Hey CC I have a grueling journey ahead of me (as well as many of you may have). I need advice from anyone who’s got the juice, and by juice I mean who’s scored a 1450+.
I began studying for the SAT in late December up until now, and recently took the March 7th School day SAT. I increased from a 900 (had no clue what SAT was, 1st gen US student) to a consistent 1300, but I CAN NOT break out of it. I don’t know what to do. I am studying like a maniac for it. I want to reach a 1500+ (preferably 1550 haha). I usually score around 680 for reading and 650 math, or vice versa depending on if there’s a more difficult math section/reading section. Should I continue taking more practice tests? I’ve done like 11 and reviewed them. I am planning on doing like 15 more practices/reviewing.
Any people who reach 1500’s with ease who could help me out with some tips?
- I HAVE 2 more opportunities at taking the test, but 3 more chances: in may, June, and next year august before I run out of time.
For reference, these are the strategies I currently use:
READING COMP:
- I always make sure the dual questions are supported by the passage (I.E. 1. What does ______ state… 2. What lines support the previous question) I make sure that every word in the line to my potential answer is specifically supported by the text.
- I personally skim through my questions first to get somewhat of an understanding of what I should keep a lookout for - I always answer the two vocab/context questions instantly - making sure to read bottom and top sentences for context (For example: What does fumigated most nearly mean in lines 24,27?) these are easy hitters and one less question to worry about. Finally, I skim through the passage slow enough to understand, but fast enough to save time - I don’t analyze too much.
- I save the main idea questions last to make sure the main idea has to do with the passage as a whole, not small ideas that are large paragraphs of the passage. I also think about the author’s purpose.
- I understand that there is only one correct answer for each question - 3 COMPLETELY incorrect answer choices for every question, ONE WORD that does not pertain to what the question is asking / supported by passage = wrong. I try finding the answer choices that are wrong first and eliminating them, and putting a squiggly line next to ones I’m unsure of as well as a check next to the ones I’m are sure of.
- I practice the rare questions - analogy type question
GRAMMAR:
- I am trying to memorize all the grammar rules, practice reading complex articles, practice writing my own examples of correct grammar
- I save any anomalous NOT grammar type question for last and come back to it. For example, I remember a question asking to chronologically organize a list in accordance with a graph (those weird cross sub-scores).
- I save sentence organization for last (guess and come back) or practice these extensively so you’re familiar with them - just circle the sentence you’re asked to move and the choices of where you have to move it.
- I don’t extensively read the articles, just skim through them
MATH:
- I focus on POLYNOMIALS (difference of squares, completing the square, and ADVANCED polynomials - the tricky guap), slope fluency (and conceptual understanding - word problems), multistep concept and fluency (multiple skills to solve a problem- the last questions), Pythagorean theorem, special triangles memorized, solid foundation of mentally adding/subtracting/multiples table to 12, “in terms of” type questions (rearranging equations to isolate a variable), function notation - G(f(x)), STRONG fluency with square roots and all the properties of exponents - 1/a^2 = a^-2, STRONG fluency with dimensional analysis, radian manipulation (degree to radian, radians to degrees), standard deviation concept understanding, interest + rates formulas, ratios (6th grade comes back to haunt you), discriminant (they like to toss those in there like cereal), complex #'s, midpoints, transcribed lines, quadrilaterals/parallelograms/trapezoid, shaded regions + tangents,
cos/sin/tan (SOH CAH TOA), scatterplot. What am I missing? - I understand the easier questions come first, moderate after, and Princeton mathematician intensity questions come last. Also, I understand the student produced questions (last 5 for no calc, last 8 for calc) take more time to solve and I can’t guess on these
- I personally do the easier 1-12 first, jump to the student produced, and finish the last 3-4 multiple choice after. This helps me because if I’m confronted with a foreign/time consuming problem I could just guess and come back to it later, rather than doing the time consuming problem first and risking not finishing easy student produced choices first.
- I try not to use the calculator
- What else?
LASTLY:
- I time myself without looking at clock too much bc I didn’t do this on day of the test
- I practice in real life simulations
- I often do portions of the sat rather than the whole thing at once because it takes too long.
RESOURCES I USE TO STUDY/am planning to study on:
- CollegeBoard Blue Book of wisdom (I finished)
- Ivy Global (tried one)
- Khan academy
- Princeton review (tried 2)
- Prepscholar
- College board past PSAT + daily SAT questions
- Crack SAT
- ErikTheRed
I’m hoping this will help any students who are taking the SAT - Let this act as a novice guide. Thank you so much if you take the time to write a detailed response updating with better information.