<p>OK, i’ll just list my problems straight away:
(I’m giving my SAT on Nov 3)
I keep on making careless mistakes on the math section. the mistakes are absurd, what do I do? i make careless mistakes even on the easy and medium questions, but usually get all the hard ones right…</p>
<li>I HAVE LOADS OF PROBLEMS WITH CRITICAL READING, I’m aiming for a 700+ but in the tests yet I haven’t even managed to get a 600+!!!</li>
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<p>I get the sentence completion questions right except for the last two or three, because of the hard words in it…
In the reading passages, i can’t keep my mind focused, i start panicking, even during reading the passage. then because of all the anxiety i can’t understand the question and the answers, it seems gibberish. when I read them later on they don’t seem that hard…</p>
<li>I can’t think of examples for my essay. one because i don’t have a lot of knowledge about history. second.i haven’t read a lot of books, so i can’t quote from texts. </li>
<li>In the writing i;m getting a 660. i need a 700+</li>
<li>i can’t sit for more than an hour or two straight. my neck hurts, </li>
<li>the test center is really cold, they have airconditioners on on full blast.</li>
<li>the seating arrangement in the test centers suck…</li>
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<p>let’s forget 6 and 7. i hope nothing bad happens.</p>
<p>Hey apples!! First of all, please calm down. Anxiety won’t help here at all. I was also very nervous the first time I took the SAT but try to take things in propotion-it’s only one part of your application and you can always take the SAT again if you are not satisfied with your score. Now, for your questions:</p>
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<li><p>When I first started practicing for the SAT I also usually got the some of the easy questions wrong (the hard ones are not a problem for some reason lol). Anyways, later I figured out that I’m getting them wrong not because I’m making careless mistakes but because I’m not putting enough effort and attention. This means that you have to read the question VERY carefully, verify every step you do in the solution and at the end read the question AGAIN in order to confirm that you are answering the question. This is very important. I’m sure that if you go over your mistakes you will figure out that you misread the question.</p></li>
<li><p>Critical reading is also my weak part so I don’t have much to say here. The only thing I can tell you is that I didn’t work that hard on the sentence completions and instead alotted most of my time for the passages. (I did go over a few high-frequency lists, though). At first I took the CR section untimed and worked as accurately as I could. Later I read the explanations (I know it’s boring but it really helpes!). Lastly, I took many CR sections timed and increased my score significantly.</p></li>
<li><p>You don’t have to write historic or literary examples at all. In fact, personal examples and experiences are absolutely fine. I think most people encourage you to write academic examples because it is easier to write formally with them but as long as you write effectively (clear structure, correct grammer, varied word choice) any example is acceptable. If you get stuck you can always make something up:)
I do recommend to have some examples planned ahead that fit many categories so you will feel confident.</p></li>
<li><p>Writing is actually the easiet section to increase your score in so don’t worry. Learn the basic concepts tested in the writing section (I’m sure there are many threads about this in College Confidential-use the search engine) and take many practice questions to get to know the types of questions asked. </p></li>
<li><p>I think everyone has this problem. I get a very painful headache usually after the third or fourth section. I have a few tips for this problem:
-Take as many practice tests as you can so you get used to the long format of the test
-Drink a lot during the test! I read this tip on CC and it really helps. The water hydrates your brain and enables you to think clearly. Just don’t drink to much because then you’ll have to rush to the bathroom and lose time for the test.
-For you neck-when you feel pain try to straighten out for a second and take a deep breath. It may help you to regain energy.
-When you have a break stretch out your body. When you sit down for so long with you head down, your body gets all tightened up so it’s good to stretch out.</p></li>
<li><p>I feel your pain too-I’m very sensitive to coldness and our test center is FREEZING. When I come I try to find the warmest seat that is farthest from the air conditioning. I also come with two sweaters and warm pants. Remember that you can always take off clothes when your’e hot but you can’t get warm when your’e cold if you don’t bring clothes ahead.</p></li>
<li><p>In our test center we get to sit wherever we want so I never faced this problem. Try to tell the proctor that you suffer from coldness and maybe he/she will let you to choose your seat.</p></li>
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<p>Hope that helps! Good luck in November! I took the SAT for the second time this October-the results are coming in today!! Wish me luck…</p>
<p>First of all, coolgirlie gave you some very good advice. I can only think of one thing to add.</p>
<p>It’s important to remember that the way into the 700s is <em>through</em> the 600s. It sounds to me like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make a huge jump all of a sudden, and that’s just not how this test works. First, set the intermediate goal of hitting 620 or 630 on some practice tests, then start to think about 680, then swing for the fences. You are probably causing yourself to panic by setting your initial goal so high, and that’s actually keeping your score down. Make a deal with yourself that you will set intermediate goals. </p>
<p>Heres my advice. Use process of elimination for the hard sentence completion questions. Doing this usually gives you 2-3 choices to choose from, GREATLY improving your chances of getting the question right.</p>
<p>As for CR, take the passage apart. It will keep you interested. If you are confused, its much better to be confused about 1 paragraph, than the whole passage. From my experience, even if u dont know *** the last paragraph was talkign about, the next one usually makes sense. </p>
<p>I feel your pain with math i make the most stupid mistakes ever, i feel so stupid all the time because i know i could get in the high 700s</p>
<p>Really look at each answer carefully. Honestly, have a route for thinking your answer. the answer has to be completely correct and supported by the passage. Don’t go too far on implying stuff. and be confident in your ability to understand the passage. Keep asking yourself if the answer choice is supported by the passage. If yes, how. I find that helped me out with the CR section. Here’s the usual break down of answer choices…</p>
<p>a. Totally wrong
b. totally wrong
c.totally wrong
d. Impressive sounding answer
e. correct answer.</p>
<p>Once you identiffy the two choices that are not totally wrong, do what i just told you and you should be able to find the answer.</p>
<p>ANd i don’t care what people say about vocab, GO NUTS ON THEM. Vocab is SUPER IMPORTANT. though sentence completion is only a small part of the test, vocab is also tested in CR questions, and some of the words may appear in the passage.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot everyone…
coolgirlie i read ur post in the official oct 6 sat score. u got an impressive score in math. good luck for ur sat exam in december…</p>
It sounds to me like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make a huge jump all of a sudden, and that’s just not how this test works. First, set the intermediate goal of hitting 620 or 630 on some practice tests, then start to think about 680, then swing for the fences. You are probably causing yourself to panic by setting your initial goal so high, and that’s actually keeping your score down. Make a deal with yourself that you will set intermediate goals. </p>
i make the most stupid mistakes ever, i feel so stupid all the time because i know i could get in the high 700s</p>