<p>Hey guys, I have been reading this forum since early October and I finally decided to make an account. I'm not a typical "CCer", as you call it, and I now realize I am completely "average" according to this forum, so please do not ridicule my "bad" scores. I'm not looking to attend ivy schools, thank you.</p>
<p>Anyway I am a senior in NC and I took the SAT in March and this past October. I already applied early to UNC CH, NC State, and BC. </p>
<p>My SAT scores are like this for March->October (no prep whatsoever):
CR:580->600
M:610->630
W:650->620
Essay:11->12
Total:1840->1850
super:1880</p>
<p>Being a senior, I know that October is one of the last days to take the SAT for ED. So the main thing I want to do is improve my scores for RD so I can apply to higher reach schools like Duke and Vanderbilt since my SAT's are the only thing hindering my probability of being accepted (I have good EC's, recs, essays, and gpa). So I signed up for the December SAT...I hope I didn't make a mistake because I felt there isn't really any harm in taking it again. Is there any advice someone is wiling to give to improve one's SAT? And will taking it in December put me at any disadvantage that I am unaware of? I am willing to study (<em>sigh</em>) but I hope it won't require much effort. </p>
<p>--All in all I am a great writer, just BAD at grammar. (weird huh?)
--I'm good at math, I think I just move too quickly and omit quite a few. Is omitting even worth it or should I just guess?
--Reading is the one I hate so much. I don't read. At all. I guess I should change that. And vocab lists seem too much trouble for the 1 or 2 words that might show up.</p>
<p>I know you guys have probably seen millions of threads asking for advice to improve SAT's. But it would be much appreciated if you can recycle a couple of links and/or give some advice of your own. Thanks.</p>
<p>Your scores aren’t awful, you know, but not as good as they might be, I’m sure. You don’t sound seriously invested in giving it one last try. I understand being ambivalent - taking the darn thing just sucks and you’ve probably got lots of other things going on. But, there’s really no point in taking it again if you’re not going to give it 100% - you haven’t bothered to do any prep so far, so why now, when it’s pretty close to being too late? If you decide you don’t want to do it, fine, but don’t half-@@@ it </p>
<p>So, you’ve got a month. If you’re in, get the College Board blue book and do as many practice problems as you can. You’re also pretty clearly unversed on strategy, so go read Xiggi’s prep thread. It’s fine to omit questions if you’re totally clueless, but if you can rule out at least one wrong answer, you should guess. I’d probably focus more time on the math, since it’s easier to bring up your score more quickly. You’re seriously going to have to get over your reading aversion if you want to do well in college, but it’s too late to make up for lost time in the next month, so don’t bother with vocab. For grammar, google “sparknotes seven deadly screwups.”</p>
<p>Hope I haven’t sounded too harsh, but stop dithering Good luck.</p>
<p>@swans, thanks for the advice. I borrowed the blue book and I will take practice tests, I am getting pretty darn determined to do well now. I’ll be sure to review the grammar thats all I need to do well on writing.</p>
<p>Great advice from swans004. Just adding a bit to it:</p>
<p>You know what you strengths and weaknesses are better than anybody else and also where you need the most improvement. Figure out where you need how much improvement and divide your time proportionally. </p>
<p>For math, try to see if you can find a really great tutor. There’s nothing better than a gifted tutor. Even one on Internet can work wonders.</p>
<p>You gotta practice CR. There’s no way out of it.</p>
<p>If vocabulary is an issue, get some good software, like Suvobi (it’s an iPhone app) or there are a few others as well. Spend only 30 minutes on it everyday (or whatever time you’ve decided to spend on it. Just don’t go overboard and ignore aspects).</p>
<p>Mastering grammar should make huge improvement in your score. Good news is that if you’re willing to apply yourself… grammar isn’t as big a hurdle as it sounds Good Luck!</p>
<p>Glad you’re getting psyched up (I’m hearing Rocky-type theme music in the background)! I just bet you’re going to make some real strides in a month. Let us know if you get stumped, and definitely let us know how the test goes. I think you’ll be amazed at how much a little preparation will make in your confidence level. Now go kick some tail!</p>
<p>In my opinion, vocab is the EASIEST way to boost RD score. Sentence completeions dont take too much time but still yield the same points as passage questions. Also, many of the passage questions require a certain level of vocabulary.</p>
<p>I never skip questions on the any collegeboard test unless I absolutely have no idea what the answer is AND cannot eliminate of the possibilities. It seems to work pretty well.</p>
<p>Yeah, thanks for the motivation swans. We’ll see when the test comes how much I improve! I already reviewed some math today and took a practice test in one section. I figure 25-40 minutes a day reviewing these sections will help and figuring out wrong/correct answers. I missed the 4 hard problems =</p>
<p>Thanks odyssey for your input, it is much appreciated.</p>
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