<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am a sophomore, and I got this on my PSAT half a year ago:</p>
<p>Math = 69
Critical Reading = 58
Writing = 49</p>
<p>Total: 176</p>
<p>I barely studied for it.</p>
<p>What would be the best way for me to improve these scores? Especially Math and Critical Reading, because I want to go to SDSU, but also for writing too because it is so low. I am also looking at mid-low UCs. What should I do during the summer to improve my scores? Thanks.</p>
<p>Your math score isn't bad at all--that would have been better if you had made 2 less careless mistakes (730+). CR is just practice. Keep practicing reading "boring" or high-level material until you get the hang of it and then practice answering questions. Writing is probably the easiest section to improve on, just do a few CB writing sections for practice and you'll see they repeat the same quesiton in every test!</p>
<p>Are SAT practice tests valuable when prepping for PSAT? </p>
<p>And if a kid (mine) will take SAT II (US History) on Oct 4, then PSAT on Oct 15, which one should he study for the most? I'm thinking SAT II because he'd need a 30 point PSAT increase to get close to NMS in Maryland. And that's so dramatic, it's not likely.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>^^ I hope that last sentence was a joke, lol. 30 point increase is a matter of getting 1 question right, or that same quesiton wrong. It is VERY possible. If he did study for the PSATs then he could end up increasing his score over 100 points (there is no way to tell how much, it's up to your kid) if he does his studying in a sedulous manner. However, he should definetely pay more attention to the SAT II because that only comes once, and PSATs are only good for NMS, they don't really count for anything while the SAT II will count in the admissions process. Overall, study more for the SAT II but studying for the PSAT wouldn't hurt either because he was so close to the NMS.</p>
<p>^ Up 30 on PSAT = up 300 on SAT. She is right that it is pretty dramatic (but doable). Since it is in October, he might as well study for both as much as he can, starting early.</p>
<p>Don't focus too much on Writing. Focus all your attention on CR. You need to learn vocab words to get them right on the test, there is on other way, you must know the words. Google "Sparknotes 1000" and look over that list. Read a lot of magazines like Newsweek or the Economist(or go on their online sites) to improve your reading comprehension.</p>
<p>Writing is extremely easy to up if you just take practice tests; you get a feel for how CB writes the questions and what answers there are.</p>
<p>CR needs more reading/a better English education. It went from the lowest to the highest in my two PSATs, solely because I actually got an English education that taught me how to analyze written work.</p>
<p>The math is already good; it is really just a matter of making less errors.</p>
<p>And everyone, please use the (quote)(/quote) tags so you don't have to use arrows or quotation marks (with brackets rather than parentheses.)</p>
<p>hey i got the same composite score as you!
I got 60 CR, 56 M, and 60 W to make 176.</p>
<p>LSkaiWalk - go to the College Board Online Store and order all of the released PSATs. They only cost $3.00 each. This will give you authentic practice.</p>
<p>DougBetsy - you should turn your question into a separate thread.</p>