how did/do you do it?

Colleges & Universities Harvard University
1

<p>oh my goodness…</p>

<p>I’m a “good student” who gets good grades…but I am a terrible test taker.
It’s been my dream to go to Harvard ever since I was in elementary school… but now, I think my SAT scores will ruin it. I started learning English when I was in 6th grade, so my knowledge of vocabulary is pretty week compared to others. and, I don’t know bunch of those idioms (those phrases from the writing section)… its really killing my scores. </p>

<p>I am taking Honors Junior English (which I am getting an “A”). I can do well in class, but the SAT–I’m terrible at. </p>

<p>I tried the online SAT thing offered by college board, took a class from Princeton Review, and I am trying this SAT practice CD ROM by Kaplan… I try to learn the vocab, but memorizing really doesn’t help, cuz I don’t see all these vocab everyday…and I am really slow so the time to take the test (each section) is not enough!!! any suggestions?</p>

2

<p>don’t worry i know exactly how you feel! it seemed that by taking classes, my scores weren’t improving at all… in fact, after taking Princeton Review, my scores dropped a little. But when it actually came to test day, I performed a lot better than I had on practice tests. I guess the key is, don’t panic and don’t let those practice tests be the judge of how well you will do on the actual test. In my opinion, the actual SAT was much easier than the practice tests from collegeboard and princeton review. i dont know about kaplan but my friends tell me that it is MUCH harder than the actual test. i dont’ really know what to tell you in terms of preparation, but to be confident of your abilities. You can always cancel a score after taking a SAT if you feel that you had done poorly (I did this twice). And don’t worry. The SAT is so overrated. The Ivy League Schools don’t place as much emphasis on standardized test scores as people claim. :)</p>

3

<p>I agree with jerseygirl. The actual SAT does seem a lot easier.</p>

4

<p>Or take the ACT, it’s a lot less demanding in terms of vocab. (but provided you can handle science reasoning under pressure)!</p>

5

<p>Yeah, definitely try the ACT too. If you perform decent and think you can improve, seriously study for it and it may end up paying off more than the SAT for you.</p>

6

<p>Most verbal and writing issues can be overcome by (gasp) reading literature and periodicals</p>

7

<p>The CR section of the SAT is, IMO, an index of reading habits. Test prep may help you raise your scores to a point, but beyond that, I think you have to be a voracius consumer of literature to get a high score.</p>

8

<p>Theres a easier way to do better on the writing section.

  1. Read more
  2. Create a list of common idioms, and memorize it
  3. Learn all the tricks (e.g. subject-verb agreement, parallel structure, pronoun antecedent agreement, and stuff like [compliment, complement][principal, principle])
  4. Practice, Practice, Practice!!!
  5. When writing the essay, fill both pages, and have a (introduction, body, and conclusion)</p>

<p>I’m sure you know most of this, but putting it into practice will take a little more work. As far as critical reading goes, you just need to read more literature/periodicals and make sure you read a diverse selection of materials.</p>

9

<p>The SAT doesn’t matter as much as people like to think. Aim for a 2200, it’s more than enough.</p>

10

<p>I got an 800 on CR my first time taking it with virtually no prep. Here are my tips and tricks. (I posted this in the SAT thread about a year ago…sorry it’s so long). </p>

<ol>
<li>Take AP English courses if you can. I was actually in IB English, but we did a little AP practice every now and then and the reading comprehension questions are vaguely similar.</li>
<li>Don’t read for the sole purpose of learning SAT vocab words. That doesn’t help at all, obviously according to the person who talked about reading Time magazine and it not helping. I have always read because I like to read, for example right now in addition to my reading 3 novels for AP English IV I’m reading books on my own.</li>
<li>DON’T TRY TO PREPARE TOO MUCH. If I had tried to prepare, I would have done worse, and I know this. Knowing all of the ‘proven tips and tricks’ only makes you second-guess yourself while you’re taking the actual test. I didn’t do a prep course or buy a single prep book, I just did the college board free SAT question of the day online, which helps with the vocabulary portion. I NEVER LOOKED AT TIPS/TRICKS for how to guess or which questions to skip, and I am so glad that I didn’t.</li>
<li>Don’t work yourself up while actually taking the test. If you panic when you come across a word you don’t know and spend 5 minutes (assuming that you finish the rest of the section and come back, or something) trying to figure out the answer, wracking your brain for definitions you knew that you knew at one point, trying to pick the answer that isn’t the most obvious but isn’t completely ridiculous,…
It’s not a good idea. Unlike the SAT I Math, you are unlikely to make as many “stupid mistakes” on the CR portion. Relax, don’t spend too much time on each question, and if you don’t know something then you don’t know it. Guess (if you can narrow it down) or leave it blank…it’s better than torturing yourself until the time is up and then being tense and frustrated for the other sections of the test.</li>
<li>For the passage-based comprehension questions, actually READ the passage. I’ve only taken the SAT once (well…I took it in 7th grade, but…I was 12 and that went over realllllll well <em>1090 wooo</em>), but at least on the PSAT I often found myself skimming through the passage because it was so deathly dull and then resorting to searching for the answers in the passage as I read the questions. I know this is the most obvious advice possible, but put some effort into reading the passages and understanding them. Imagine it’s English class or the AP English test and you’ll be asked to write an essay concerning the passages after you read them.</li>
<li>Don’t read the passage-based comprehension questions before you start reading the passage. Many people recommend this, but I don’t think that it helps at all. If you read the questions and have a knowledge of what they are asking, you SUBCONSCIOUSLY FOCUS ON ONLY THAT INFORMATION while reading the passage. This can really hurt you in questions about theme, style, and overall purpose, since you have been zeroing in on certain aspects while you were reading the first time.</li>
<li>The best practice/prep book (well, I didn’t buy a prep book so I guess I wouldn’t know) in my opinion is the free Collegeboard SAT question of the day that gets sent to you via email. It’s free, it takes 10 seconds to do, and it can help you with some of the vocab questions. Do this and don’t stress out and it being inadequate prep, it worked fine for me and I wasn’t even very diligent about it.</li>
<li><strong>MY MOST IMPORTANT POINT</strong>
Don’t be too dictionary-hungry. When you are reading and you come across a word you don’t know, silly as it may sound, DON’T LOOK IT UP. Instead, try to rely on context clues (I know this sounds completely futile, but hear me out). Think about it: if you look up a word in the dictionary and read its definition, copy its definition, transfer it to a flashcard, whatever, then chances are in 3 weeks you aren’t going to remember it unless you are very diligent or study a lot. However, if you come across that word again (in another book, in the same book, in a textbook), you will remember that YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT BEFORE, AND YOU STILL DON’T. That will force you to rely on context clues again. Eventually you will learn how to do this well (I do this in Spanish, and it works wonders) and it will help you on the SAT CR.</li>
</ol>

<p>I also got an 800 on writing, so if you want some…“tips and tricks,” I can go back through the archives and find those for you too. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions!</p>

11

<p>Hmm… I’m not an authority on this… but I just feel that I do better when I’m actullly relaxed during the tests and just try to actually enjoy it,… I started laughing at this passage in my CR section during my SATs (it was funny!!!) and I did better than I expected… so :slight_smile: Good luck!</p>

12

<p>practice tests help a bunch-- you feel mentally prepared i guess</p>

13

<p>oh goodness…aim for 2200, thats enough?? ha ha ha!!! 2200 is like mount everest! I hope I can do it…(my goal was 2100, and that is impossible already) how come so many ppl do well on it the first time or two without much prep. I hope on the next SAT, they give passages that I would find easy, and writing questions that I would get. j07, three words to you…you are amazing…</p>

14

<p>I disagree that you need to be an avid reader to do well: I have read perhaps one or two novels in high school and still did quite well. </p>

<p>Memorization, though, certainly did help me on the CR section, probably because I don’t read much.</p>

15

<p>is taking the act only ok or would the sat still be preferred?</p>

16

<p>It doesn’t hurt to take both. By the way, unless you have something special going on in your application, I would aim for AT LEAST a 2250 SAT or 34 ACT. It doesn’t hurt to do as well as you can, and not getting those scores doesn’t mean you wont get in, but I’m sure having good scores doesn’t hurt.</p>

17

<p>But if I attain an ACT score of of 34 or higher then there is no point in taking the SAT right as I have demonstrated my intellectual aptitude and gone above their average test score right?</p>

18

<p>That’s right, collegebond. You can take either, and send the scores that are best. You don’t have to send both if you take both.</p>

19

<p>practice tests are just that: ‘practice’. Dont take them to be a measure of your ability to do well on the SAT</p>