Middle Schooler with Near Perfect Score-Advice

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>I took the May 2013 SAT as a 7th grader, and got a 2380 (R:800 M:800 W:780). This was completely unexpected; I’m not a genius at all, nor do I consider myself ‘exceptionally gifted’. My practice test scores were maybe around 2200, so there was an incredible increase. To prepare, I read through a couple preparation guides and took seven practice tests. There were a couple things I learned through the process:</p>

<ol>
<li>Timing:
I think the main reason I got this score was what I realized the day before the test. I’ve always been one to rush through my tests, probably because of a background in competition math (more on that later). In tests like the AMC and Mathcounts, time is of the essence. I had always been rushing through my SAT practice tests, assuming I could check afterwards. However, the day before the test, I stayed home from school and really took the practice test. Instead of focusing on speed, I realize that the SAT was different–the subject matter was quite easy, the only issue was concentration and accuracy. On the actual SAT, I didn’t even check my answers for most of the Critical Reading and Writing portions, instead going through each problem extremely thoroughly. Maybe it’s just my testing style, but it’s more effective for me to concentrate problem by problem instead of going through them and checking them afterwards.</li>
</ol>

<p>Also: the essay is difficult to get used to. There’s really no time for ‘outlining,’ I just set pencil to paper. This probably got me a worse essay score (10) than I could have gotten, but it’s difficult to compare against high school level writing at my age… Anyway, I only got the hang of it after about four tests (it’s less time than you think!).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Anki:
Anki is an intelligent flashcard program. Recently, I’ve been interested in language learning. Anki is highly recommended in the polyglot community, and for good reason. It uses spaced repetition so things are memorized effectively. You don’t even have to make your own flashcards for vocabulary–what I did was search for ‘SAT’ shared decks and used those decks. I did this only about a week before the test, yet it was still extremely helpful for the vocabulary portions.</p></li>
<li><p>Underlining:
I have trouble concentrating on long paragraphs of boring text (don’t even know how I managed to finish Moby Dick… -_-), so the one tip I found really helpful in all of those guide books is underlining ‘important text’ as you read. It doesn’t really matter what you underline, you’re just trying to stay engaged. Looking back, I underlined about 75% of the text, heh heh.</p></li>
<li><p>Competition Math:
This background in competition math both helped and hindered me. The style of the math problems on the SAT is quite similar to those on, say, Mathcounts or AMC tests. Comparatively, the SAT is actually much easier. Thus, if you have a lot of time before your test, consider going through some AoPS books or just doing some practice tests (difficulty~AMC 8). This definitely makes SAT math and math in general easier.</p></li>
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<p>Yup, that’s it! I was really shocked I got such a high score, since it’s so uncommon. It’s opened up scholarship opportunities and other talent programs, so I’m pretty thankful I realized all this before I took the test.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if I should believe you or call you a ■■■■■.</p>

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<p>I’m serious… :/</p>

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<p>Why would anyone take the SAT when they were still in secondary school anyway?</p>

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<p>Lol why would you take the SAT, much less 7 practice tests, when you’re in seventh grade?</p>

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<p>What’s the “advice” you need… it seems as though you only posted this to brag. Not to be rude.</p>

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<p>Good Job! But save some for H.S. GL!</p>

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<p>He’s bsing.</p>

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<p>Middle schoolers do take the SAT or ACT as part of talent search programs (Duke TIPS, CTY, Midwest Academic Talent Search, etc.). This would be an exceptionally high score in 7th grade, but not unheard of. OP, you should attend the Davidson THINK summer program if you can, I think you would really enjoy it and meet other kids like yourself.</p>

<p>I believe the poster was GIVING advice, not asking for it. Which is fine – any one would like to have those scores.</p>

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<p>Just trying to help here. If you don’t believe me or my advice, that’s fine. To be honest, I had thought they had screwed up my score when they scored it, but it turned out to be genuine. I took the test for talent programs and scholarships.</p>

<p>Thanks, intparent. I’ll definitely check that out.</p>

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<p>Freshman who took the SAT here, got a 1670.
I read your tips but I think I could easily improve CR + W sections without any exceptional knowledge. What did you do?</p>

<p>I got a 8/12 essay and 52/80 multiple choice for a 530 on the writing portion.
I got a 580 on the CR section, and I could really improve. </p>

<p>My low score in math is due to the fact that I had no prior geometry/algebra II experience. I anticipate 1900+ next year, nothing less. </p>

<p>Thanks for these tips however, they are not exceptionally new but still a good refresher.</p>

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<p>these kind of posts lower people’s self confidence</p>

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<p>You can choose to take at something that lowers your self confidence if you want to… or you could choose to take it in the spirit the OP intended, which was to give some tips for getting good scores. If you haven’t figured it out yet, there will ALWAYS be someone smarter than you are out there. At least this person is trying to help others… some people would just trample you on the way up the ladder and not give any tips on how they succeeded.</p>

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<p>Try quizlet for flash cards also. Just search SAT vocab</p>

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<p>Thanks for the flash card advice! </p>

<p>Good luck with the programs you are applying to. CTY SET, Davidson institute, EPGY are all excellent, my D enjoyed them. Early sat is used to qualify for these programs, usually first taken in 7th grade. Scores are erased unless you request they be saved before 9th grade.</p>