<p>Well, even I used to read the whole passage first and then answer the questions. Firstly, this took much more time than granted and secondly, I messed up with the answer choices having read the whole passage.
Recently, I adopted the technique of marking all the “line” questions in the passages and then attack it. When the specific lines comes in way, I answer it. This is working like a charm with considerable improvement. It eliminated 2 -3 choices straight away since they are not discussed yet and also, with this technique, you dont need to study the whole passage.</p>
<p>Saying anything more would be classified as gibberish. imthebist put in words my experiences :)</p>
<p>@Tizil7—Yea…the “read it-answer it” approach is most common…but you improved by 5mins just by practice?..but what do you think of just reading questions first and then following line references?..<br>
Also…do you have time left at the end with your method??..
For me, time is the only problem. But for that line reference method, you mentioned, wastes alot of time. what score did you get with it?</p>
<p>Frankly , for CR , there is no golden rule to follow !! All you have to do is find your best suited method … And start practicing !! And no one can stop you from getting a great score for SAT . The more you practise ,The better it gets :-D</p>
<p>
Haha, that’s how I shaved off 5 minutes from my time :D</p>
<p>
I got a 680. But that’s not so much because of my change in strategy as it is becasue of losing my watch :P</p>
<p>@Tizil : Haha !!!</p>
<p>hey guys which all colleges will you apply to? especially the safe ones? I cant decide lol</p>
<p>I am going for engineeering mainly. Is everyone here going for engineering? </p>
<p>Well, I know my dream colleges …but you are right, the safer ones are hard to decide.
I am wondering if Harvey mudd offers a considerably good engineering school (being a liberal arts schoool.)!?.
Besides, USC can be looked in as a safe choice and good at the same time.</p>
<p>Tizil7,</p>
<p>Great job on working hard on the exam. Most people give up after a half hearted try.</p>
<p>You must really look at your EC’s - Leadership and Team skills, don’t exclude ordinary stuff like organizing college events. </p>
<p>EC’s are about showing participation and what you will contribute to college.</p>
<p>Chimni, Top-5 grad</p>
<p>Dilettante800,</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd has a good engineering school, plust easy to reach professors and an eclectic student body. Should be considered.</p>
<p>Viterbi is ranked in and around the top-10, tight alumni, good location.</p>
<p>Chimni, Top-5 grad</p>
<p>For CR,</p>
<p>I prefer the scan question, then read with reference method.</p>
<p>In the read it - answer it way, I found I was reading it , reading the question, going back reading it = time.</p>
<p>Top-5 grad</p>
<p>So Guys, tell me. What’s the point of giving APs now?
The next ones are in May 2012. By which point I’m assuming we’ll have our news.</p>
<p>Basically, I’m asking “Is there a point? If yes, what is it?”</p>
<p>^First of all, it’ll boost your application, since you giving an AP means you’re automatically taking a more rigorous course than the average High School Diploma course. It’s the same as the IB–our exams were in May too, yet the fact that we were working towards that final exam is a plus in our favor. All the hours you put in toiling away at your EE/IAs/TOK essay do not go amiss in the AdCom’s eyes. I don’t know how the AP works, but the advantage is more or less the same.
Secondly, hopefully by that time you would’ve gotten in and decided on the University of your choice (and I sincerely hope all of you do). Doing well on your AP/IB exams gives you extra credit for your first year. For most top tier universities this means getting a 4/5 or a 6/7 in your AP and IB exam respectively. The benefits of this vary from University to University and from department to department; some advantages include being able to skip introductory courses and getting priority whilst competing with students while registering for classes (again this depends on your particular college/department, you’ll have to research how your prospective Uni deals with IB/AP grades).</p>
<p>(I really shouldn’t be lurking here, but couldn’t resist. Hope that helped!)</p>
<p>@arunemo --thanks for the information.</p>
<p>But guys…i agree AP could have been a plus point …but for us, its too late and the idea to take a gap year for merely an AP exam would “not be wise”, as to put it euphemistically.</p>
<p>Arunemo! You’re a lifesaver! Thank you for that invaluable advice. In fact, I would sure appreciate a few more 2015ers to impart their hindsight to us :)</p>
<p>Dilettante800, I still believe if we take APs in May 2012, we’ll still be allowed to use the credits. And no, dropping an year is very… less… productive? Illogical. I can’t find the right word ;)</p>
<p>APs do not really contribute to your overall application in decisionmaking. They can add some plus points if you have scores of 4,5 but the intent of APs and IBs in the overall process comes after you are admitted.</p>
<p>You use the scores you get to get waive classes and reduce the number of credits needed to graduate. So if some of you are applying to state schools like UT, UIUC, Geogiatech, you can get credit for APs completed.</p>
<p>APs can help you save time and money at college. E.g You could graduate in 3.5 years instead of 4 saving say 5L.</p>
<p>They are globally recognised permanent record of his/her performance and enable you to apply as a potential transfer student.</p>
<p>This should be visited in the 11th, then it could come into play at highly selective colleges, but marginally, but then admission to those colleges can be missed by a small margin.</p>
<p>Dillettante, the ap is a freebie for you after admission. If you bomb it does not effect your admission. If you do well you qualify for credits.</p>
<p>@chimni & texaspg --thanks for your information and yes now it makes more sense to me.</p>
<p>@Tizil7-- i think yea…we should really look into APs next year…cos i love the idea that we would be able to save time in college!!</p>
<p>So, have any of you guys started writing your essays yet?
BTW, for those who don’t know yet -
New CommonApp rule: the word limit is now 500 words.
I don’t know what it was before this, though.
oh, and WOOHOO! This is post #100 on this thread. Hopefully, many more to come. :D</p>