<p>On both the PSAT and Compass’ practice test I got an 1800. I hadn’t done any studying at all and still haven’t, I haven’t looked into any SAT “tricks,” and I’m a junior … I feel pretty screwed.</p>
<p>I’m shooting for at least 2100 but I’m not sure how to prepare. I was looking into Princeton Review’s $1000 honor program that guarantees 2100, would that be any good for me? Or opt for Revolution prep’s $600 program?</p>
<p>I’ve read on here that courses are not the right way to go and self studying is. But I’m a procrastinator (as you can see) that can’t focus and I want to take a lot more practice tests.</p>
<p>Alternatively I’m looking into getting tutored with Compass Education Group (in the Bay Area), but that’s very pricey at around $3000, have any of you tried this and is it worth it? I know they give regular tests with an essay portion, and I don’t know any other comparable tutors.</p>
<p>Oh god what do I do? This is killing me. Also how shafted am I? Thank you!</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think there’s any need to shell out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to do well on this test. I got a 181 on my first PSAT. A year later, it went up to a 217. I know you don’t have a year, but the reality is this test is not one that you must study for night and day to get a respectable score. If you don’t have the Blue Book, I urge you to do so. Understand the intricacies of this test. I tried to understand the math section first. I’m no whiz at math, and you don’t have to be on the SAT. I went from maybe a 550-600 to the mid-700s. Barron’s 2400 helps you get the occasional toughies in the math section, and it’s a godsend for those who have trouble with the writing. Many of the sentence correction problems seemingly unravel once you know and understand the rules. Misplaced modifiers and subject-verb agreement come up very frequently. The essay is tougher to practice for, as is the critical reading, in my opinion. Barron’s SAT will help with the essay a lot. In the meantime, take several practice tests. Don’t just take them though; score them and UNDERSTAND why you got the score you did. That’s my way of studying for critical reading. Hardly ever do I come across a problem that I have no idea how to do, but it’s usually in CR. If you’re going to make mistakes, make them in practice and make sure you know why you missed it and how you won’t miss it again. You’re only looking for about 100 gains in each section. Keep your head up. Depending on your actual scores by section, you’ll need to emphasize a certain section or two until you pull those 2000+ scores.</p>
<p>Thank you!
Yeah I’ve been reading that courses are comparable to just buying their book. At what rate should I be studying?
Also, I understand one can buy a bunch of practice tests, but are there any programs where I can pay to take a practice test with essay in an test-taking environment?</p>
<p>Yeah, exactly. I’d rather spend $50 on a few books (or no money at all, if you go to the library) than thousands on classes that teach you things that you can do yourself. I’m not sure if I’m just an anomaly, but I hardly practiced on the SAT and gained around 100 points a month before hitting a wall at around 2100. That’s when you actually have to hunker down. Maybe it’s just getting comfortable with the test. It can seem daunting at first, but each time, I got more and more comfortable to the point where I went it for the first time (March 9), it seemed like nothing more than another practice test. Honestly, the math and writing can be totally mastered (I mean TOTALLY mastered) in a couple weeks each. It was during the summer when I really studied for this stuff, and I had both of those sections down in a month. I brush up every few weeks with a section or two of each. Reading isn’t exactly my strong suit (in the SAT, anyway), but that’s what I’m doing now. It seems to me that the SAT is almost like riding a bike, only you need to check yourself occasionally. </p>
<p>As for test environments, I think that I’m different than the average test taker. When I was in the room, it was just me and the test. There were people coughing, the proctor announcing the five-minute marks, but they had no effect on me. As I said earlier, it really seems just like another practice test, if you can relax. I’ve only taken 5 or so practices before the real thing, and I take them under the same conditions: a stopwatch to record time, non-mechanical pencils for bubbling, even putting the calculator under my chair on non-math sections. I’m a test-taker of control; I don’t want to leave anything to chance. If you think you can’t operate the same at home, there are other ways. My library district offers practice SATs under exact conditions. My school does this also, but for the ACT. In all honesty, the only difference between you at home and you in the testing room is the other people, and they shouldn’t bother you. They’re all as serious as you are (although you’ll be getting much higher scores).</p>
<p>Do you mind posting the scores by section?</p>
<p>I mostly agree here, the SAT is not about how smart you are intellectually, rather it’s about how smart you are at taking the test. </p>
<p>I was stuck in the 1800s too, but then I was lucky enough to have a great SAT tutor (in NYC) and she recommended I used the Princeton Review books when studying with her… but her tricks were what helped me improve my score to 2100+!! </p>
<p>So - I recommend finding a great tutor to coach you how to take the test!!
There’s nothing online at the moment though…</p>
<p>If you’re looking for an SAT prep class, I can’t recommend Kaplan highly enough! Their instructors are wonderful and they really get you used to the test and prepare you well for your actual SATs to get you the scores you want. I raised my score from an 1830 to a 2090. If your score doesn’t improve, you get your money back and if it improves, but you’re still not happy with it, you can take the course again for free. By the way, don’t worry! I didn’t start taking the SATs until my senior year, so you’re not screwed yet! Best of luck!</p>
<p>I just wanna say that there is some really good advice within this thread. As for OP: The courses that Princeton Review and all the other companies offer are merely lessons from the book, with the added exception that you will have someone to personally explain them to you. If you feel as if the $30 book is not sufficient enough, then by all means spend the ~$1,000 on the prep course. My advice to you, however, is to ditch the courses, save your money, and use as many sources as you can to study from. Buy the BB and then go to the library and pickup some extra review books for free. There are some great sources online to study from, many of which can be found on this site. Be the tutor yourself by simply understanding your errors, and you will have attained more knowledge than a prep class were to give you, while still keeping your wallet full and not feeling like you’ve just burned a hole in your pocket. All the best to you and your endeavors!</p>
<p>Yeah, good intel in here! </p>
<p>@mash101 - you’re right - you can definitely take your path, but be warned: it does require 110% commitment and so much discipline!! </p>
<p>I bumped into my old SAT tutor and she mentioned there is an online “tricks” course now called Edrolo - it doesn’t waste your time on repetitive theory that you get in the BB for $30 (like Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc)!! From what I can tell, it looks awesome!!</p>
<p>I think that the growth from a score of <1800 to around 2000-2100 is mostly understanding the SAT and how it works. It’s those last 300 or so points which are nitpicky. It may not seem like it, but the amount of studying you must do to grow 300 points from 2100-2400 is much more than the amount you must do from 1800-2100. We’re talking maybe 10-15 questions that can knock off hundreds of points. If you’re content with a 2100, that’s certainly within reach, even without much studying. If you want to go above and beyond and get those 2100+ scores, then you really have to prepare. Either way is fine. It’s the difference between good schools and great schools.</p>
<p>@Braydenslv
im stuck in 1800-1900s what should i do? any tips? I’ve been stuck for months. :/</p>
<p>thanks for sharing everyone, this is a great post. </p>
<p>from what i’ve read here and in other posts, the 2100+ score is about how you take the test, as opposed to knowing the underlying theory for each section… </p>
<p>so, that means doing lots of practice questions and understanding why i got something wrong…</p>
<p>i read somewhere the SAT test is really testing the same principles each time, so they can’t really throw too many curveballs at you… so, if you can categorise the questions they’re asking, you can get a good SAT score…</p>
<p>now that’s that hard part i guess… any tips? (apart from hard work?!)</p>
<p>thanks for sharing everyone, this is a great post. </p>
<p>from what i’ve read here and in other posts, the 2100+ score is about how you take the test, as opposed to knowing the underlying theory for each section… </p>
<p>so, that means doing lots of practice questions and understanding why i got something wrong…</p>
<p>i read somewhere the SAT test is really testing the same principles each time, so they can’t really throw too many curveballs at you… so, if you can categorise the questions they’re asking, you can get a good SAT score…</p>
<p>now that’s that hard part i guess… any tips? (apart from hard work?!)</p>
<p>@vongolax Every situation is different, but a score of 2100+ is not out of reach for anyone. The way I did it was to put my full weight behind one section at a time, from easiest to hardest (for me, math, writing, then critical reading). Tackle each section ruthlessly. I spent around two weeks understanding each and every math problem possible until I was habitually getting perfect scores on my math. Then I went on to writing. The essay is yet to be conquered completely, but I would repeat exactly what I’d done for the math on the sentence completion problems. Next would go for critical reading (I’m not quite there yet haha.)</p>
<p>Now of course, when focusing on one particular section, the other sections will start to fall behind. My math scores, after ranging from 770-800, fell after finishing my first “round” of all three to around 720-760. Not horrible, but that’s a whole 120 points lost if repeated in all three sections. It’s as important to refresh your memory every couple weeks or so to keep all your skills in check. There’s no use in prepping hard a month or two before the test just to get rusty and lose hundreds of points you should have gotten.</p>
<p>These mini cram sessions of a week or two can help raise your score by maybe 300 points, but the review is just as important as the cramming. That way the cramming isn’t so much cramming, but retention, get me? Don’t lose valuable points. Learn your stuff, and keep reviewing, because if you don’t use it, you tend to lose it.</p>
<p>Agree with everyone on here, but especially in regard to classes. Classes are designed (much like the test itself) to get a good majority into the middle range of scores. If you already have an 1800, the class is worthless, and maybe even harmful as it might gear you towards techniques designed for the middle road. (For example, students who are scoring low that want to get up into the 600s need to purposefully skip questions; students who have a 600+ and want in the 700s need to answer almost everything.)</p>
<p>If you’re ambitious, you can improve on your own, but since you admitted to procrastinating, get thee to a good private tutor ASAP. Even at $100 an hour, in 6-8 sessions (same price as a class) but spread out so you have time to do practice tests in between, a good one-on-one tutor can teach you which strategies YOU need rather than general test-taking tips.</p>
<p>And the SAT is definitely about strategy. For a few really smart kids, it’s just a test, but for almost everyone else, it needs to be approached like the different beast that it is.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much! On my last practice test I got 620 on CR, 650 math, 530 writing, 7 on the essay. I’m working on the writing currently out of book, it’s scary low.</p>
<p>I think I will jump on a tutor though asap as thursdaymcgee recommended, I don’t know how to find one though. I’m in Marin (in California).</p>