How to score high on the SAT

This article contains information that is appropriate for the people who totally bombed the test,and people who are close to a perfect score. Hopefully it can help everyone out.

Why should I even care about the SAT?

Because a difference of 100 points on your SAT can mean a $10,000 difference PER year in tuition for college. Some colleges even offer automatic scholarships (which could include free tuition and board) for students who reach a certain SAT score. For example, at a certain top 100 University, a student who has a score of 1400 total in Math and Reading receives full tuition automatically. It's worth your effort, trust me!

My first go around, I made a 2080, as compared to the November test takers. I consider myself moderately intelligent but extremely lazy.

My quick score breakdown:

740 - Critical Reading (Perhaps I got lucky, and perhaps it was the 200 vocabulary words I learned two days before the test)

670 - Math (I forgot all of my algebra 2. I got quite unlucky here, as I only missed 5 problems - I took the test at the wrong time of the year and was compared to the senior class which had an entire extra year of math and much more preparation.)

670 - Writing (Essay 8)

Note: I have recently taken the test again. The results will come on February 11, and I will share them with you on this hub.

I can tell you one thing. The amount of effort you put into it counts just as much as how intelligent you are. Even if you aren't a genius, if you try hard enough, you will score at least an 1800.

Get coached, get into a class, review your algebra, learn some vocabulary, practice writing essays. Do SOMETHING. What you've learned in school and how hard you've tried are really going to count here, but you can raise your scores even if you've been stupid and lazy your whole life.

Now I can't cover everything about the test, but I may write some new articles that give more detailed explanations of the sections.

Overview:

The test comprises of 3 sections - Math, Critical Reading, and Writing.

Each section has a maximum possible score of 800, so the highest cumulative score is 2400.

Each question (with the exception of math "grid-ins") has five answer choices, A through E.

There are certain strategies that will help you cut down on the amount of time you take.

Scoring 700 in a section means you've definitely outperformed 9/10 people.

Math: This score really counts. The material covers up to some of Algebra 2, and many of the later problems in a section can be extremely misleading or difficult. Almost anybody can get the first eight questions correctly every time. Although the next four or five questions are more difficult, they are generally slightly harder and readily do-able. The last four or five questions generally attempt to mislead you or test a rarely used concept.

Quick tip: When trying out answer choices, start with C. If the number is too big, move on to B. If that's too big, move on to A. If C is too small, then move on to D, and then E. This works because the answers are always arranged smallest (A) to largest (E).

Sample answer choices:

A) 1

B) 2

C) 4.5

D) 5.5

E) 7

Reading: This part also counts. This section requires you to know a lot of rare vocabulary. It will ask you to pick apart what passages are trying to say, and will make you choose the best possible answer in a variety of complex texts. It isn't as hard as you think - just cross out what the text doesn't say. The answer is ALWAYS in the text. If it's not in there, it's not the answer. The reading test tries to never assume that you know any outside information when asking you to answer passage questions.

Quick tip: LEARN THE VOCABULARY! You can see a tremendous amount of improvement by studying vocabulary that tends to show up on the test. There is a huge selection of prep guides and books that will help you with this!

Writing: Not to say that this isn't important, but many colleges tend to look at the reading and math more. You don't want to bomb this section, because they are still going to wonder why you were stupid or lazy enough to score really low. This section tests your grammar abilities and your ability to revise and detect mistakes in passages and sentences. It includes an essay with a random prompt with a quote from some kind of literary source that relates to it. You only have 25 minutes to write it.

Tip: Your essay should include a reference from literature and one from history. Also, try to write the full two pages that you are given, as statistics has shown that a longer essay tends to get a better score. Write practice essays, and have several reference sources in your mind as you write about it. I kind of bombed my essay (I received an 8 out of 12) but I just took it again, and quite frankly, I believe I destroyed it. That's because this time I went in with several historical and literary references in mind!

Also focus on learning the grammar rules tested.

Essential Tips:

Learn the vocabulary.

Learn the grammar rules.

Review all tested math concepts.

Become familiar with the test format.

Take several practice tests including essays.

Space out study times, do not cram. Psychologists have observed a phenomenon called the "Spacing Effect" in which studying for shorter periods of time over a long period will result in better retention than cramming.

Go to a prep class and pay attention. Those things are expensive!

Buy a prep book and utilize it. Do it for 30 minutes a day for a month before the test, and I promise that effort is going to show up on your score report.

Be motivated. This stuff is important. A good SAT score can invoke a fuzzy "set for life" feeling, as many colleges have automatic admissions set up for decent scores.

Conclusion: If you're ever gonna study for anything, study for this. It's one of the best investments that a person can make. Your grades in high school matter about as much as your SAT score. That means one lousy test matters as much as four years of schooling in the college admissions guy's mind.

Be prepared - this means having your calculator, extra batteries, several working pencils with good erasers, your ID, your admission ticket, a snack, and a decent amount of sleep all ready before the day of the test. You don't want to score 50 points lower because you stayed up all night.

I've provided an amazon capsule underneath here that will likely link popular SAT study guides. Enjoy!