Advice on Test Prep Resource for OLD SAT and SAT in general

Test Preparation
1

Hello everyone!

I would like a bit of advice on my situation.

So… I am a math nerd, I am on the school’s math team, and I study advanced math in school and self study at home a little.

I am an 11th grader [graduating in 2017], so I have a choice of a new and old sat format. I am trying to kill the old one as the content matter is more familiar. I studied last summer for the SAT and when the school year kicked in, I studied little.

I took the October SAT as my first SAT and I got the following results:

Reading: 790
Math: 650
Writing + ESSAY: 680

[my essay was a ten with both readers giving me a five]

I was completely shocked by my reading and math scores, in both a good and negative sense… I blew reading out of the water, but my math stunk. I am going back in January to retake the test for the sake of boosting my math score primarily (and maybe even writing). Perhaps, my off-season of not studying for the 2 months could have impacted my math score.

I used the BLUE BOOK to study for the test, and am now looking for some better resources?

I want my SAT scores to be those that I would not hesitate at sending to MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and the like, but most realistically, the University of Maryland, University of South Carolina, and Clemson University are high on my list (due to in-state tuition).

I want to be an engineer, so obviously, I need to get a higher math score.

My questions are as following:

  1. What is the best resource for studying SAT math? I heard of prepscholar, but are there cheaper resources that could do the job just as well? I want to get as much stuff done during winter break.

  2. Is spending $400 on prepscholar worth it with my scores in an attempt to boost my math and writing scores?

  3. Do writing scores even matter if I apply to University of South Carolina HONORS or Clemson HONORS?? I know that they officially do not count, but should I work on improving them or just focus on math.

Please advise.
I want to shoot for the top scholarships that Clemson and University of South Carolina have to offer, and thus I need every advantage I can get.

Thanks!!

2

Take the ACT and see how you do . Some students do better on the ACT than the SAT. My son took a prep course for 6 weeks which prepared him well by teaching test taking strategies. It was well worth the money as a higher score increased his scholarship opportunities by thousands. I can’t speak about USC because my son did not apply there, Clemson is quite competitive. Look on their freshman scholarship page for specifics on scholarships. It’s pretty straightforward with what scores yield what scholarships. Good luck.

3

My school forces us Juniors to take the ACT in the spring, so I plan to take it then.

However, my opportunity to pick and choose my best scores of each section draws me to take the SAT.

My question is SAT specific. Any advice?

4

Actually you don’t pick and choose your scores,the school does .

5

The prep class my son took was for the SAT. They teach you test taking strategies which is very beneficial for improving your scores.