<p>Now let me tell you my story. When I was in 6th grade my mom started prepping me for the SAT. She bought me a ton of books (like 12 of them) but I never really studied much. Then in 7th grade I took the SAT and got a 1530 - she freaked out and then made me study some more. Worse though, my dad started forcing me to study vocab but it was hopeless. He wanted me to memorize around 100 words a day but after each day I would just forget it all. So I never really succeeded in vocab. I was never motivated to study for the SAT either. In 8th grade this was basically the same thing and she made me spend the entire summer studying. And then I took the SAT again and got 1610 and she freaked out again and compared me to my cousin saying "why did you get so low your cousin get 2010 and he is 1 year younger than you".</p>
<p>And in high school it got worse. She still made me spend the entire summer studying for the SAT and NOTHING ELSE AT ALL. I forgot all the vocab I learned but she made me repeat it, only to forget it again. And she bought me like several more books but I never was able to finish them. It was like this - I studied for 5-6 hours a day then after she came home I had to do another SAT and review the explanations, and then study more. Every day I spent like 10-12 hours studying for the SAT. </p>
<p>So in 9th grade I took the PSAT and got 172. She freaked out again and called me a loser and failure... made me study more. And she sent me to an SAT prep class this year but it didn't help much... I got a 2070 highest in the class and on the actual SAT 2010 (from collegeboard). </p>
<p>And now she won't let me get a permit next year until I get a 2200 on SAT, and she says that she will make me take it again (in april) and again (in june) and again (in august of senior year) until I get 2200+. And if that doesn't work she wants me to take the ACT to do better. </p>
<p>The problem is though, the SAT is only one part of the process. She thinks that if I don't do good on the SAT then no good college will take me. And somehow a friend of hers convinced her that the PSAT is very important, and now she thinks that if I can't get national merit then I can't get into ANY good colleges because they won't send me their information packets... that and if I even apply they'll reject me right away because I didn't get the National Merit Award. </p>
<p>I have so much stuff to do though besides study for SAT. It's like this: </p>
<p>Me: I want to go to carnegie mellon
Her: Get a GOOD SAT! 2200!
Me: But there is more to college admissions than SAT
Her: I DONT CARE! GOOD SAT! 2200!! NO EXCEPTIONS!
Me: I should focus on extracurriculars instead
Her: SAT IS BASIC! IF YOU CANT DO ON THAT NO EXTRACURRICULAR WILL SAVE YOU! 2200!!!
Me: But what if I get 2150 instead of 2200?
Her: THEN YOU ARE A LOSER AND WILL END UP AS A JANITOR!! HAVE FUN LIVING A BAD LIFE!!! 2200 OR GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!</p>
<p>Help me, what do I do?
I'm studying so much for the SAT but it seems like my attempts are futile for the most part. After all those years of studying my score has only increased by ~200 :(</p>
<p>My goodness. And I thought my parents were pushy. O_O</p>
<p>I made my 2200 but that’s not nearly enough for my parents, but they let me decide if I want to retake. (I’m planning to retake the SAT once, in October.)</p>
<p>Still, I really don’t see the point in not being allowed to get your permit because of SATs. Are you a junior? BTW, there aren’t any SATs offered in August - after June the earliest date is October.</p>
<p>Maybe you can work on some extracurriculars clandestinely…I designed hundreds of website layouts and completed several commissions for teachers before my parents discovered this hobby of mine, and then they allowed me to complete two internships. Although extracurriculars are important, I think the rigor of your courses/GPA/class rank is most important, followed by test scores. So your mom has a point, but the way she pushes you to study isn’t right. Have you looked around on CC for the stickies and such? There are many useful study strategies that could give you better results than endless vocab memorization and such.</p>
<p>Are you asking me? Neither took the SAT but apparently both made high scores (I suppose comparatively higher than mine) on the standardized tests they took back in the day…</p>
<p>My parents never took the SAT because they were in China when they were students. I think they’re comparing the SAT to the college examinations in China, which are serious business. If you fail the college examination in China, you basically messed up your entire life (because you’ll never get a job if you don’t go to a good university). </p>
<p>That’s in China though, and I highly doubt that the SAT is like that.</p>
<p>EDIT: And yes they told me that they did very well on the university exams, college examinations w/e they’re called</p>
<p>High Exam in China lol.
My parents took it too.</p>
<p>Although if you do good (olympics/national) in sports or arts/etc, they add on to your exam score. So if you got like a 50, but you’re an olympic gold medalist, they might triple your score.</p>
<p>Everything is still based off of the score though.
Lololol.</p>
<p>A 2200 is nothing though, just study and get it. No big deal.</p>
<p>i feel sorry for you. you need to make your mom understand the SAT isn’t everything. if you end up with a 2400 too, it won’t make a difference; you’re asian.</p>
<p>Guess how many minutes I studied for the SAT? </p>
<p>ZERO</p>
<p>I got a 1400 and am perfectly content with it. Undergrad grades matter. The name on the undergrad college will matter only if you don’t go to grad school for your initial job. By the time you are 30 no employers care about your undergrad.</p>