<p>I took the October SAT and these were my scores:</p>
<p>CR 720 (97th percentile)
M 680 (91st percentile)
W 710 - 10 essay (97th percentile)</p>
<p>I’m not positive yet, but I’m considering applying to a few Ivies to at least compare financial aid packages. I’ll be taking the ACT in February.</p>
<p>Should I retake the SAT? If I did, it would be in May or June. I’m not sure how much I can improve my scores, and my scores are borderline what I would call good. I have a solid list of ECs and a 4.0 unweighted GPA so far. Since I’m currently sitting on the fence, I need some help.</p>
<p>Your scores are good no doubt. But, for Ivies, they are the type that, like you, are on the fence. Not bad, but not stellar. And I’m sure with all the time you got, you could bump each one 50 points. So yes, it would be worth the time and all. It will make you feel more secure about the chances of getting in…</p>
<p>Math- It seems to me that mistakes after you reach the high 600 level, just come from misreading and rushing and all that. Focus more on exactly what they are asking for and make sure your method will get you there. Otherwise the math is not hard.</p>
<p>Writing- I would say work a lot on the MC, since with a perfect, or near perfect MC, and an essay as low as 9, will get you a high score. Its really about practice and knowing what to look for, what CB usually likes to test</p>
<p>Critical Reading- I think its pointless for you right now to study vocab, so I would do a few more practice passages. Look through your questions to see if a specific type is always throwing you off, or if a certain type of passage is your weak area. Just try to look for those weak areas and fix them with practice.</p>
<p>CR:
I raised my CR from a 70 on the PSAT to an 800 (with no questions missed) on the SAT.
I didn’t do all that much formal studying. What I think was most important in increasing my score was the fact that I focused as hard as I could on the passages, no matter how boring and stupid the passages were. I also read actively, actually thinking about what I was reading. When it came time for the questions, I knew all of them right away, and it seemed way too easy. For the sentence completions, all I did was look over roots, prefixes, and suffixes in Gruber’s. Also, whenever I came across a word I didn’t know in my everyday life (someone else talking, books, TV, whatever) I would look it up and write it down with the definition—writing it down was the key thing here, as it helped me remember it much better than just looking at the definition ever would. A good place to find new words is [FreeRice[/url</a>] . </p>
<p>W:
I missed one question on writing. The only prep I did for the MC was doing this packet:
[url=<a href=“Photo Storage”>Photo Storage]pattyluluz/SAT</a> Writing - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting](<a href=“http://www.freerice.com/index.php]FreeRice[/url”>http://www.freerice.com/index.php)
I actually learned quite a bit from it, and there were two or three questions I wouldn’t have gotten without reading it.
For the essay, I just posted essays on CC. Unfortunately, it was a lot harder to think during the actual test than during a practice test =-\ I ended up with a 9, but I don’t see any better way to prepare than posting practice essays on CC.</p>