Hi everyone, I’ll try to make this as concise a post as possible.
I took the SAT in January and got a 2000, wasn’t practicing too hard, just a section here and there. I got a 660 Critical reading, a 670 Math and a 670 Writing.
In retrospect, I just rushed through the math, and as it really only has content from Algebra I and a bit of Geometry, I’m confident if I do enough math tests I can score an 800.
I’ve finished the entire blue book, the Premier Kaplan 2015 and 2008’s, and have started on the Princeton Review and Barron’s Book (Which is ridiculously out of proportionately hard imo), but I just can’t seem to get the questions right.
I keep a giant sketchbook where I write down the reasons for all of the problems I got wrong, and the ones I was even a little bit ambiguous about but still got incorrect. It seems like I can’t increase my critical reading and writing skills! Even worse, I was averaging about 2-3 incorrect questions every practice section the critical reading and writing, and one day, it just went to 5-6 incorrect each practice test! I figured I just needed a mental deload, so I took a few days off, occasionally glancing and re-studying my sketchbook. I return a few days ago, and I’m still getting about 5-6 incorrect. Given, the Barron book is a bit harder than the blue book. While I’ve been going to SAT prep camps since 8th grade (Got an 1800 Freshman year), I started vigorously studying only about a month or so ago.
I’ve read the following links multiple times:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1024138-how-i-got-an-800-on-the-sat-critical-reading-a-story-and-guide.html#latest
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-to-sat-and-admissions-success.html#latest
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1481004-tips-on-how-to-get-a-2400.html
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-sat-score-by-a-2400-sat-scorer
I’ve also been given a McGraw Hill Online SAT study course which I’ll use starting later today.
Does anyone have any tips on how to break through the English section plateau I seem to be hitting?
The only advice I can realistically offer is not to expect a 2400. There is a reason so few get it.
Well a 2400 is obviously just a goal range, I very well understand the chances of getting it are slim. I was hoping for tips actually pertaining to studying actually
What makes you think that “studying” is going to confer an improvement of that magnitude? You’re talking about 1.3 standard deviations.
I’m not talking about adding precisely 400 points, really just increasing it by 100-200 points. I just slapped on an arbitrary title at 3 am
It’s definitely possible for you to get to the 2250-2400 range, but it will take lots of focused work and maybe a little luck. Best of luck!
@WallaceEberding I wrote the article in your last link and am happy to lend some advice.
You’re already doing a good job by noting all your mistakes and having an easy reference for them. I would ask, are you making sure you learn not just how to solve the questions you got wrong, but really identifying your weaknesses and making efforts to remove them?
The analogy I use here is a dentist fixing a cavity. If you miss a question, that’s like a discoloration on the surface of the tooth. Instead of just patching up the hole, the dentist needs to drill out the decay in the tooth completely. This prevents spread of decay throughout the tooth.
Similarly, when you make a mistake, that likely indicates a related set of weaknesses that you need to drill down on. You need to go beyond just learning how to solve that missed question. This is the central thesis behind how we designed our program PrepScholar.
The troublesome aspect to these tests is that each test only covers a subset of the total knowledge. Even if you score a 700 on a section and solve all the weaknesses that got you a 700, you might get a 700 on your very next test again, simply because that test identified a different set of weaknesses. Thus you need to be thorough, comprehensively identify your weaknesses, and train them.
I also wrote some 800 guides for each of the SAT sections which other students have found helpful:
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-800-on-sat-math-by-a-perfect-scorer
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-800-on-sat-reading-10-strategies-by-a-perfect-scorer
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-800-on-sat-writing-11-strategies-from-a-perfect-scorer