how to improve my SAT in one month?

ing315 · 12-24-2010, 04:01 AM

I got a 2000 on Oct test. And I wish to have a 2250+ score on Jan 22nd. How to do that?
Thanks for any suggestion! : )

bsfswisher · 12-24-2010, 04:30 AM

What's your score breakdown? (ie CR: ; M: ; W: )

ing315 · 12-24-2010, 05:16 AM

Well,
CR: 590
M: 770
W: 640 essay:11

ing315 · 12-24-2010, 07:35 AM

I'm desperately want to improve CR&W score, CR and writing MC guru,help~! please~~

chauffeur · 12-24-2010, 10:26 AM

How is your time management? My high-scoring D told me that taking the practice tests helped a lot in the time management area but sounds like you definitely don't need to work of the math part. The practice tests made her more relaxed in general with taking the tests if you think that would help. She also told me that she quickly skimmed the questions in the CR part before reading the passage (but not the multiple choice answers).

I would get a few of the essay questions from past tests. Write an essay in the assigned time and have someone proof them for you. Your English teacher would be the best. Sometimes there are easy things you can work on. My S's scores are close to yours and he found that he frequently changed tenses for example. Also, he "read it out loud in his mind silently" before turning it in. Sometimes he left out words that he thought he had written.

One of my friend's kid spent some time on vocab lists and said that 2-3 words were on the test for whatever that is worth.....100 words on the SAT or something like that. Best luck!

ThatSriLankanGuy · 12-24-2010, 10:31 AM

Critical Reading is such a pain. I think the best thing to do is practice tests. There are tons of methods for attacking this section, but you just have to see which is best for you. If you are having trouble with the vocabulary then you might want to study lists hardcore.. It is not a lot of time but those are usually like 10 questions or so.. Writing is just learning the rules and seeing the different variations of one common problem.

Any pointers on scoring higher on math? I would assume just practice?

ing315 · 12-24-2010, 11:30 AM

Thank you ,Chauffeur

my time management is all right，it's just that I got lots of question wrong. esp. in writing MC.
Should I buy GMAT verbal prep book? Or Barron's writing workbook?

hovando · 12-24-2010, 02:32 PM

I have the same issue, first sitting scores in november SAT I:
C: 530 W: 490 M:790
December, SAT subjects:
math II: 790 Physics: 730
Terribly unbalanced scores(I am international from chile btw), and I need to score between 670-730 in C and W.
It seems like princeton review online prep is great for 20-30 hour prep.
Good Luck

bsfswisher · 12-25-2010, 01:26 AM

I cannot offer too much advice for Critical Reading since it was always my lowest score and hung around the high 600- low 700 level, but I can tell you that for the passage-based portion, do not over-analyze! Unless the question explicitly asks you to infer something, all the answers will be in the passage and not require you to make your own conclusions. Essentially, any conclusions you DO draw should be backed with the passage text and you should most definitely never over analyze at all. As for the sentence completion portion, just memorize vocab and how its used, in addition to reading some books.

As for writing, however, I was able to get an 800 using a couple of books. First is Gruber's preparation for the SAT (something like that, you can check my other post, it has a link) and also the blue book (CollegeBoard official book.) Gruber's will give you problems that are of much greater difficulty than the actual SAT. The blue book will show you the patterns that are almost identically used on the real SAT. Basically, Grubers' hard problems will make the real SAT writing problems seem easier, and the blue book will present certain patterns through its problems that the real SAT uses, too. But, a word of caution, the blue book problems are a bit easier than the real SAT problems. Also, try to not get frustrated by Gruber's lol. I used to get SO mad that the amount of questions I missed would be so high when using Gruber's, but it really does help. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! And by the way, with that essay score, it should not be TOO hard for you to get an 800 on writing

. Good luck!

EDIT: And one more thing, it is definitely possible for you to score very high! My first time sitting I scored
CR: 580
M: 710
WR: 690 (8 Essay)

And with a little change of mind and of course, more studying my second and final sitting scores were...
CR: 680
M: 710
WR: 800 (10 Essay)

I did mess up my math a bit since I was scoring around 780 on my practice tests, but that just further shows how high you can score! IT is definitely realistic to raise your CR score by 100+ points in a short time and with some practice with grammar, etc., I am sure you can score and 800 on writing. Just remember, confidence is key!!

ing315 · 12-25-2010, 07:50 PM

Thank you! : )
How did you do to improve your CR so dramatically? By reading novels or doing exercises?

WishOnAirplanes · 12-25-2010, 08:44 PM

Just keep practicing.

bsfswisher · 12-26-2010, 04:10 AM

Well, the biggest part of my score increase was due to a change of mind. It sounds cheesy, but you really have to believe in yourself lol. Also, you need to really really practice as alot of people have noted. Just go through passages and try to gain some stamina so that you can at least last through reading passages. Also, look around on CC because the guides are REALLY helpful. Those guides will give you the tips you need to succeed. But again, the biggest part is not getting discouraged and honestly not just believing but knowing that you can do well. Good luck!!