Why Am I So Bad at SAT Math?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>So scanning College Confidential, and also hearing from many of my classmates, everyone thinks that SAT math is hands down the easiest section of the SAT. It seems like everyone has hit at least 700 at minimum here.</p>

<p>But for me, Math has always been a constant struggle for me, and people think it's weird cause I'm Asian haha. I get good grades in math, I work hard to keep up in class, but when it comes to standardized test's math, I'm flabbergasted by the harder problems at the end. It's not uncommon for me to omit the last four questions in a math SAT section, cause I don't have a clue as to how to solve them.</p>

<p>I'm good at Reading/Writing, and I LOVE reading and writing. I'm not interested in math, and am planning on majoring in Political Science and fields related the humanities, not requiring intensive math/science skills, so I never had any inner drive to excel in the subject of math. I'm more academically stimulated by what I read/write, instead of drilling through formulas and numbers.</p>

<p>Well as a Senior, I already took my third and last SAT, so I'm going to accept my score for what it is at this point. I usually score in the mid to high 700's for Reading, and I'm expecting a 700+ for the writing section this time around (making up for my foolish errors in previous tests) </p>

<p>But I'm cringing at the thought of what I'm going to get for SAT math. 600 is the highest math score I ever got, and I'm hoping I get a slight increase in the math score, maybe 650 tops for the December test.</p>

<p>I have a question though.</p>

<p>First, for colleges like Cornell and Georgetown (that don't look at SAT writing), will a very high critical reading score "compensate" for a low math score like mine? My SAT math score is definitely below the 25th percentile, and because they don't look at SAT writing, my combined CR+M will look lower. Like lets hypothesize I get 770 CR, and 620 M, which is 1390. I wonder if that's competitive for Georgetown and Cornell?</p>

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<p>What do you do wrong during the math sections? Do you miss the easy questions? Do you make simple mistakes? or do you not understand the hard questions? The first step to improving is to finding out what’s wrong. That being said, the 620 Math score will definitely lower your chances as most people that apply get at least 700’s.</p>

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<p>My D topped out at 630 on her math (750 on CR). She also was a political science major. She did not get into Georgetown, and I suspect the math score was probably a big factor. She studied really hard for it, but is just slow at completing problems. With unlimited time she might have gotten it up to 700, but she didn’t have that.</p>

<p>She ended up attending a great little LAC ranked around #50 on USNWR rankings with about 1/3 of her cost covered by merit aid. She had some wonderful internship opportunities (State Department, senator office intern, and one other good government internship). She has fantastic faculty contacts and recommendations, ended up graduating Phi Beta Kappa last spring, and now has a good job in DC. She now says that the GT admission people knew what they were doing, and she wouldn’t have been as happy there. It bruised her ego at the time, but that didn’t last.</p>

<p>So… my message to you is go ahead and apply to college like GT and Cornell. But take a hard look at some LACs with good political science departments, too. You can end up having success via many different paths.</p>