Scholastic Aptitude Test Dilemma - Please Help (Experienced people recommended)

Applying to College
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<p>Yes, I know that might not be the right acronym and I probably misused dilemma, but hopefully it caught your attention.</p>

<p>I’m a good student and I study for my tests, do my hw, etc. See me as a student applying to UPenn (Wharton), Cornell (CALS-AEM), Berkeley (Und-Haas), UCLA, USC (Marshall), NYU (Stern),UCSD, UCD, UCI, UCSD, and Babson College.
Having moved to China to study at an international school after 13 years in SoCal, my standardized testing scores are probably lower than what it would have been if I stayed in the States (different environment, most kids are Korean/Taiwanese Int’l students). Anyways, here’s the situation.</p>

<p>I’ve taken summer PSAT/SAT prep courses all summers since 8th grade, whether they’re 2 week or 8 week courses. Yes, I do pay attention and do significantly better on practice tests every week of the courses.</p>

<p>My scores:
Sophomore PSAT: 1930 (CR 490 M 740 W 700) - I studied a lot this summer
Junior PSAT: 1840 (CR 490 M 720 W 630) - I didn’t study this summer</p>

<p>Junior May 2007 SAT I: 2020 (CR 550 M 720 W 750) - Last minute cramming study
Senior Oct 2007 SAT I: 1970 (CR 560 M 750 W 660) - I studied the whole summer for this. Consistently scored (CR 600 M 750-800 W 700-800). The tests are supposedly harder than usual.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading up to this point. Before I point out or ask anything, I’d like to say that I’m definitely retaking. I felt relatively good about the October test, such as realizing math trick questions, writing a neat, developed essay, catching the author’s main point, etc. I was expecting 2050-2250. And that’s including almost-worse-case-scenario (2050) and luck (2250)</p>

<p>A few points:
-Yes, I do understand that I don’t do as well on Reading. It’s those passages.
-I also see that my writing score fluctuates from time to time (Compare PSAT’s 700/620, SAT I’s 750/660, and practice tests’ 800/700).</p>

<p>A few questions:

  1. Why do you think my scores fluctuate so much? I study up to the day I take the SAT, so there are no gap periods where I don’t think about the SAT between the summer and test day.</p>

<p>2) Do you have any secret tips you would like to teach me for the December test? I consider myself a person who knows the SAT well (besides Reading, of course). I work over practice tests and ‘realize my mistakes’ - it’s just not working. I take the suggestions of teachers whose careers have been studying the SAT for 20+ years.</p>

<p>3) Rumor has it that people do better in Nov/Dec than Oct, and do better in May than June. What do you think?</p>

<p>4) Let us assume I am stuck with these scores. That’s May 2020/2400 and 1270/1600 and October 1970/2400 and 1310/1600. Which set of scores should I want them to consider? (I know they see all scores though) Some schools weigh Writing the same as Reading and Math. Others see it like another SAT II. Btw, is that site, where they say whether each school weighs Writing the same, accurate?</p>

<p>I posted this here, because most people are usually in the College Search/Admissions threads. Any responses or comments to anything are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.</p>

2

<p>um some ppl js arent good at taking the sat’s</p>

<p>1) frankly it may be that you arent able to process information quickly/effectively enought to score well
3) there arent any months where sat is easier
4) they automatically take the highest… so you dont get to choose… why does it matter</p>

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<p>bump/<em>randomtext</em>/</p>

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<p>Most schools will do “superscoring” in which they will look at your highest score on each part–thus, you essentially have a 2060 right now.
Perhaps you might try a different prep course, or a different prep book. It may be that there’s still something on the CR section that you just don’t “get.” It may be that you aren’t that good at it (and will never do too much better), but it may be that it can still click for you. The disparity between your CR scores and your best W score suggests to me that it’s worth trying to figure out what the issue is.</p>

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<p>Totally agree with above post. Issues for critical reading are overthinking question, reading too slowly, not thinking globally (over focusing on details and missing the point of the question or passage) and not reading questions carefully.</p>

<p>I would attribute the fluctuation to test anxiety. The actual test day has consequences; practices do not. Junior scores count more than sophomore scores. You get the idea.</p>

<p>Also, I would attribute your scores to your environment. Reading is a pretty portable skill as is math.</p>

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<p>/<em>randomtext</em>/</p>

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<p>Honestly the scores are so random that I would say nearly 25% of the test is based on luck (if you studied the abstract math problems, got an essay topic you are familiar with, studied the right vocab, got passages you are interested in, etc…). This can account to your scores.</p>

<p>I am in the same boat as you. I got 1870 in November of Junior year, but then took it again in May of Junior year and my score dropped. I know I got better at SATs because i studied like crazy over the break, but i guess it just wasn’t my day.</p>

<p>I guess how you are feeling on that day also helps a lot. Both days i felt pretty unfocused, so i guess breakfast and the amount of sleep you get the night before plays a big role.</p>

<p>One of the practice tests i took i got a 2200+ but obviouslly the SAT gods would not let me get anything close to this score on the real thing :[.</p>

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<p>:(. My mom keeps telling me it’s cuz I don’t get enough sleep during the course of the week, so come test day, I’m too tired to do well, although my brain thinks I’m doing alright.</p>