CAEagle1916

Hello,

I am new to CC and this is my first post. I am somewhat familiar with the site and have read some forums but decided to ask my question. So I am entering my senior year in high-school and I took the May 2012 SAT. This was my first SAT. (I took the PSAT and got a 159 without any practice.) For the SAT, I acted like I knew everything and went into the test with just one practice test taken, believing I could get in the 2000's. I was definitely wrong. Well my score was a 1580 (CR 520, M 560, W 500, Essay 8).

My question is how can I prepare (and what books or websites or forums should I read) to prepare for the fall SAT's. I am willing to do what it takes to get into the score range I want (which is the 2000's). I am looking for guidance to approach this and reach my goal.

These SAT's will be my final ones before sending them to colleges. My goal for the SAT is in the 2000's.

Thank you for taking your time in reading this.

StanfordOneDay

^




wow.

hotgiwehotw

Collegeboard's Blue book. Study 3+ hours a day. Regarding writing especially, you can make some improvement just by taking practice tests. It's basically all subject verb agreement and simple stuff like that. My reading score is low too, and all the tips I've gotten are to just read and do flash cards from direct hits vocab

CAEagle1916

@hotgiwehotw Thank you for replying. Yeah I've gotten some advice as well about getting the Direct Hits Vocab Book.

I am thinking of getting that one and Princeton Review Math Subject Test 1 & 2 to help me on math as well as the SAT II's since they are correlated (so I've heard.) I already have College Board's Blue Book and will begin taking practice tests soon.

Once again thank you! Any other recommendations or books I should view?

weightless

hello there! I actually made a thread similar to this a while ago (increase SAT score by 300-400 points?) if you want to check it out.

I took my second SAT a few weeks ago so the score isn't out yet. I can't confirm if what I did increased my score, but I definitely felt more confident.

I like Direct Hits because it's fun to read. This sounds funny, but I would print out pages of definitions and put them in clear files and stick them in my shower, changing them weekly. Obviously, I didn't memorize all of the words, but I was exposed to them and some of them would go into my head.

Do you have an Apple Product? I rearranged the apps on my screen, changing the facebook app to the SAT Question of the Day app. Thanks to muscle memory, everytime I try to check facebook I would open up Q of the Day, hehe.

I see that you're weak in writing. Don't go out and buy a grammar book! I took the Princeton Review course and realized that they only test on a few things. Most workbooks cover almost everything you find in the SAT writing section. I think the biggest thing is pronoun-antecedent (but don't quote me on that!)

Also, reread some literature that you read in school for your essay. Catcher in the Rye is incredibly flexible, and the SAT loves asking about conformity.

Critical Reading is just practice and reading. Honestly, I don't think studying 82905681147284291 words pays off because there's only 5-8 questions on it per section. Just read more! You'll also be exposed to SAT words without having to sit there and memorize words, because that's boring xD

In one of my threads about practice tests (Practice Tests v.s Real SAT?) johnnyzxz told me that SATs test on certain things ALL the time.

"There will ALWAYS be a triangle on your test. There will ALWAYS be a circle. There will ALWAYS be an x and a y. You can't ever think "oh, it's okay if I'm not so familiar with the area of a triangle, chances are they might not even test that." FALSE. It's that type of attitude that makes scores fluctuate so much. If you become familiar with what usually trips you up, you'll become a more steady scorer."

So find out what you're bad at, and learn it!

I am horrible at functions, so I skipped all of the function questions on my first SAT. My score report says I skipped 8 questions OTL. On the June SAT I counted and only skipped 1 because I went to my math teacher and asked her to teach me functions until I understood it. I think it paid off...hopefully....

I got a 1660 on my December SAT :\
After a few months, I was scoring 1900-2050 on my practice tests \o/
You can see my in-between practice test scores in the threads I linked

hope I helped C:

qtpiginger

I suggest you look at this. It is extremely helpful and will answer all your questions.

Everyone, read this before posting: Best of SAT Prep Forum and FAQs

CAEagle1916

@weightless Thank you very much!! I really appreciate the feedback. I checked your thread and it is very similar to mine, it seriously looks like I copied you (but I didn't, it's just a coincidence.) :P Yeah I will probably start taking many practice tests and chek my weaknesses and work on them, as well as read, and get more comfortable with the vocab from Direct Hits.

I know it's possible to make the jump from where I'm at (1580) to the 2000+ range, even though some people state it's "impossible." It is more difficult to advance from the 2000 and increase from there but nevertheless NOT impossible. Thanks for the feedback once again, it truly helped me!

pokemonfan

Don't waste too much time studying on the writing sections. Most colleges have a blasé feel for it because of its faux "inconsistency".

But because it's June and the next SAT isn't offered to September (I think). Study hard.

And also play a lot of chess.After playing chess you make less ambiguous mistakes on the math section.

warlands719

^ LOL CHESS?

I think i should try it, does it work lololol, is it cause you try to not lose?

pokemonfan

I'm serious. I don't know why, but I do know its causation, not correlation.

weightless

A lot of people make threads like this. I think it's because we want to get personalized advice so we like making our own threads instead of just taking advice from other, already made threads. In the end, it's all the same methods (except for the guy up there who mentioned chess. That's a first! I wonder if my low math score has anything to do with my horrible chess skills)

Work hard! Also, I recommend taking two of those free practice tests (that they give out at school)! Take one now, and take one a few months later to see how much you improved. It's good to take two since you'll be writing all over it xD

On days where you just don't want to study, just read some direct hits or play some vocab games. At least you'll be doing something! I'm not very good at studying, which is why I'm doing things like putting words in the shower lol

I'm happy that I helped though! If you need ever want to talk about something, feel free to talk to me! Hopefully I'll be able to help

goodnoodle

I could see how the chess thing would help with the overall test, but why math?