<p>Well, it doesn't matter if the SAT's only test your hardwork or knowledge and not your "smartness" (analytical thinking?). You can be the smartest person in the world and still amount to nothing if you are lazy or don't know anything.</p>
<p>I went from a 1450 (760M 690V) from taking the test cold to a 1540 after going through Princeton Review's prep book. I definitely didn't learn any crucial material in my classes, nor did I acquire additional "reasoning" skills in those couple of months; I can confidently attribute virtually my entire score increase to being familiar with the test itself (and how to exploit its weaknesses). I also found myself much less pressed for time, since I learned how to use the MC format to find shortcuts to questions I had been doing the "math class" or "English class" way. Even though 90 points isn't a spectacular increase, IMHO I can safely say that I wouldn't have broken that "1500" barrier without SAT prep. Using these kinds of beatable tests for life-altering college admissions decisions is, by any rational measure, insane.</p>
<p>to all those who say it should be illegal to study for the SAT and that the SAT when studied for is not a measure of intelligence-</p>
<p>no it is not a measure of intellignce. it is a measure of knowledge, a teeny bit of smartness, and a lot of how hard you are willing to work. sure there isnt a huge correlation between SAT score and later success (I dont think...) but in regards to using the test for college admissions- if the person is willing and able to study so successfully for the SAT, why wouldnt they apply those same skills to their college courses and succeed in those too?</p>
<p>also, it is very possible to study very very minimally and get a 1600 (like study the week before for a couple hours a day). i swear.
:)</p>
<p>ps sorry for the incoherence. its like midnight and i spent allllllllllll day working on this pain-in-the-rear english final project....back to work now...</p>
<p>I don't really buy that idea about studying for the SAT correlating with studying in college. First of all, the amount of studying I did for the SAT (around 8 hours total, at most) doesn't even begin to compare to the kind of study habits necessary to succeed in college. Secondly, I would look at the material that's being studied. IMO, the SAT is a closed loop, and preparing for the test is simply study time that could have been used learning math, English, biology, etc. If the test has any effect, I think it degrades the amount of material that people learn (admittedly not very significantly) and disadvantages those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (i.e. those who can't afford expensive preparation for the so-called "objective" test).</p>
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no it is not a measure of intellignce. it is a measure of knowledge, a teeny bit of smartness, and a lot of how hard you are willing to work
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<p>sounds like GPA, aside from the smartness part</p>
<p>Having said that, I took the free math practice review at collegeboard.com and I don't remember getting any problems wrong. It really is not hard. I am just about certain that I got above 770 and would be genuinely suprised if I missed more then 1 (and if I missed one it is bc I filled something in wrong because I was just about certain for every answer). It really is not hard, especially with my friend Mr. Ti-89 helping limit careless mistakes. He helps out.</p>
<p>It really is easy for some people to ace standardized tests without studying. For example, I didn't prep for more than an hour for the PSAT and I scored a 232. I scored a 34 on the ACT after spending just a couple of hours reviewing concepts in math. My SAT scores are pending. Now, this doesn't mean I'm smarter or more talented than people who scored lower, though there is definitely some correlation between intelligence and test scores. Standardized tests depend as much or more on speed and good guessing as they do on natural intelligence. That's what kills some brilliant student's scores: they worry too much about each problem to move at an adequate speed and make educated guesses. The actual content of the SAT really isn't that difficult.</p>
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sounds like GPA, aside from the smartness part
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<p>hahahaha
so true</p>
<p>i too believe that some people are prententious and claim that didn't study when in fact they did, however...my little brother who is now in 8th grade scored a 1450 (800m 650v) last year on the old SAT in the 7th grade! i know for a FACT that he did not study one wink and last year the highest level math he took was alg 1 as he is in geom right now...he generally doesn't study and forgets to do his hw which is why he consistantly gets C's in classes such as social studies and geography...even though he understands the subject matter probably 10 ten times more than any other student or even i myself for that matter...this i believe is much more plausible than the 1350 kid with a 4.1 gpa who claims they don't study because it isn't the "cool" thing to do</p>
<p>oh and also i do believe that some people who truly are genisues may fail miserably on the SAT simply because they aren't good at working within time constraints and read too far into the questions..a weak but somewhat relevant example is how my brother scored a 650 verbal but the only questions that he missed were critical reading questions...which means ALOT of critical reading questions...he claims he read into them too deeply and actually ENJOYED reading the passages and forgot about the time constraints...perhaps this was a mistake made because of lack of practice</p>
<p>My dad got something like a 1090 30 years ago, and his verbal was in the 400s. Intelligence? He went on to graduate from Berkeley with a master's in Economics and works for the state government here in California. At one time he worked for Dept. of Ed. as a publications editor. So, as he said, while he showed up for the SAT on a few hours of sleep with a hangover, no one else gave it much thought either. At that time, his scores weren't abysmal. It's hard to put things in perspective. I think my dad is extremely intelligent, and a very articulate person. Obviously the 400 or so SAT verbal didn't reflect that. And yes, he reads a lot.</p>
<p>I have not received my SAT results back yet, but I am a sophomore. Took the PSAT, and received a 56 in reading, 68 in writing, and an 80 in math. I think the math score would prove I have the intelligence to do much better in the reading but I just dont read on my own. Rarely will I read a school book either, so I there is a point that you can do miserable in reading while still being smart. I even learned to read quite well when I was 4, so once again, I don't believe its an intelligence thing. Hopefully my SAT is better too.</p>
<p>^ ^ ^ ^
you mean do miserably (thats why you didnt get a 700 in writing)</p>
<p>Gimmick, don't take that score to mean that you are a BAD READER, youre just not practiced in CR SAT problems. I got a 56 sophomore year on the psat verbal as well, a 69 junior year psat (last oct.) and I'm expecting a 730-770 on the verbal in several hours. I also don't read on my own (except articles online here and there), and I tend to avoid reading books for school too. Don't worry about it too much, assuming that you'll have had sufficient practice when you take the SAT for real.</p>
<p>if you dont read how are you expecting a 730-770... i dont read... i got a 54 on the psat sophomore year and also a 54 junior year ... and on the sat i just found out i got a 600 after practicing... howd u get it so high??</p>
<p>I think, after a while with all those practice problems, I began to see the questions more quantitatively, if that makes sense. There IS one answer among the choices and it is IN THE PASSAGE, and I just have to GET IT. Instead of... i hope my opinion on this is more right than any of the other choices.
Did you do all 8 practice tests in the blue book? (and have you read all the harry potter books? :))</p>
<p>i did 7/8 tests in the book (i didnt have time to do the last one and didnt wanna cram the night before) and yes, i have read all the harry potter books, which are some of the few books i have read and enjoyed reading</p>
<p>i try to think of the questions as if there is one choice and u just have to find the answer... but it always seems so subjective to me</p>
<p>i agree, the key is really to pick the answer harry potter would agree with</p>
<p>right. that's all i'm really trying to say</p>
<p>Interesting... got a 670 in both verbals and an 800 in math. Thought I owned the writing section so much. Still have at least 5 more chances before my senior year, and as long as my math score doesnt drop, I should get one decent score in verbals combined (700 in each). I have never liked doing work so even though I may think about doing practice things, it will never happen. Guaranteed. I will not get to any amazing college anyways, as my English grades are consistantly below 90.</p>