<p>I've taken the SAT 3 times, and I am unable to improve my scores. I have also taken the ACT, which did not help.</p>
<p>1st SAT: 1830
2nd SAT: 1720
3rd SAT: Awaiting results. I don't think I broke 2000 though. </p>
<p>ACT: 28</p>
<p>WHY can I not improve? I've done several different books and a Kaplan course, and NOTHING is helping? This is my only flaw, and I would be most grateful if somebody could point me in the right direction.</p>
<p>Can you provide a breakdown of the score? Which section are you having the biggest problems with?</p>
<p>Its a scattershot.
1st SAT: 630CR, 570 Math, 630 Writing
2nd SAT: 580CR, 600 Math, 540 Writing
3rd SAT: I don’t know yet, but I feel like my math has significantly improved. CR proved to be a pain, and I think I did ok on the writing. </p>
<p>Do not have access to ACT scores at the moment. I rarely guess, and I almost never leave a question blank.</p>
<p>Well…regarding the math, are there any questions you don’t understand? or are the mistakes from carelessness?
Gruber’s is really good for math, so check it out.</p>
<p>Well, reading…you just need Direct Hits. If you have problems with passage-based questions, practice is the only thing I can recommend.</p>
<p>What did you get on your essay? Read AcademicHackers ‘how to write an essay’ and build your own template. Then just practice…Write an essay per day or something.
As for grammar questions, I used PrincetonReview…and I heard McGrow Hill is pretty good too…but I did miss about 4 questions, so I’m not fit to give advice there. </p>
<p>Seriously though, practice makes perfect. How many full tests have you done? Everyone who has 2100+ has done at least 20, from what I know, so…yeah.</p>
<p>full tests? I’ve done 10. Usually score 9-10 on the essay. Its not that I don’t know HOW to do the math, its just that I don’t have enough TIME. I can’t work them out fast enough.</p>
<p>Maybe if you practice more, you’ll know all types of questions and upon seeing a problem, will at once know which method to use for solving it, thus - you won’t spend time contemplating about that and finish up quicker? I don’t know…honestly.
Here, maybe this will help: [How</a> to Solve Any Math Problem in Seconds | eHow.com](<a href=“http://www.ehow.com/how_4500297_solve-any-math-problem-seconds.html]How”>http://www.ehow.com/how_4500297_solve-any-math-problem-seconds.html)</p>
<p>Oh well. I guess I hit my own “ceiling”. Its too bad I invested all that time and money for a measly score of 1830.</p>
<p>where did you invested? because programs like Princeton Review really don’t help. you need a real tutor</p>
<p>I disagree. Most people I know who got 2300+ didn’t have tutors.</p>
<p>almualim: Don’t give up so early. Some people start preparation in freshman year to have good scores. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/602755-tips-2400er.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/602755-tips-2400er.html</a> <= For inspiration :></p>
<p>Here’s a fantastic tip that most people do not realize.</p>
<p>ALWAYS GUESS.</p>
<p>Suppose that you CAN’T ELIMINATE ANY ANSWERS. Then your expected value is 1-4*.25 = 0.</p>
<p>But that’s for RAW score only.
Remmember that your raw score is rounded up! This means your expected value is slightly higher.</p>
<p>Also, have this mentallity when you take the test: the right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. That means that unlike school essay or free response tests, you need to use your skills of intuition and elimination to get the answer.</p>
<p>Start preparing immediately!</p>
<p>By section, here’s the best preparation.
Critical Reading: READ! My suggestion is this: go to the library (often! at least once a month) and check out at least one book from the classics/reading list section, one non-fiction book, and one book of your choice. Experiment with different subjects to make you comfortable. In addition, try reading a bit of the newspaper. This also helps you with the writing section as it a) gives you experience with Standard written english and b) will help you on the essay section on the actual SATs
Writing: Do practice books on this section. There’s only a dozen or so actual rules, so memorize them!
Math: Do practice drills. And here’s something most people don’t do - do it without a calculator! It will really help you out as you’ll learn to be an efficient test taker.</p>
<p>So that’s it! PM me if you need anything else. Good luck!</p>
<p>~National Merit Semifinalist</p>
<p>EDIT: By the way, for learning vocab quickly, Direct hits works but not for everybody. Try: <a href=“http://www.flocabulary.com/[/url]”>http://www.flocabulary.com/</a></p>
<p>This is a late response, but for all the people that are reading this in the future,
I TOTALLY agree with Euroazn. The fact that you lose points for guessing is not important in the long run. Here’s an example.</p>
<p>Say there are 5 questions that you do not know, and can’t even eliminate one answer choice for any of the questions. So you leave them out. You earn zero points, but lose zero points for these 5 questions.</p>
<p>Now, say that you guessed on all five. The probability of getting correct for each question in 0.20. So the expected value is 1 question correct for every 5 questions.</p>
<p>Now see, 1 (Right) - 4 (wrong) *0.25 is equal to 0 once more. Now, we use binompdf to see the probability of getting 2, 3, 4, 5 right.
2 is 20 percent
3 is 5 percent
4 is 0.64 percent… and so on.
if you get 2 right, that is no points deducted, but in fact 1 added to your raw score, which is about 20-30 points. </p>
<p>In conclusion, if you didn’t guess, then you’d earn 0 points. If you guessed you’re almost SURE to get at least one correct, which is equal to not answering it, and you have a pretty good chance of getting two correct. 3, 4, 5 are harder, but it’s not impossible.</p>
<p>Here is an edited version of one of my articles. This one is titled “The Correct Way to Prepare for SAT Math.”</p>
<p>There are three key components to improving your score in SAT Math.</p>
<p>(1) Learning test taking strategies that are specific to the SAT.</p>
<p>(2) Practicing SAT math problems ten to twenty minutes per day for approximately three to four months.</p>
<p>(3) Taking at least four practice tests before test day, approximately one per month.</p>
<p>Let us now discuss each of the three components in more detail:</p>
<p>Strategy: If you have at least three months to prepare, you should learn two or three SAT specific math strategies per week. Whenever you come across a problem where a specific strategy can be used, you should always attempt the problem using that strategy. In fact, I recommend trying to solve every practice problem in up to four ways:</p>
<pre><code> (1) Using an SAT specific strategy
(2) The quickest way you can think of
(3) The way you would do it in school
(4) The easiest way for you
</code></pre>
<p>In many problems, some of these methods might be the same, and each of these methods might not be relevant to every problem. Nonetheless, this is the general guideline you should follow. Keep in mind that the actual answer to a given SAT problem is not important. You will never see that specific problem on the SAT. But it is important to learn as many techniques as possible. The more strategies, techniques, and methods you learn the greater the increase you will see in both your current SAT score, and your level of mathematical maturity. </p>
<p>Practice: If your SAT is less than four months away, set aside a twenty minute block of time right now that you will dedicate to SAT math practice every single day! You should begin each study session by learning one new SAT specific strategy or quickly reviewing a strategy you already know. Recall that you are only learning two or three new strategies each week, so on many days you will simply be quickly glancing over a strategy you already know. Keep this strategy in mind as you practice, and use it whenever possible.</p>
<p>Next you should choose one of the four topics: Number Theory, Algebra and Functions, Geometry, or Probability and Statistics. You should cycle through these topics, so that each day you are working on a different topic, and you are hitting each topic once or twice per week.</p>
<p>You should spend the first half of your study session attempting problems from this topic that you haven’t tried before. Make sure you are working on problems of the appropriate level. For example, if you are struggling with Level 4 Geometry problems, then do not attempt Level 5 Geometry problems. You can work on those in a few weeks after you become more proficient in Level 4 Geometry. </p>
<p>Make sure you clearly mark off any questions you get wrong. It doesn’t matter why you got it wrong - if you got it wrong, mark it off. I can’t emphasize this enough. Many students think that making a “careless error” is an excuse to never look at a specific problem again. But doing well on the SAT is all about eliminating careless errors! You will reattempt these “marked off” problems next time you come back to this topic. Remember to try to solve each problem in more than one way (see above).</p>
<p>For the second half of your study session you should reattempt problems from this topic that you have previously gotten wrong. If you get a problem right this time you can discard it and never look at it again. If you still get it wrong, keep it marked off, and reattempt it again in another week or so. It is important that you wait at least a few days before reattempting a problem you got wrong - you want to give yourself a chance to forget the nature of that specific problem. This will ensure that you are actually solving the problem, and not just “recalling the solution.”</p>
<p>Redoing problems you get wrong is extremely important - more important than attempting new problems. This is what separates students that show dramatic improvement from students that show only average improvement. Remember, you learn from your mistakes, not your successes!</p>
<p>Tests: You want to take about four practice tests before test day to make sure that you are implementing strategies correctly and using your time wisely under pressure. For this task you should use the second edition of The Official SAT Study Guide by the College Board. Take one test every few weeks to make sure that you are implementing all the strategies you have learned correctly under timed conditions. Note that only the second edition has three actual SATs.</p>
<p>I recommend that you take your practice SATs on a Saturday or Sunday morning and make sure you time yourself correctly. Also mark off the questions you get wrong and throw them into the group of questions you will be reattempting at your short study sessions. This will make your time spent much more effective. Also, make sure you score these practice tests, and keep track of your scores to make sure you are showing improvement.</p>
<p>At first you can just do the three math sections, but for at least your last two practice tests you should do the whole SAT in one sitting. I even like to add in an extra math section to simulate the experimental section of the SAT. This will ensure that you are practicing taking the test for the full length of the actual SAT.</p>