How did you improve your SAT Score?
Started by sjumcat
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
D
deleted202457
its just like any test. you learn the test. and you won't get scholarship just by having good scores.
also agree this is an hSDN topic
also agree this is an hSDN topic
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
got a sparknotes prep book and did all the tests in it over a 3 week period, a test every other day or two (i think i ended up repeating a few), and made sure to read the explanations for the ones i got wrong. worked well, my score went up 350 points from the first time i took it.
Scholarship or financial aid? You can get financial aid regardless of your grades; it depends on your parents' financial situation. Scholarships are merit based, meaning you need to do well in HS to get one.
I find the merit-based financial aid system ridiculous. I went to high school overseas, where all my classes were in German. Naturally ended up with a 2.8 GPA, so no scholarships for me. My roommate got in as the valedictorian and had a full ride. So far in college my GPA is higher than his. Yet he still continues to get his 40K a year, while I have absoluetely nothing. 😡 I think merit scholarships needs to be re-evaluated each year depending on college performance, not what you got as a high school kid.
Do what I did play sports and fly in under the radar
delete... Double post
i practiced not falling asleep. if that counts.
D
deleted330278
Yeah there really isn't any reason to study for the SAT... just get plenty of sleep the night before because I was exhausted afterward.
the hSDN forum is the right place for issues relevant to high schoolers.
Kids who "prep" for the SAT are the same ones who end up putting on war paint and going grand theft auto on shopping centers by the time they hit med school. That being said, I had a deep and unyielding hatred for the SAT based on some tools I know who took it so I did the ACT out of spite. Hope this helps
Practicing for the SAT does help, even if a little. The average person who just gets up in the morning and takes the test probably would do better had he/she spent a few hours a week or two before the test practicing the math problems and touching up on some forgotten things or the reading section and getting comfortable with the questions the test usually asks. I think this helped me, and it helps with scholarships-always welcome. The test is probably more important to some high schoolers who are trying to meet the cut-off SAT score for a BS/DDS program
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I took a prep course, and it boosted my score a good 200 points. Be picky as far as what prep course you choose though. Some are really good (Elite is the best imo, but I think they're local to California, so they may not offer classes in your area). There are some courses that specialize in taking 2100 students up to 2400, and there are some that specialize in taking average test-takers into the 2000 range. If you're already 2000+ and want that perfect score, you'd need to try to find a course that's tailored to your level, otherwise the instructor could just waste your time and money.
practice. do practice tests from prep books and when checking your answers, study why you got it wrong. the book should have the reasons behind the answers.
for the writing section, study all the grammar rules and common mistakes the book lists. for me that alone boosted my writing score. it also helps if you read a lot. sometimes recalling phrases from your reading helps.
for the critical reading section, just do passages over and over. maybe read the newspaper to help your critical reading skills. get a Word Smart book and study vocab. it'll help you on sentence completions.
for the math section, just study the math concepts tested.
i got a scholarship from the college im about to attend. it is merit based. i had to have a certain SAT score and GPA to receive it.
hopefully this helped.
for the writing section, study all the grammar rules and common mistakes the book lists. for me that alone boosted my writing score. it also helps if you read a lot. sometimes recalling phrases from your reading helps.
for the critical reading section, just do passages over and over. maybe read the newspaper to help your critical reading skills. get a Word Smart book and study vocab. it'll help you on sentence completions.
for the math section, just study the math concepts tested.
i got a scholarship from the college im about to attend. it is merit based. i had to have a certain SAT score and GPA to receive it.
hopefully this helped.
SATs was a joke. Who the hell prepares for that test? If you are having trouble with it you might as well give up in life and become a physical therapist. OK bye.
I normally don't comment on hSDN, but I will on this one.
I find this post to be unnecessarily hostile (unless you meant to use the word "prep" as in "taking prep course" but even that is still rather extreme). Personally, I studied for SAT in high school. Why? Because unlike some students who can walk out of test centers with 2000+, not everyone can. It's not just on the intelligence of an individual, but also due to the rigor of high school. My high school wasn't as challenging as other schools, and I knew that this reflected on my score. So I studied on my own, bought books, and improved by about 400 points and got accepted to every single college I applied to.
My point is that while there are some spoiled kids who study for SAT and enroll in SAT Prep Course (this - I highly oppose because no one should spend thousands of dollars for SAT prep, but it happens every year), there are some students who prep in order to level the playing field for admission and financial aid.
Your statement about financial aid is correct. Financial aid is need-based and reflects your family incomes after filling out FAFSA. Scholarship, on the other hand, is not necessarily what you said. There are certain scholarships that are solely based on SAT scores such as full ride to National Merit Finalists. Most scholarships require students to receive certain grades in high school and scores on standardized tests to meet the requirement.
I can understand your frustration for not receiving scholarships, but there really is no way to help you there, and if there was, it would have been only through scoring high on standardized test. And as far as students receiving aids depending on the college performance, there are some scholarships where money is contingent, and students have to either maintain certain level of GPA or spend selected amount of hours in the volunteer to receive it each year. I'm not sure how many are guaranteed all four years without some requirement on student's behalf. Also, you can't change the colleges' policy for awarding scholarships because while it seems logical for students to be measured on their GPA in undergrad, the more important issue is on getting them to the colleges and universities in the first place.
Anyway, I'm not trying to argue with anyone here. I'm just giving a correct reflection of reality when it comes to standardized tests because I taught SAT one summer and researched a lot about college admission and occasionally advise people with college admissions. I am not fan of standardized tests at all, but it's there for a reason. This statement goes to SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, and essentially all standardized tests. We may not like them, but what can you do? That's how life works.
I find this post to be unnecessarily hostile (unless you meant to use the word "prep" as in "taking prep course" but even that is still rather extreme). Personally, I studied for SAT in high school. Why? Because unlike some students who can walk out of test centers with 2000+, not everyone can. It's not just on the intelligence of an individual, but also due to the rigor of high school. My high school wasn't as challenging as other schools, and I knew that this reflected on my score. So I studied on my own, bought books, and improved by about 400 points and got accepted to every single college I applied to.
My point is that while there are some spoiled kids who study for SAT and enroll in SAT Prep Course (this - I highly oppose because no one should spend thousands of dollars for SAT prep, but it happens every year), there are some students who prep in order to level the playing field for admission and financial aid.
SU1989 said:
Your statement about financial aid is correct. Financial aid is need-based and reflects your family incomes after filling out FAFSA. Scholarship, on the other hand, is not necessarily what you said. There are certain scholarships that are solely based on SAT scores such as full ride to National Merit Finalists. Most scholarships require students to receive certain grades in high school and scores on standardized tests to meet the requirement.
I can understand your frustration for not receiving scholarships, but there really is no way to help you there, and if there was, it would have been only through scoring high on standardized test. And as far as students receiving aids depending on the college performance, there are some scholarships where money is contingent, and students have to either maintain certain level of GPA or spend selected amount of hours in the volunteer to receive it each year. I'm not sure how many are guaranteed all four years without some requirement on student's behalf. Also, you can't change the colleges' policy for awarding scholarships because while it seems logical for students to be measured on their GPA in undergrad, the more important issue is on getting them to the colleges and universities in the first place.
Anyway, I'm not trying to argue with anyone here. I'm just giving a correct reflection of reality when it comes to standardized tests because I taught SAT one summer and researched a lot about college admission and occasionally advise people with college admissions. I am not fan of standardized tests at all, but it's there for a reason. This statement goes to SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, and essentially all standardized tests. We may not like them, but what can you do? That's how life works.
Well, a lot of this depends on what kind of score you currently have and what you're trying to achieve. Improving an extra 200 points when your first score was a 1700 isn't so bad, but improving the same amount from a 2000 or 2100 isn't quite as easy.
I will say that I improved a good amount using SAT 2400 from Kaplan which focused a lot on the stuff that can rob you of that last 200 points you may be capable of once you're already in the high scoring range. If you're struggling though and are more mediocre in your performance already, I would recommend some of the Princeton Review books and general Kaplan books in addition to really trying to spot trends in the type of problems you're missing. Go back and look at them and see if it's similar approaches to problems, rather than the problem itself, that is causing you grief.
As for scholarships, a lot of scholarships are University granted, need-based, ethnicity-specific, family employer-specific, etc. Just do the best you can to find stuff that matches well with you (I suppose some people use FastWebs but I never found it that useful in the 2 years I tried using it). I specifically applied to schools that gave out their own scholarships so you may want to consider that as well.
I will say that I improved a good amount using SAT 2400 from Kaplan which focused a lot on the stuff that can rob you of that last 200 points you may be capable of once you're already in the high scoring range. If you're struggling though and are more mediocre in your performance already, I would recommend some of the Princeton Review books and general Kaplan books in addition to really trying to spot trends in the type of problems you're missing. Go back and look at them and see if it's similar approaches to problems, rather than the problem itself, that is causing you grief.
As for scholarships, a lot of scholarships are University granted, need-based, ethnicity-specific, family employer-specific, etc. Just do the best you can to find stuff that matches well with you (I suppose some people use FastWebs but I never found it that useful in the 2 years I tried using it). I specifically applied to schools that gave out their own scholarships so you may want to consider that as well.
So, I went from an 1800 to a 2320, so I can tell you for a fact that this works. Anyone that takes this seriously and puts the effort WILL score 2000+.
1) Realize that studying for the SAT is one of the easiest ways to boost your application. I don't know about other colleges, but I know that the University of California system takes your SAT scores seriously. While you have to spend years of effort to bring up your GPA, just a few days will ensure that you have a great SAT score. So, the return on your time investment is greater. Remember that, and push your self to study.
2) Don't waste your time and money on a prep class. They only help if you currently scoring very low. Rather than teach you what you don't know they mainly help you with test taking tips and tricks (when to skip answers, etc.).
3) Purchase the Official SAT CollegeBoard review books. I believe that there are two of them now. A solutions manual written by a third party might help at step 5. I personally purchased one, but still had to ask for teacher help to explain some problems. You can purchase them anywhere from your local Barnes and Noble to Amazon.com
4) Since this is summer, you have all the time in the world to study. Now what you need to do is begin taking the tests.
5) After each test you take, correct your work and go over EVERY PROBLEM, even the ones you got correct. This way you go over ones you guessed on and got correct. For the ones you got wrong, find out why and learn the formula or how to do it correctly. Don't be afraid to ask teachers, parents, smart friends, etc. for help. I'm sure that you can even post questions you don't know here on SDN. The SAT is very repetitive and uses the same type of questions or even the same questions.
6) Purchase another book and repeat if desired (I did, but they only had one book when I took the SAT.).
7) If you genuinely made sure that you took every test and understood every problem, you are now sick of the SAT and have spent ~ 100 hours studying for it. You are more than ready. Take the test ASAP before you forget the material and score 2000+.
Good luck!
1) Realize that studying for the SAT is one of the easiest ways to boost your application. I don't know about other colleges, but I know that the University of California system takes your SAT scores seriously. While you have to spend years of effort to bring up your GPA, just a few days will ensure that you have a great SAT score. So, the return on your time investment is greater. Remember that, and push your self to study.
2) Don't waste your time and money on a prep class. They only help if you currently scoring very low. Rather than teach you what you don't know they mainly help you with test taking tips and tricks (when to skip answers, etc.).
3) Purchase the Official SAT CollegeBoard review books. I believe that there are two of them now. A solutions manual written by a third party might help at step 5. I personally purchased one, but still had to ask for teacher help to explain some problems. You can purchase them anywhere from your local Barnes and Noble to Amazon.com
4) Since this is summer, you have all the time in the world to study. Now what you need to do is begin taking the tests.
5) After each test you take, correct your work and go over EVERY PROBLEM, even the ones you got correct. This way you go over ones you guessed on and got correct. For the ones you got wrong, find out why and learn the formula or how to do it correctly. Don't be afraid to ask teachers, parents, smart friends, etc. for help. I'm sure that you can even post questions you don't know here on SDN. The SAT is very repetitive and uses the same type of questions or even the same questions.
6) Purchase another book and repeat if desired (I did, but they only had one book when I took the SAT.).
7) If you genuinely made sure that you took every test and understood every problem, you are now sick of the SAT and have spent ~ 100 hours studying for it. You are more than ready. Take the test ASAP before you forget the material and score 2000+.
Good luck!
I agree with everything above. To reiterate: get the college board blue book and go through it carefully. Take every practice test in it, and take them seriously. Go over your answers, even ones you got right. Get your timing down and find a rhythm that works for you. Get your hands on as many practice tests as you possibly can, and work those as well. Soon you learn to start anticipating what sort of answers the test makers are looking for, and on the CR section this is gold. If you're already in the 2000-2100 range, get the Barron's 2400 book and treat it like your bible. Take its suggestions and do the practice problems. Again, review your answers. This really is the most important step. Review every single question, even if it seems really basic/obvious.
Doing this took me from a 2120 (670 CR/650 M/800 W) to a 2360 (780 CR/780 M/800 W) over the course of 1 summer. It's very possible if you just practice. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to PM me (I don't check hSDN much) or try collegeconfidential.com (though beware the crazies who retake 2300s). And ignore those who tell you studying for the SATs is a stupid waste of time. Had I sat with my 2120 and not tried to improve, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be at the school I'm at now.
I definitely didn't study for 1 minute for the SATs and got an 1800 and did not retake because I thought I couldn't afford 4 years at a university and had a 3.1 GPA. I just graduated from a pretty good UC school and got scholarships and grants that paid off my entire first year and about half of my remaining three, granted I did get good grades in college. I'm not arguing that the OP shouldn't study hard for the SATs, but am offering an example of one situation that does not support that "the University of California system takes your SAT scores seriously". I believe my personal statement really did it for me. I KNOW they take that seriously.
The UC system is the one that pushed for the SAT to be established, and they were one of the first institutions to begin using it. They believed that a standardized system was a more accurate way to measure college readiness than GPA. The SAT is designed to measure for that: Are you ready for college? and is nothing more than an test of knowledge, not intelligence. Furthermore, the UC system was what pushed CollegeBoard to adpot the writing section on the SAT. This is the reason why scoring greater than a 680 in the writing section of the SAT exempts you from freshman english at a UC. Essentially, the UC regents were tired of students entering college without sufficient writing skills, and wanted a way to test for that. While I am not in anyway saying that your LOR (which UCs don't accept), personal statements, and GPA don't count, I am simply saying that the UC system places more weight (or mass as my chemistry teacher would insist 🙂) on the SAT. A great SAT score won't help a low GPA. However, a great SAT score will back up a high GPA, solidifying your knowledge in the eyes of an ADCOM.
As to your claim that the UCs take personal statements seriously, I'd have to disagree with that. I think that private schools do, but considering the number of applications they receive, I think that the personal statement is merely something that is skimmed over briefly. While it does provide a short insight to your personality, I think that its main purpose is a measure of your comfort with expressing your opinions in writing.
In case the OP was wondering:
My stats at application of UC/CSU:
SAT 2220
GPA 3.76 UC weighted
11 AP Courses, many honors
Community service, blah, blah, etc.
All other colleges:
SAT 2320
GPA 3.67
11 AP Courses, many honors
Community service, blah, blah, etc.
Scholarship Money from schools (all merit based):
UC Irvine $5,000 (one time)
UC Riversidee $5,000 (one time)
UOP $20,000 (renewable)
Here's the ticket about scholarship money: It doesn't have to be merit or financial based. I've made over $7,000 simply by writing essays. It amazing how much free money is out there for just a couple hours of your time writing an essay. Ask around at your parent's work, the library, and look at scholarship websites such as fastweb.com
Schools I got into:
UC Irvine (attending)
UC Riverside
UC Merced
UC San Diego
UC Santa Cruz
CSU Long Beach
CSU Fullerton
CSU Fresno
Cal Poly Pomona
U of the Pacific (UOP)
Iowa State U
Cal Poly SLO
Schools that I got denied at:
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
As you might of noticed, I have a public school bias ($$$$$). Also, I got denied at UC Davis, which I though were a sure in. I applied as a Biological Sciences major at all these schools.
Don't worry too much about everything. Just do your thing, get As and Bs, and you'll be fine.
Now, please don't turn this thread into a flame war...
Depends on your UC. The average SAT at a lot of them are quite low.
Just wanted to add -- if you're not good at studying by yourself (and I mean good, like have experience with straight A's in multiple AP's), then get a tutor really. The SAT is self-studyable if you are disciplined and know what you are doing.
I never really studied that much (maybe 2.5 weeks?) but went from a 2200 --> 2320 because I know how to study. Make sure you know how to understand rather than memorize problems, etc.
