Hey guys!
I’m taking the SAT soon and I’m a boss at English and Writing, but I could work on math a little more. Does anyone have any idea what kind of math is mainly on the SAT? Like is it Algebra or Geometry or…? Also, are there any good resources I can use to study math specifically? Thank you!
Math: Basic Math, Alg I, Geometry, Alg II, and a small amount of trig. My advice to you is to google “how to score a perfect sat math score” (since you said you’re good at the writing/reading part). I would read the article by a guy who got a perfect SAT score (2400) http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-sat-score-by-a-2400-sat-scorer Also, he has other math tips throughout the site. I bought a prep book to study with and I love it! It starts with your basic math and transitions to the harder topics. (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sat-power-math-princeton-review/1118601569?ean=9780804125925&x=44211101) Lastly, I find SparkCharts very useful they make an SAT Math one which I purchased (along with the other topics on the SAT). It is under $5.00 and good for last minute studying before the rest. (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sat-math-sparkcharts-sparknotes/1116353517?ean=9781411470620&x=44211101) You do get a formula sheet for the exam, however I cannot remember all that is on it and you can use a calculator. Be sure to skim through College Board’s site for the SAT (here is a link to the math: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-questions-math/multiple-choice) and do the question of the day, normally the math ones are trickier ones. After you answer they explain the correct answer to you and why it is that one. Good luck to you! 
Thank you!
@nfkrieg I wrote the article that southernbelle16 linked (on getting a perfect score). Feel free to ask any questions!
Math covers Number Theory (integers, fractions, etc), Algebra, Geometry, and some Statistics/Probability. I recommend that you start off by taking a practice test and seeing what kinds of questions you tend to miss more. Then you can focus your drilling on your weaknesses.
Whatever resources you use, it should be able to give you focused practice on your topic area weaknesses. For example, you might have aced Algebra, but forgotten most of Geometry. This means you’ll need to prep Geometry more, and you should find resources that help organize this for you.
@chengallen
Hi! I know (from PrepScholar) that you got a 2400 on the SAT, so I was hoping you would answer a few questions of mine.
Did you consistently get 2400s on the BB practice tests?
Also, do you have any specific advice for SAT Math? I don’t really have trouble with the material; I can solve all the math problems. However, I do run out of time occasionally, and I just don’t know how I can speed up without sacrificing accuracy.
Thank you so much for your help and time!
@chengallen Any tips on how to reduce test anxiety? My scores drop significantly when I get panicked.
@collegenow111 Hey there, happy to help.
When I was prepping during high school, I did consistently get around the perfect score range. That is, I tried really hard to get most of my practice tests in the 780-800 range. Because the margin of error is small, inevitably you run into, say, a passage you don’t really get and miss a few questions, which can drop your section score down a lot. But don’t let that freak you out - it happens to everyone. Overall you should aim for consistency, because your performance on test day might be at the lower end of your range for reasons out of your control.
The last time I took the SAT in 2014 and scored a 2400 (I was well out of college already), I didn’t need to prep much, largely because I went through a ton of material to build our PrepScholar program. But if I took practice tests I would reliably get near a 2400.
For math: if you’ve mastered all the underlying content and can truly get every question, your challenge will be solving the questions more quickly without making careless mistakes. Here are a few tips:
-try to keep track of which questions are taking you longer than average (say, 90 seconds or more). After the test, try to see if there’s a different way you can solve the question. Each question should be doable within 60 seconds, and sometimes there’s a ‘trick’ to the question that gets you there faster. For example, sometimes plugging in answer choices is really just faster than solving the question algebraically
-keep track of what careless mistakes you make and drill down on those. Some students for example have issue doing mental algebraic manipulation (eg multiplying terms together in their head), while others might solve for the wrong thing in the question (e.g. for perimeter instead of area).
-on the SAT, a point is a point. An easy question solved is equal to a hard question in relation to your score. If you find yourself spending 30 seconds on a question and not having any idea of how to solve it, just skip it and return to it. This will maximize your score by focusing your attention on all the questions you can solve quickly.
Try those out and let me know how it goes!
@ssgupta My stance on this is that test anxiety comes from two sources:
- uncertainty about how you’ll perform
- belief in the importance of the test to your future
There are ways to reduce anxiety for both.
For the first, anxiety often arises in situations where you’re unsure of the outcome. For example, you aren’t nervous every time you turn on the faucet - you know what’s going to happen every time. But when it comes to asking out your crush to the school dance, suddenly your heart starts racing - because you don’t know what that person’s going to say.
Similarly, if there’s uncertainty surrounding the test - what will the test be like, how will you perform - you can easily get anxious. To reduce this anxiety, get more familiar with the test and your level of performance. Take a lot of practice tests and do a lot of questions, and you’ll know the test inside and out. Come test day, it’ll be like reading a familiar book. As you study you’ll see patterns emerge to the ways they ask questions.
You also need to be confident about your performance. If you’re pretty sure how you’ll perform on test day, you’ll be less anxious. For example, if you’re consistently getting 700’s in each section, you should know that you’ll be able to perform at this level on test day. On the other hand, if you’re scoring 500 one day and 700 the next, you need to work on your consistency, because otherwise the test will seem like a lottery.
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For the second issue, I think nearly everyone who cares about their college future feels some amount of concern about doing well on the test. How you choose to respond to it will change how it impacts your test.
When football players play during the Super Bowl, they know it’s an important game, and it probably runs through their mind throughout. But they use this to fuel their play - they focus harder, run faster, know the stakes are higher. It’s not just practice to them. If you can change your mindset to this encouraging one, that can be helpful.
If this is hard, you might also try the opposite approach - try to get in the zone and forget that it’s an official test. Pretend it’s a practice test that you want to do really well on. The key here is that when you actually take practice tests, you should focus 100%, otherwise the simulation may backfire.
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At the end of the day, if you prep well, you should be confident about how you’re going to do, and the test will seem very familiar. If this isn’t your last chance to take the test, think to yourself that you’ll always have other chances to do well if this iteration doesn’t go as planned.