The SAT-Oh God.

<p>Hi guys.. I'm in a bad situation</p>

<p>On the last SAT, I scored 780 Math, 740 WRiting, 630 Reading ( 12 Essay)
2150 Composite</p>

<p>but I haven't studied since b/c of vacations, AP tests, and other time commitments. I have taken the Math II subject test and got an 800 on that, but I need to take more in the fall, at least to get into the schools I am applying to. My question is in this remaining week and a half is there really anything I can do to improve my score to, ideally, a 2300+, or is that just being too optimistic? </p>

<p>Also, I am taking the ACT for the first time in june as well.</p>

<p>In 1 week to improve score to 2300+ is highly unlikely (possible, but I’d doubt it). I just don’t think cramming will be able to raise it above that mark, although anything is possible. </p>

<p>Maybe if you have the entire week off (school over?) and just work through practice and techniques it can help a lot i;ll bet.</p>

<p>eh thanks for the criticism, though I think I can score perfectly in math and writing. As far as reading goes, in a weeks time, what can I do to see a decent improvement (right now im scoring ~650-700)</p>

<p>Well is your problem vocabulary or the actual reading comprehension?</p>

<p>If it’s vocab you can download some kind of list (there are hundreds of them) and study those. If it’s reading itself, that’s a harder fix. It is definitely a fine-tuned skill and I don’t see how you can bring that score up drastically in just a week.</p>

<p>Don’t study for the math or the writing, because you already got that part down. Just cram for the writing. Good luck!</p>

<p>^^ I think he or she means cram for the reading.
Unfortunately, you can’t cram for anything but the vocab. I’d recommend you do plenty of reading sections, and follow a few rules, like read the italics at the top of the page, and don’t read the essay, just skim it, blah blah blah. This will definitely get your score up, and even though you have the writing down, just work on that anyways.</p>

<p>Don’t skim the essay. Skimming misleads you because you’ll see words in multiple choice that you saw in the excerpt, and you’ll instinctively jump for it. Often, test makers anticipate that and consequently put in red herrings. Read both the italics and the passage. What keeps you from scoring higher on CR? You need to elaborate. Is it timing, vocab, analysis, or something else?</p>

<p>Yes, do NOT skim over the passages. Just focus. Honestly. No distractions. Immerse yourself. Don’t practice halfheartedly. Get you mind inside of that passage. </p>

<ul>
<li>Any essay advice for me?</li>
</ul>

<p>I agree with chewydog…while studying vocab words is good, you need to do practice sections of reading. Why, because the questions are tricky if you just skim the material and jump at the first answer. I helped my D study when taking it the first time and some of the questions are “in line 9 …” . What I noticed was that only going back and reading line 9 would lead you to pick wrong answer, because you really need to understand more context. So read several lines. Also more timed practice will help you not feel rushed.</p>

<p>The method that works for me:</p>

<p>Super quickly look at the questions of a passage- not the question itself, but the lines the questions refer to. Go to passage and put a tiny mark next to each line mentioned(if lines 22-24, dash next to 24). Then, no interruptions, just focused reading. No mad page flipping. Read deeply, as if you are intrigued. When you pass by a dash, read a few lines AHEAD of it, then pause to go to the first question. Only answer it if you are confident. </p>

<p>Take a mad load of practice tests. Here is a source full of valuable vocab practice and pretty good passage questions. Use it for vocab, but if you have a better source for passage-based, use that instead.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.xtremepapers.com/papers/SAT/New%20SAT%20Critical%20Reading%20Workbook.pdf[/url]”>http://www.xtremepapers.com/papers/SAT/New%20SAT%20Critical%20Reading%20Workbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>yeah… like it’s not that I have a problem with anything … I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, probably the analysis. Cause last SAT I walked out confidently expecting to get well above a 650 :/</p>

<p>I’d recommend skimming the passage, because then you’ll have a BROAD understanding of what it is implying. Then you can tackle the specific questions (on line 45 what does so and so most nearly mean), and after you have finished all of those, you should have a VERY GOOD understanding of the passage, after which you can answer the much harder questions (tone, mood, purpose). Attempting to read the passage in its entirety is foolhardy, and will result in a lot of wasted time.</p>

<p>I got 660 reading for my first time (oct) and 800 this time. My tip would be don’t skim! Actually read and focus on the passage including the italics and especially the italics. If the words in italics tells you the passage is from the 1960s, you can bet that it will be about equality/racism issues and it helps to get into that mindset before starting to read so you can better comprehend and remember the details. That and make sure that the answers you choose are directly supported by what can be found in the passage, don’t assume anything not in the passage. If you can;t find a line that directly supports your answer, that is not the answer you are looking for.</p>

<p>I agree to everything you just said, especially the part about italics, but I still disagree with your premise that skimming doesn’t help. Seeing as you got an 800, and I got a lowly 720, I’m willing to yield…for now :D</p>