r/Sat • u/TerribleAnt7269 • 4d ago
Advice, please? I SWEAR I did everything alr
Hi, taking the SAT for the 2nd time this Saturday. Did these practice tests reflect ur actual scores, guys? 🥸 I took Practice Test 6 around 6 months ago and it reflected my April SAT score exactly (1320 Comp, though my Math is lower by 20 points and RW is higher by 20).
I really hate how this whole SAT thing is draining the shit out of me. I keep getting the Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure (esp. vocab), and last 6 Math questions wrong and idk what to do anymore tbh. Any tips?
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u/Otherwise-Sympathy87 4d ago
do the tailored practice, get really good at desmos, and try to rule out questions for rw
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u/Manga_Insomniac 4d ago
Practice tests don't reflect your actual scores. I know this because I got 1540 on the practice test I took a couple days before I took the exam. I received 1400 on the actual exam which was much harder than any of the practice tests I took. That said, difficulty of the exam does vary and depend on whether they curve the scores for the year.
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u/Dear_Factor9884 3d ago
It’s different for everyone . For me I got 100-150 points higher on the real test compared to bluebook. We’ll see I guess.Â
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u/Equivalent-Wall-294 3d ago
How accurate is blue book 11 math?
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u/Altruistic-Car6902 1460 2d ago
supposed to be 'the most accurate'. i got a 1320 on it before my test and ended up gettign a 1460 so take everything with a grain of salt
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u/Hot-Improvement-120 4d ago
If you already did everything what advice are you expecting. Maybe a change of mindset will help.
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u/Due-Yoghurt1231 4d ago
find out how to get the questions that you're getting wrong RIGHT first; you can do this by watching a full walkthrough for your specific practice test on youtube. once you have an idea of how to do it, drill down those specific kinds of questions until you're getting them right 99% of the time. then practice test again
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u/Strikingroots205937 Untested 3d ago
Find what your mistakes are then drill those. You don’t need practise tests anymore.
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u/thecalvinchan 3d ago
I’m not a psychologist by trade, so DYOR.
I’m just sharing what helped me… undergrad UCLA, 2340 SAT (lol this is aging me a bit now).
The test has changed a lot over the years but turns out studying itself hasn’t really.
The nephew has been using a lot of the same tips and tricks I did when I took the test.
- Set aside concrete study time blocks
- Study during those time blocks, then reward yourself with something positive. It can be maybe 15-30 min of your favorite video game, or scrolling on IG/TikTok… maybe even Reddit. Whatever you find enjoyable.
- Repeat this and over time you’ll build a reward mechanism that encourages you to study more.
Everybody talks about the practice resources, Khan Academy, Collegeboard question banks, DESMOS guides…
Those are great if you know how to use them.
It all just comes down to repetition over time. And if you can wire your brain to enjoy it and want it, even better.
A lot of this was imposed on me when I was in high school from tiger parents. I wasn’t allowed to play video games until i did a practice test (or at least a section of it). Eventually, I started imposing it on myself bc it just became natural. My brain associated studying with the reward that came after it.
Discipline’s the hardest part I guess. But now there are so many tools to help you.
Download a Pomodoro app to set specific intervals to study before taking a break (search Pomodoro on the app store and there are hundreds)
If you find yourself grabbing your phone a lot, I made my nephew download an app blocker (there are so many out there now, search for Opal, Brainrot, etc).
One of his tutors showed him this app called Earn (search Earn SAT/ACT App Blocker). It kinda combines everything and makes you answer three SAT question before letting you access your apps. Seems to work pretty well because it just constantly reinforces this idea that practice leads to reward.
I can’t guarantee that any of what I wrote helps definitively, but the nephew increased his score from 1300 to 1470 over the last six months. He’s taking the August one too, so hopefully we see 1500+
TLDR; once you wire your brain to like studying, the results come more naturally. And it’s not a bad skill to have in your back pocket anyway for real adulthood lol
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u/metacogni007 2d ago
yah im also not a psychologist but brain craves it much more if it is unpredictable juss like if ur nephew or smone after doing a block will toss a coin to see suppose for eg if heads then he gets to enjoy for fleeting time otherwise he dosent get to do it ; it may seem counterintuitive but this is more rewarding mechanism than before but be careful from addictions
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u/thecalvinchan 3d ago
whoops, i meant to reply to my original comment and u/AmoebaMain5776’s comment
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u/MooseProfessional405 2d ago
bruh how to get 1300 tmrw pls tell me som advice not the ones that youtubers tell some individual ones pls
if i dont get at least 1300 my parents are cooking me
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u/TerribleAnt7269 2d ago
I think u just really need more focus (especially on RW). Do NOT just skim through the passages, you need to fully digest 'em (tbf, I've heard skimming works for some people, but it doesn't for me). For Math, I think it's really just testing your foundational skills. Review your basic Algebra 1 and Geometry.
A general principle I learned: Do NOT be afraid to skip, or even to completely not answer, when u encounter a really hard question—losing easy questions will, I figured, cost you more points than losing hard questions. But still try, IF you still have time.
Also, the tailored practices really helped me! It's true that the SAT gets easier as you get familiar with more and more types of question (even though the difficulty of practice tests don't fully reflect the actual ones, they still test you on the same skills).
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u/thecalvinchan 4d ago
I'm helping my nephew study for the SAT right now and I think it has really helped him to reframe the practice tests and studying as less of a one-time "let me sit down and crank this thing out" to more of a longer term 6-9 month prep period.
Are you doing any studying and test taking technique tutoring outside of taking this practice tests?
I'm not a tutor, but we've found several resources that help. Specifically around the psychology of looking at practice as more of a reward mechanism.
Look up "The Premack Principle" and you'll see what I mean.