to those who stagnated at a score of 700 in MATH

<p>what did you guys do to bring up your score to ~750?
every practice test i take, i get a 700 ><</p>

<p>What is keeping you from getting over 700? Is it simple mistakes, or do you just not know how to do the problem?</p>

<p>It’s pretty much luck from 700-800. Read the problems more carefully.</p>

<p>^^no not just luck</p>

<p>there are a few tricky difficult questions you may be getting wrong, so learn them</p>

<p>what i did was from 700 to 750 and mostly using the blue book, i did 8 practice maths sections and scrutinizing what i got wrong. on the blue books, i was scoring 730-800.
so just go over your mistakes carefully!</p>

<p>i’m stuck at 700 too. :(</p>

<p>I disagree that it’s luck for a 700-800. Maybe a 780-800, but nothing else. If you’re making 5 stupid mistakes then you deserve the 700.
I’ve honestly never studied for Math. I mean I wouldn’t even bother looking at it when I was doing practice tests. At my school we had about 3 practice SAT’s and that was all the Math exposure I got. Studying on my own, however, I just skipped over the entire Math section.
For the PSAT and two SAT’s, I’ve missed a total of one question and skipped one question. 77 (skipped one) on the PSAT, 800 SAT, and 780 SAT (didn’t fully read the problem)
On my sophmore PSAT I got a 66. Yet I didn’t study and managed to make it jump up a lot.</p>

<p>All I did was learn how to use my calculator faster, how to work every problem on the calculator, how to stop using mental math, how to check all my answers in a fast manner (there’s never been one question that I haven’t checked), how to correctly read the problem… Which bit me in the ass on the June SAT lol
But yeah, I think if you do what I did then there’s no reason you can’t get an 800.</p>

<p>Oh and I’ve never been a stud at math, I barely pulled off A’s in Geometry and Algebra 2. Precal I was at around a 93 for the entire year.</p>

<p>The difference between a 700 and 800 certainly is not luck! The best way to improve your math score is to improve at math! I scored a 64 on math on my 9th grade PSAT however I’m now consistently hovering around 800. I think there are three main reasons:</p>

<p>1) I’ve taken Alg II and Pre-Cal since then, thus I have more weapons at my disposal</p>

<p>2) I’ve started doing Math on my own for fun! I know it sounds crazy, but I love doing AMC type problem. While I certainly didn’t do this to improve on my SAT math I have found that to be an additional benefit. </p>

<p>3) Contrary to a lot of people on here I hate my calculator! I used to use it on nearly every problem; and my score suffered because of all the stupid mistakes I made. I’ve found that’s its easier for me to do it on paper and then only use the calculator to do things (i.e. add, subtract, multiply, divide) that would take too long by hand. </p>

<p>So if your problem is silly mistakes try changing how much you use your calculator, if you don’t know how to answer the questions then maybe you should relearn the concepts.</p>

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<p>How do you describe the difference between someone who has a 700 and knows the test inside and out and someone with an 800 who does too… The only factor that I can possibly see between these 2 people is luck. </p>

<p>It really depends on why the person is missing the problems. Generally there’s about 1 that people can’t actually solve. The rest is bad luck. So I guess, about 700-780 is luck.</p>

<p>Then how do you explain the fact that nearly everybody who is great at math (think AoPS, AIME qualifiers) gets 800s? Also making mistakes or not really isn’t “luck” - part of your mathematical skill is the ability not to make stupid mistakes.</p>

<p>Just because somebody knows the SAT doesn’t mean they have the same amount of ability as other people who know it just as well. One person might know how to work a certain problem while the other won’t. One person might be more careful and the other might be in a rush. One person will probably be working faster and the other might not be as fast. There’s tons of things like that to think about</p>

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<p>The person who has a 700 doesn’t know the test inside and out.</p>

<p>CB itself states that scores should vary only 30 pts in either direction. On a given day, a 700 scorer could get between 670-730 on the math section. A 100 pt variation in scores is just ridiculous.</p>

<p>Stop trying to justify why you’re not scoring as well as you want. Reading the problem carefully and not making stupid mistakes are characteristics of an 800 scorer. If you’re not doing those two things, then you’re not scoring 800. Don’t blame the test maker for something that’s your problem.</p>

<p>Luck can produce large swings every once in a while – I jumped from 720 to 800 – but most people score within a small range most of the time. After a few practice tests, it’s pretty easy to see where you stand. You’re unlikely to get consistently lucky or consistently unlucky.</p>

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<p>I agree with most of your advice, but I really don’t recommend this.</p>

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<p>Actually, i’m trying to logically explain why this person can’t get the score they desire. This individual is either just unfortunate or is lacking mathmatical knowledge. I’m guessing the former than the latter as most people can do the math on the SAT and still fail to get get an 800.</p>

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Should is the keyword.</p>

<p>Look, I have nothing against you. I just don’t like it when people spend time justifying their mistakes as opposed to fixing them. Find out why you’re not achieving at the level you want, and do something about it.</p>

<p>As a consistent 800-scorer, I can say that there are 2 key points to consistently getting perfect scores on math:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>WORK SLOWER. This doesn’t mean just staring off into space between problems, what I mean is WORK CAREFULLY. The biggest part of the math section that brings scores down isn’t lack of knowledge, but carelessness. And ALWAYS reread the question right before you bubble. Because the question might ask for 6x instead of x. And that number you thought was 2 might actually be a 4 (happened today ugh xD). Etc. :P</p></li>
<li><p>LOOK AT TOUGH QUESTIONS AT EVERY CORNER. There’s always those 1 or 2 questions that just stump you. Always. However, it is wrong to sit there moaning and drowning in self-pity about your lack of confidence in your ability to solve the question. The right thing to do is to try to figure out the problem every which way possible. What if the line went through there? What if I try to find that angle by finding that angle? What if I picture those semicircles together? Etc. A math problem is like a sculpture. Chisel it from every side.</p></li>
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<p>okay thanks guys, ill be working on BB practice tests (the 700’s that i’ve been getting are from an sat prep center)
first score: 800 math (minus 1), 730 CR (minus 6), and 730 Writing (minus 3)
–;; not that great, but im improving [:</p>

<p>I would really like to get to 700 first. Lol.</p>