I want to go to a prestigious school! And the only thing holding me back is...?

Question

my SAT scores. On the last practice test I took, I got a 1990/2400. I feel so depressed. I want to improve it to at least a 2250 by June of 07 so, what should I do?

What is the most effective, convenient, and fool-proof way of shooting my SAT score up?

Also, should I try taking the ACT too just to see what I would get? I heard from someone that that test was easier.

Answer 1

OK, first of all, don't listen to the guy who said that a 1990 is an incredibly good score. That is baloney. I know how you feel because you are right on the ball when you say that you need about a 2250 to get into a prestigious school (we are talking places like Cornell, Yale, UCLA, Stanford, Duke, WashU etc,). I only had a 2100 and was turned down from all of the schools I just mentioned, except UCLA where I didn't apply. I had a 4.0 GPA and graduated a year early, but that still wasn't enough apparently.

Anyways, this is about how I can help you, but I'm just putting things in perspective here because I know how you feel. Firstly, let me say that the SAT is incredibly important. Some colleges try to play it off and say that your score is not the only thing that they look at when considering your application, which is true, but trust me-- it is really, really important. Here is my advice (some of which you may have already done):

1. Buy the Collegeboard SAT book (I think it cost about 20 bucks). It has something like 8 SAT practice tests in it. These will be very similar to the real thing since the Collegeboard are the people who distribute the exam (though the exam is actually written by the Educational Testing Service). Do ALL of the tests. I would suggest doing the first few without a time limit so that you can get a feel for the questions with no pressure, but do the last 4 or 5 exams under timed conditions since time is a huge factor with the SAT. When I did this, my first score was an 1800. By the time I got to the eighth test, I was hitting around 2100 each time and that is what I made on the real thing.

2. DO NOT TAKE AN SAT PREP COURSE! This sounds weird, but trust me on it. I took an SAT prep course after taking the SAT the first time round (when I made my 2100) and when I took the SAT again, my score FELL 90 points. It was a waste of roughly 1000 bucks! Everything they teach you you will actually pick up while doing the practice tests. Trust me, it is a waste of time. I've had people tell me that doing prep courses has increased their scores by 300 points. This is true, but only for one reason. Prep courses make you do SAT practice exams. Seeing as you can do those without shelling out tonnes of money, there is no need for the prep courses (the thing is that most people are just too lazy to sit themselves down and do the practice exams unless they have some prep course guy standing over their shoulder giving them no choice).

3. Sorry for that last piece of advice, it wasn't so much advice as a heads up to getting scammed (I took the Princeton Review by the way). Anyway, piece of advice number 3 is make sure that you right an amazing college essay. You can get into an excellent school based on your college essay, and often, it is the deciding factor (while SAT scores are used as more of a cut-off thing to filter out the unrealistic applicants). So make sure you spend a lot of time on the essay, and get a lot of help from your English teacher.

4. Make sure that the list of schools you apply to is realistic. The places I applied to were all realistic in the sense that I could go to any of those schools and succeed. However, none of those places were realistic because of my less than stellar SAT scores and lack of AP exams. I had a fair amount of extra-curriculars but wish that I had done more. I suggest going to www.collegeboard.com and looking at various colleges. The website tells you the average SAT. ACT, and sometimes GPAs of students applying to schools and that should give you a fair idea of how good a chance you have of getting into a certain school. Trust me, it can be hugely demoralizing to apply to all these top schools and than receive rejection letter after rejection letter in late March/early April.

5. Take the ACT! Trust me, you will not regret it. Let me put this in perspective. I took the ACT once with very little practice and made a 30 out of 36. I had a 34 in the Math section. The best part was that I never actually finished any of the sections (except for the math section). It is a much easier test. If I had taken it again, with a little more practice and better timing (finishing the ACT is the hardest part of it, I actually took a 5 minute nap about midway through my exam because it is so long), I would have easily made at least a 32, which is pretty much equal to your 2250 on the SAT (and I stress the words "at least"). I know this because when I was doing ACT practice tests my scores were frequently in the 32 range, but again that was only if I finished the exam (in the real thing, I think I must not have answered at least 10-20 questions or so, especially in the reading section, which is really hard to finish). The essential difference between the SAT and ACT is that the SAT tests how you think while the ACT actually justs tests you on easy stuff that you are taught in school, thereby testing you on what you know. Also, don't be fooled by the SAT, it may say that it is 2 parts English and 1 part Math, but it is really 3 parts Englsh. The hardest thing about the SAT is that the entire test is verbal. Even the Math section is testing your verbal skills because the actual math involved isn't actually that hard, but it is the way in which the questions are phrased. The ACT is a much more all round test, giving you a fair bit of math-testing questions and english-testing questions. Basically, the main difference is that one test tests how you think, and the other one tests how hard you work. Again, take the ACT, I really wish that I had just put all of my effort into taking only the ACT as opposed to wasting my time on the SAT. I actually know someone who made about an 1850 on the SAT but had a 34 on the ACT and is now at an Ivy league school.

6. Finally, I would just say keep a great backup school open as an option. I am at McGill University, the number one college in Canada (located in Montreal), now (according to the London Times annual college rankings, we are number 21 un the world). The other good thing about the ACT is that while some schools will require you to take the SAT and 3 SAT II's, they may just take the ACT in place of all of those (McGill is one of those places). Now, I'm a bit of a pompous *** for promoting my own university, but you really should consider it. The social life here is awesome, this place is way cheaper than any Ivy league school, and most importantly, the academics are really challenging (trust me, I'm doing a great job of messing up here) and unlike the Ivies, who have their wonderful system of grade inflation, we actually have to work for our grades. The application was really easy too. There was no essay to write, no letters of recommendation needed, and all they really look at are your grades. It's definitely worth a look. I have met plenty of people here who have turned down places like Dartmouth and Columbia to be here, so I would suggest giving it a look.

Good luck! I hope you end up where you wanna be (maybe even McGill)!

By the way, every school in the US now accepts the ACT in place of the SAT (even Wake Forest, who until last year did not accept the ACT). And trust me, it does matter where you go to college of you wanna get a good job (but you gotta have the right will and mindset too).

Answer 2

The test you need to take is the one required for the school you are trying to enter. There is no point in getting a great ACT score if the school requires SAT.

There is NO "effective, convenient and fool-proof way" of shooting your SAT score up. People will charge you for a "method", but they are only taking your money.

Work on the areas you scored low in the earlier test. Get plenty of rest the night before. And, as difficult as it may seem, don't worry about how you will do on the test because studies have shown that this will actually drive your scores down.

Answer 3

First of all, take the ACT. It isn't easier, but it tests different things and a lot of people who work hard in school will do better on the ACTs. I was testing in your range for the SAT and scored much better on the ACT. Most schools accept both.

Second, most schools don't base their decision on SATs/ACTs. Get an interview, talk to them, and make them want you.

Third, no school expects or demands a 2250, even a Harvard or Yale. A 2100 should be high enough to get in most places and a 2000 will get you into a ton of prestigious schools.

Good luck!

Answer 4

You should by the books recommended by the College Board.

Also, read the sparknotes vocabulary books, it is a great resource to improve your vocabulary.

Also, if you can go to a former english and mathematics teacher, and borrow an English I and Algebra I book to strengthen your background knowlegde on the subjects, also it would help you to remember basic things that can come in handy.

Don't feel upset, a 1990 is an incredibly good score, you are obviously an intelligent kid and things will come your way.

Best Wishes :)

Answer 5

To improve your MAth score buy Math Workbook for the New SAT (Barron's Math Workbook for the Sat I)3rd Edition (Paperback)

Enghance your vocabulary and practice as often as possible. CHeck the answer you had wrong and try to correct it. By doing this you can learn a lesson about your error.

Answer 6

A dirty little secret is that long term, it doesn't matter where you go to college. People who go to prestigous schools earn no more than their counterparts at a little known school, assuming they have the same degree. In fact, students who go to elite private schools, on average, have more problems than students who go to cheap, state schools because of the amount of debt.
I took the ACT and PSAT. They are very different exams. For some, SAT is easier, and for others, ACT is easier.

Answer 7

Private tutoring would be the most effective strategy of improving your SATs. IT may be costly, but it is definitely worth it in the long-run.

If you have excellent extra-curriculars, and the SAT is the only thing holding you back, go get a tutor!