advice - it’s worth every penny it cost you: sign up to re-take the test; do a reasonable amount of prep; start building your college list based on your existing scores, not on the ones you hope to get. If your scores do go way up, you can modify the list accordingly. If a 1950 is below a college’s 25th percentile, that college will probably still be a reach with a 2100; it will just be a more realistic one. </p>
<p>Yeah, you probably won’t be able to increase that much. A more realistic goal would be to try to get maybe around 2100. In that case, I would recommend just doing practice tests.</p>
<p>okay, I won’t be the debbie downer at the party this time. It can be done by some people, but those people have to be willing to do what it takes every day. A lot of people cannot do it because 1950 is a good estimation of what they’re capable of. In addition, cramming for the SAT cannot make up for a lifetime in which one hasn’t done any reading. But some people, probably more than my colleagues above realize, can do this.</p>
<p>I find that high school students have a lot of free time over the summer and even during the beginning of first semester senior year. Turn those pockets of free time into a commitment to improve your scores by 200 points and you will either fail to reach your goal but learn a whole lot about how hard you can work and how many minutes are in the day OR you will reach your goal and learn a whole lot about how hard you can work and how many minutes there are in the day.</p>
<p>Either way, you win. There is a large benefit whether you succeed or fail to reach your goal. You will prepare yourself for how hard you have to work in college. You have no idea how much harder you will have to work at good colleges than you did at your high school. </p>
<p>Here are several tips for trying to do this: First, practice at least 15 minutes a day, no days off; don’t go to bed without doing your 15 minutes, but do the 15 minutes when you’re at your best and not when you’re going to bed. If you can do more than 15 minutes, do it in 15 minute segments with a break between them. Don’t put off your 15 by doing 30 tomorrow. Second: make a list of all the words you think you know the definition to or a synonym for but don’t. Put each of these words, let’s say 100, on index cards with their synonyms on the back. Memorize these flash cards backwards and forewards as part of your 15 minutes. Third: practice the drills in your SAT handbooks over and over again, particularly the math problems, until you begin to recognize the problem as THIS kind of problem that you’ve seen before. This is a start on how to study. Tip 1 is the most important one. The more you practice, the lower your anxiety and possibly the higher your score. </p>
<p>Haha, I am one of those people…I went from a ~2050 my first take to a ~2350 my second. Take my “testimonial” with a grain of salt, like you would everyone else’s advice. I am also a college senior so I’m a few years out and have not been keeping up with SAT/ACT changes.</p>
<p>The first thing I’d do is ask yourself why you’re getting the score you’re getting. Are you rusty on some math concepts or vocab? Are you unsure about the writing rules? Do you get test anxiety? For me, it was honestly just that I didn’t give a (you know what) my first time around. Literally, that was it. I had very poor concentration the first time I took it and didn’t think it would matter much, and it showed. But this is obviously not a universal reason, so really, sit down with yourself and maybe assess any practice tests you’ve done. Figure out what gets you, and go from there. There is a wealth of advice on the forums, and elsewhere, for strategies and the like.</p>
<p>BTW, it’s best not to go into the exam with a number in mind. I think all that does is put on extra stress.</p>
<p>What I would not do is take a review class. Eiither do it on your own or, if you have money to spend, get a good individual tutor who can focus in on the problems that you need help with.</p>
<p>For the people who have said that a score increase by 250-300 is impossible, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Originally, my score was 1770 but I took my first SAT on a whim and then I studied for a month and got a 1970 so 200 points up isn’t bad but it’s not amazing either. I know getting a higher score would be harder but I think it could be done.</p>
<p>Thanks jkeil911 and retrorocket for the tips. I mean, I have 3 months, and a focused hour a day for 90 days should cut it shouldn’t it? </p>
<p>Does anyone have anymore study plans or tips? </p>
<p>Either way, thanks everyone! </p>
<p>My daughter’s score went up 220 points b/w Oct and March of her Jr. year. without studying.
However, I gave her tips I’d found here on CC re. the Writing section. (Her Writing score had been disappointing, considering her grades and abilities in that dept.) Read through this thread: <a href=“1810 on my November SAT - Test Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1582793-1810-on-my-november-sat-p1.html</a>
My d’s Writing score went from 670 to 750 just by reading these few tips I printed out for her.</p>
<p>Sorry - I made 2 mistakes in my post.
My daughter’s SAT score went up 240 points total b/w Oct of junior year and March of junior year.
Her Writing score went from 600 to 750 (!), using the tips I linked to.</p>
<p>…and her Essay went from a 6 to a 9 (wish I could edit my posts)</p>
<p>My daughter got around 1700 in March of her junior year. She took a full practice exam every week of the summer and did practice problems during the week. She brought her SAT up to 2140 by October and even broke 2200 on a practice exam at one point. Everyone on CC said it was impossible for her to do it. And boom she did it.</p>
<p>In my experience, if you study and take a year, you can do 100+ points–I did that between Junior and Senior year; but if you’re a sophomore, well, it’s perfectly possible to go 400+ points to your fall senior year (likely, no. Possible, yes. I’m speaking from experience.)</p>
<p>I agree about not taking a prep class–tutors are the way to go!</p>
<p>I disagree with ^^^. Don’t waste your money on a tutor. The people who see the highest score increases are the ones who sat down and practiced on their own. There are patterns in the exams and if you take it enough times, you will see it. You don’t need a tutor to tell you them.</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats makes a good point; I did go from a 1900 to a 2190 without a tutor. I did, however, need a tutor from there (and her help got me to a 2310)–if you have the time, OP, see what you can do on your own and then if you find yourself hitting a wall, consider getting a tutor to help you.</p>
<p>@minhoforever your username isn’t a reference to shinee is it?!</p>
<p>Private tutors cost a lot but if they’re worth it and can make me a high scorer (obviously I have to do the work) then I’ll think about it. How many hours a day did you guys study to increase your score by 250? Would 2 hours be good enough? </p>
<p>Also, for critical reading, how do I get better in the vocab section? I’ve heard that I don’t need to memorize 3500+ words so then how do I prep more?</p>
<p>@humbugs haha no it’s not, it’s actually a reference to Lee Min Ho, a South Korean actor 
</p>
<p>@minhoforever I never used a private tutor and was able to increase my PSAT score of 188 to a 2170 and then eventually to a 2250. Actually I used only one SAT Blue book but I was extremely dedicated to the score I wanted. I studied that book inside and out but I never took a full length practice test. I studied sections, first attacking the hardest section for me, grading them, and realizing why I got them wrong. I studied about every other day for two weeks, two hours each time, and then two weeks before I studied everyday, two hours each time again. For critical reading I was able to improve my score by reading. I know, sounds ridiculous, but it worked! I was able to achieve a 740 in CR by cracking open classic novels that had tons of big words in them. My suggestions would be Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark Twain. NO SHAKESPEARE! These authors incorporate great vocabulary and when I stumbled on a word I didn’t know, I just looked it up! Also, it’s important to study the context of the sentence. You have to ask yourself questions such as What are they trying to say? What is the sentence dealing with? What is the tone of the sentence? If you have to fill in two words and one work works but the other could but isn’t the best word, then it isn’t the option. Good luck!!</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation to you. I got a 1950 on my first SAT in March and was able to increase it by 280 points up to a 2230 on the June examination. Part of my problem was timing and to fix that I did practice tests at a time that was 5 minutes faster than what is actually given on the SAT, i.e. for a Math section which was supposed to be 25 minutes I set my timer for 20 minutes. This was all I did, I think I ended up doing 3 practice tests and it made a big difference. But if you’re shaky on concepts use the blue book to learn them and do the appropriate practice problems.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to use all your suggestions and go up at least 120+ points from an 1880 to a 2000+ </p>
<p>@AnnieBeats Tutors are good only when your scores are below a 700 in any section IMO. They can teach you tips to do better on each section to get you to the low-mid 700s level, and after that it’s all on you. I felt they were instrumental in getting my score from a 2080 to 2250</p>