So i took the SAT for the first time in March and got a 1450 with a 490 in Reading, 450 in Math and 510 in writing. I took it again in June and got a 520 in Reading, 470 in Math and 590 in writing. (8 on the essay) I don’t know if the two unscored sections was an advantage to me. Now I’m taking it again on October 3rd and i have no idea how to prepare. I have to Barrons SAT book as well as Kaplan and the Collegeboard official book. Can someone help me make a study plan? How much should i study each day? I’m willing to put in time? Do i work through the book or do i head straight to the practice tests? I feel like i need to study the math concepts cuz my base is very weak. Are there any good websites online? Also is it possible to improve to a 2100 in just 3 months even if i work very hard? I really need a good sat score cuz I’m a senior and October will be my last chance because I’m applying early action and i want to apply to NYU and i need my Sat score to hold me up because i only have a 3.3 GPA.
Your notion of what constitutes “life and death” will need some attention in the future.
Practice tests are helpful; do a bunch. After grading yourself, work through everything you missed, make sure that you thoroughly understand the concept of whatever you missed. If there’s a topic you don’t quite understand and you miss more than 1 question about it, find and read the related help in the blue book. If you google the topic (i.e. “subject verb agreement sat prep”), I’m sure you can find specific practice that’ll help you improve.
The blue book (official collegeboard one) is probably the best one to study from, and working through it will definitely help. You can find additional practice on topics you struggle with in the others.
2100 is a hard score to get to, but it isn’t impossible. Your study plan will have to just depend on you, how effectively you study, and how much of those books you want to get through. One possible way to make a study plan is to figure out how many chapters you want to get through, and just divide by a certain amount of time to figure out how much you should study each day. Intermittently, take practice tests.
Good luck! 
You should also broaden your list of colleges, in case you don’t improve your score as much as you hope. NYU is a fine school, but there are many, many others.
@shrimps thank you so much.
@Hunt I want to major in biology and i want to go to college in Manhattan. Are there any other good colleges you know of that fit those requirements
Getting into NYU is probably an unrealistic goal for you at this point in time. It is unlikely that you can get your score 2000+ in a matter of 3 months, and even if you do, your gpa is very low for NYU. Try looking at other schools. No one wants to do your college search for you. Google “colleges in Manhattan” and go from there. Some schools that come to mind are Pace, Fordham, Marymount Manhattan, etc.
There are low cost, less competitive colleges in NYC that would accept you with even just a 200pt increase. Look at CUNYs. NYU is not happening.
CUNY has a great system of schools, and I imagine they almost all have bio majors.
And if you’re willing to broaden your search by a radius of, say 40 minutes, you’ll have lots and lots of choices… and you can still hop on the train and be in midtown in next to no time.
- Is your high school GC available to talk with you during the summer? Have a serious discussion with her about your interests, and colleges that could be likelies for you. 2. Take the ACT as well. Many students are more suited to it, than to the SAT. 3. Modify your thinking so that NYU isn't seen as life or death. It's remotely possible, but you need a serious, rock solid backup plan with other colleges that isn't dependent on a hail mary pass on your next SAT. 4. Consider some test optional schools, but realize that most of them want to see strong evidence of classroom achievement.
I think there is an SAT app that has a new SAT question every day. Download it. Use it. Study it. Get a 2100 (or at least try).
Although getting a 2100 is unlikely at this point, nothing is stopping you. Study, study, study until you feel satisfied. And even if you don’t get into NYU, your increased scored will open a whole new group of colleges to you.
Open up to schools outside of Manhattan. Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, and UD have good programs. I didn’t even want to apply to the school I ended up going to but I sure am glad I did now. Just don’t be ignorant and reject schools outside of your strict requirements like I almost did
Hmm. A 3.3 GPA won’t be good enough for NYU I’m sorry to say even if you get around a 2100 on the SAT. But yeah I’m pretty sure you can find other schools in Manhattan with that GPA and around a 2100. Also, to study for the SAT I would say to take PRACTICE EXAMS! People’s scores improve drastically by taking practice exams. Since you have the Blue Book I would recommend taking an exam every week and find out what you miss in each practice exam and study the techniques to answering the question in the Barrons and Kaplan book for those types of questions. I wouldn’t really rely on the SAT Blue book techniques that since they’re not really good examples on solving the questions. BUT The SAT Blue Book has the BEST possible practice questions you can find anywhere so use that for Practice Exams and as I said before find ways to solve the incorrect/confused questions with Barrons and Kaplan. Good luck, and getting to a 1590 to a 2100 is DEFINITELY possible. There are people who went from as low as a 1450 to a 2250 in a matter of 3 months; however, it does require a lot of studying so KEEP DOING PRACTICE EXAMS!