Hi
I am an international student (11th grade) and I took the sat and scored 1310 on the sat (590 EBRW and 720 math). I scored between 1400-1490 on my practice tests and I did all 8 of them . I read barrons,The critical reader,sat grammar by Erica Meltzer , and sat prep blackbook . In my practice test I scored around 790 in math (once or twice 800) and 610-690 in English section . I read a lot of English books and I struggled with old passages in the sat.
My goal is 1500-1550 for the top colleges .
My question is should I retake the SAT or should I take the ACT???
Thanks for helping
Someone please help I really need it and I don’t know where to go except here
Note: I am assuming English is your second language. Most of this advice is still applicable even if it isn’t.
You should at least look at the ACT. See if you find it easier. In general, I think the SAT is better for international students. The ACT is a faster paced test and thus relies more on good instincts, which international students for whom English is a second language often lack when it comes to English. The SAT allows more time for deliberation which is usually beneficial if the subject matter is not instinctual (e.g. if English is your second language, or if a lot of the material on the test is new to you).
At this point, here is what I would recommend. First, you need to build your vocab (especially if English is your second language). There are plenty of good lists from prep-scholar and the like. Second, you need to build your grammar. I have looked at the Meltzer book, but don’t use it with my students. I find it a bit unwieldy and not the most intuitive, albeit thorough. It should have everything you need in there, but you will need to read through it carefully at least several times to master the material.
How To Take Practice Tests:
I recommend starting off with doing practice tests untimed. First you need to build the relevant skills and understand the logic of the questions. Then, once you become very good at the questions (i.e. you would have at least the score you are looking for assuming the test was untimed) you can worry about timing.
For reading, make sure to read the passages thoroughly. Read slowly so you can answer the questions quickly. If something, e.g. a word, a sentence, or a paragraph, doesn’t make sense to you, try to figure out what it means. This can be challenging and can take time. There are many strategies for making sense of difficult texts. I can go into these at a different time if you are interested. Regularly ask yourself “what is going on?” as you are reading. If you don’t know, try to fix that.
Always review the questions you got wrong and try to understand why you got them wrong (there is always a reason). Draw an asterisk next to any question you are unsure of. Go over it even if you get it right.
Know that on reading you are always looking for evidence. Every right answer is supported by evidence, every wrong answer is either unsupported or contradicted.
Materials:
As far as materials go, I would also recommend Ivy Global 6 SAT practice tests. The questions are imperfect, albeit still helpful. The reading questions aren’t the greatest simulation of the actual SAT reading questions, but are still ok. The passages are pretty good, but tend to be on the easier side.
There are at least 10 official old format SATs you should be able to find. These will be different, but a lot of the same principles still apply. In many ways I prefer these to third party re-creations of the current format. I think a lot of third-party tests don’t understand the logic of SAT questions (esp. on reading) very well.
After you do these, I would recommend going back to the 8 official SATs you have done. You will probably have forgotten much of the material by then. Your scores may not be great predictors of how you will do on the actual SAT, but doing the tests again will still be useful practice. Be sure to look at the college board explanations, which you can find online.
There are some other materials I recommend, but I would hold-off on these for now, until you get better. There are only so many practice tests and you shouldn’t waste them. When you do get to that point, though, know that there are at least 4 more official SAT practice tests (current format) floating around on reddit.
Other recommendations:
Read a lot. Non-fiction mainly. Tougher and older texts that were originally written in English are good. Mill, Hume, Hobbes, Locke, etc. are all good and plenty tough. Really struggle with them. Don’t just move your eyes across the words–its called reading, not eye-moving.
Don’t rush practice. Make sure all your practice is careful and deliberate.
Be honest with yourself as to your weaknesses. You can’t fix them if you don’t acknowledge them,
Hope this helps.