<p>And how did you do it?</p>
<p>Bumpity bump</p>
<p>First time I took it I prepped for maybe 10 hours total. I took one full practice test about two months earlier, then did maybe 9 sub-sections of math (because my original math practice test score was low and that annoyed me). Got 2320.</p>
<p>Now I’m retaking because for various reasons I think I can do better and get (or close to) a perfect score.</p>
<p>I have probably studied maybe 30-40 hours so far and I expect to put in another 15 before next Saturday. I will finish up Silverturtle’s grammar guide tomorrow, and then I take a full test Sunday morning. I am currently only missing 1 passage based reading question and 1-2 vocabulary questions, so I just got direct hits and made flash cards out of the ones that I didn’t know. There were only about 100.</p>
<p>Also I have learned every word that I didn’t know while taking a practice test.</p>
<p>For math I am taking sections with 10 minutes less than normal and focusing on being precise. I am pretty consistently (as in 3/4) not missing any.</p>
<p>You got a 2320 and you’re retaking? -.-</p>
<p>How did you prep for the essay?</p>
<p>I took the test in January, started studying in October, got a 2400. So about three and a half months.</p>
<p>Any tips? I’m having trouble with vocab, but I don’t want to memorize lists upon lists.</p>
<p>You certainly have to be logical when applying your vocabulary for the sentence completion questions, but you can only make so much progress without learning vocabulary.</p>
<p>Also, learning a few hundred words isn’t really that bad. Just make a stack of note cards using direct hits and run though them a few times per day. Using that strategy I’ve learned hundreds of words in only a couple of days.</p>
<p>Use both books of Direct Hits. it’s not that many words</p>
<p>I’ve heard quite a bit about DH. What makes it so good?</p>
<p>3 weeks of prep and 10 practice tests to go from a 1980 to a 2240, and now I’ve been studying for about two weeks and will most likely score 2300+ in October (got a 680 on CR the first time, and I’m pretty sure I can bring that up substantially)</p>
<p>I’d like to know - how do you manage your time? I get 800’s on Math/Writing, but I always run out of time during CR sections and I get in the 600’s. It really substantially lowers my scores. I know a lot of vocal - for sentence completion, I always do really well (barely miss any). For the passages, though, I always find myself rushing and not even reading the questions. How do you parse such long passages in such a short amount of time?</p>
<p>For passages, I skim the questions before reading; while I read, I know exactly what to look out for and which parts of the passage I need to pay close attention to. I answer the questions as I read. My cr went from a 680 to like a 750 (not that great, I know, but I’m working on it).</p>
<p>My main problem is the vocabulary. Also, since the format is changing in 2015, is it worth taking the SAT now? I’m class of 16, so I might have to retake if colleges refuse to accept the older format.</p>
<p>I tried skimming before questions, but I still run out of time and skimming doesn’t help me much. I forget the questions pretty quickly.
And no, if you’re 16, take it now. Don’t wait till '15 (Which would be January of your senior year? You would have already applied by then). I’m 17 (in 12th grade) and I’m the only one taking the SAT’s again, so I suggest finishing now in 11th grade.</p>
<p>'15 would be January of his junior year (or maybe in the fall of his senior year, depending on when the change occurs).
I highly doubt the colleges will reject the older format, especially since they would have no information on how effective the new format is.</p>
<p>I went to a local tutoring place and I started out with a terrible score but was able to improve to a 2340 after 8 weeks (I did this over the summer, so it was pretty much my focus). The teachers helped, but it was mainly taking practice tests every single week.</p>
<p>I started prepping in mid December and took it in January to get a 2370 
That was the first and only time I’ve ever taken the SAT…</p>
<p>LOL you guys are making me feel horrible ;n;</p>
<p>catchinginfinity, did you already have a good vocab base?</p>
<p>Man, it sounds like everybody was getting 2300+.
No wonder the curve has become harsh lately.</p>
<p>StevenToCollege</p>
<p>I didn’t prepare for the SAT specifically…I just took around 15 ACT practice tests in preparation for the ACT in January 2012, and my SAT score in January 2013 was comparable. I got a 2340 (790 CR, 750 M, 800 W), and it was my second time taking the SAT because I took it for a talent search when I was a freshman.</p>
<p>But from my experiences, the ACT is significantly easier…</p>