I got 50% on the Barron’s practice tests which was depressing, and 65% on the Kaplan’s tests. I thought the test was pretty easy too, now I just want to crawl into a hole and cry because I want to go into engineering.
Maybe CC has conditioned me to feel this way :-/
@IAmNotCreativ @BiaxialObject48 How did you guys prepare for it? I plan to take it later this year. Is it pre-calc heavy?
@clancularius The two main books I used were Princeton Review and Kaplan. They were pretty accurate when compared to the test, but if you want even more difficult questions, you should definitely get Barrons. I used the previous 2 for my August test, but I’ll definitely use Barrons for my next attempt.
Precalculus is definitely a must for this test. Everything I learned in Honors Precalculus came up on this test (including limits, but just the basics), with the exception of conversions between imaginary and polar (the formula for that is stupidly long).
I plan on retaking it in December since its after my first SAT attempt, but I’ll talk to my guidance counselor first. A 760 is great for most schools, but I’m applying to MIT for computer science, so a perfect Math II score is going to be really important for that.
I used Barron’s and Kaplan books, to be honest, I don’t remember what was on the test.
I think that I made some mistake on the reading bubbling or just did really bad because I missed 17 questions (yikes). At least I got an 800 math somehow.
I have been doing a practice SAT today on khan academy and stopped after the first math section, and I am doing horrible, especially on the first math section. It gets difficult remembering math concepts when you are only doing math classes for a semester at school (block schedule). But congrats to everybody who has been getting high scores here!
I got a 32 on the September ACT without really studying. I definitely want to study and retake it in hopes of a 34+, but I think I am going to wait a few months and focus on the PSAT for now.
I’ve been studying for the PSAT (aiming for NMSF and hopefully NMF) and my highest score so far was a 1480 with an NM index of 221, this isn’t high enough for my state (Maryland), but hopefully I can improve before Oct 11.
@batman0309 Have you been taking the practice tests or have you been doing the mini practice sections? If you jumped straight into the full length practice tests you should probably work on the mini sections and review every question you got wrong and work on understanding exactly what it is that you don’t understand. If that doesn’t help you bring up your score, maybe tutoring is the way to go.
@IAmNotCreativ Yeah I kinda jumped right into it because I wanted to see how much I knew or can accomplish without any sort of preparation, and clearly I needed that preparation. But I plan on doing the practice sections as much as possible before the PSAT. Being that I do not have the best ECs, these tests are extremely important, so I need to get the highest scores possible, and I hope I can.
@IAmNotCreativ you’re so close to Maryland’s cutoff right now and you have a really good chance to make it. Keep going strong!
Hey guys! Fellow '19er here. Just wondering, how many of you are into writing and STEM/social science/graphic design and would be interested in contributing to a new educational website by either editing or writing articles and/or creating infographics? If this sounds at all appealing to you, please pm me for more information! I’ve actually been lurking in this thread for a while now and noticed that there are a lot of very smart, curious people here who may be interested, so I thought I’d ask. 
(If this isn’t allowed, please let me know!)
also taking the PSAT but not too focused on NMSQ. just want to see how much minimal studying has improved my score over the last year lol. got a 1340 last year off 0 studying.
SI in my state is about 215. My SAT (with a little study) from last spring was 214, so I have a chance either way. I’m going to take 2 practice exams next Friday and call it good because I don’t have time to study and am sick of CollegeBoard exams anyway. If I make NMF, I get a free ride at my state uni for my (probably) 2nd year though.
Can’t believe the PSAT is this week. Too bad New York has such a high cutoff for National Merit.
Honors Anatomy
Ceramics
AP English Literature
…
…
AP Physics 1 & 2?
Dual Enrollment?
Actually could someone give advice on what to take? My school offers a large variety of AP courses and I will have completed the more challenging courses by the end of this year.
Freshman APs:
AP Macro-Economics
AP US Government
AP Environmental Science
AP World History
Sophomore:
AP Biology
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science
Junior:
AP US History
AP Psychology
AP Physics C: E & M
AP Chemistry
AP English Language
AP Calculus BC
Can you do dual enrollment full time?
@idontlike4s You could take math, writing, science, or non-core subjects (theater, philosophy, etc.) Usually AP scores can place you out of the first semester (at least) of science at CCs and state directionals.
Should I take challenging math/ science classes at CC? I do not want to be a STEM major, but I don’t know if taking calculus, physics etc would show colleges that I’m challenging myself. Or should I just take normal math/ science classes for social science majors such as stats and not worry about taking more “rigorous” classes that do not relate to my major?
PSAT was pretty easy tbh, tiny bit of a struggle on the writing part but reading and calc-math was a joke. still not much of a chance that i qualify because california lol
@batman0309 Take what classes interest you. Try to take at least pre-calc and calc or pre-calc and AP Stats, which will be Intro to Probability and Statistics, or something similar, at CC. IIRC most incoming students at top schools have taken calculus, regardless of major. Why are you in College Algebra at CC and Precalculus at high school at the same time? Usually CCs offer placement exams so that you can place directly into Calc 1, and College Algebra comes before Precalculus.