This is why I am so pissed off....




I took the SAT's for the first time in may and I got a 1480 out of a possible 2400. That is sick. That is just horrible.

That isn't ALL that I am mad about though.

1. The PSAT's I took were PSAT's for the OLD SAT's which were on a 1600 point scale. I did awesome on the PSAT's, I was in the top 10 in the entire junior class. But that means crap, because we took the old PSAT's for the NEW SAT's!!!

2. I was told by many people that the SAT's focused on mostly Algebra. So I studied Algebra. I even took the mini-SAT test they giev you to study with, it had a lot of Algebra and Algebra II in it. I get the SAT, and it's like 85% Geometry! What the hell?! I haven't dealt with geometry for like 2 or 3 years! It isn't hard stuff, but after a few years you tend to forget! I expected Algebra....didn't really get any of it.

3. I don't want to sound like a jerk but all the Highschool english teachers I had always pushed me really hard, it felt like a college class sometimes. I used to turn 2 paragraph assignments into 2 page assignments. Just this year I wrote a 6 page mini-story that I read in class. Half the class thought I stole it from a magazine or book. So the fact that I got a 6 out of 12 on the essay is pissing me off. Also 53 out of 80 multiple choice questions...that's just crap.

4. Some sections give you 20 mins for 20 questions (In english)....sounds fair enough. Except they make you read a 4 paragraph essay BEFORE answering those questions...That is impossible. So here I am trying to read, but I realize I have not much time, so I am skipping through the text real fast and kind of guessing on some answers. I never was a super fast reader, and I don't see why they make it even MORE stressful for people to take it.

5. There are like double the English sections than Math sections. The English sections are all the same. Either an essay with questions or HUGE words that mean other tiny words, and you need to match them up. It gets horribly boring after the 5th section of English is the same. You start to lose concentration, you get tired, you start to not care as much.

I am taking the SAT's over in October, and now that I now all the CRAP on the SAT's I better do better. Beacuse I can't believe I did this horrible at ALL. I mean I want to beat myself to a pulp over this...I'm mostly pissed over the Essay...No way in hell was it a 6.

Take the ACT. ACT > SAT.

ACT may be easier then the SAT, but top tier schools manly look at SAT and SAT IIs. But with your scores, dont bet on a top tier school anways.....

And the SAT is also well designed. Those who think they are smarter then they really are don't normally do well. Its pretty obvious you took them for granted. Doing bad on them and no preparing is like not preparing for a test and blaming the teacher for failing you.

ACTs are gonna suck because they put that essay bit in

If it was your first time, don't worry. Just take a course or buy a book and try again, now knowing what to expect.

Get a book or take a class. They help out a lot. There is no way your high school English class is anyhitng like a college English class. Short stories are no anywhere near the same as essays. Take a speed reading class to improve your reading speed or skim the paragraphs for important information.

The second time thrpugh the test is almost always gets you a better score. Also, if you totally own your SAT IIs, that can help a lot. It certainly did for me.

Keep at it bro, my scores sucked too

A while ago I took the ACT without the essay and did fairly well. A week or so after the test the university I want to go to states that it will now be requiring that all applicants must take the essay section.

So now I have to retake the entire test. Also because I just signed up I gotta take it at some place over an hours drive from here.

I got a 24 on the ACT recently, but I am in 10th grade, so I suppose it isn't too bad. The areas I did poorly in I can improve really easily; I normally do really, really, well in them.

No that is actually really good man. Really good. You still have a who year of school material, and some practice test to take..by the time you are a high school senior you could easily make a 28-30.

Hmm, never took SATs so I can't really add anything other than if you're just a sophomore or junior, don't worry about it.

I miss all the silly testing associated with high school, heh.

I took the ACT for the first time with no studying my senior year, and got a 29. I never took the SAT, and that, along with a 3.x GPA, got me into Mizzou (#86 on the top-tier schools, according to ubuu's site).

I came close to your score!

I got a 1440.

But that was out of 1600.

I'm glad I took the SATs on the old 1600 point scale. The new SATs sound like they're terrible.

780 on the SAT II Math portion (I think it was called 3C? it was the harder of 2 choices) let me ignore some stupid math competency exam.

I can't give you much advice on the English part if there's now essay writing, but for the multiple choice, read the questions first, then read the paragraph(s). The really limited time sounds sucky and I wish you luck (assuming you're trying again?).

As for word definitions, either you're good at knowing word roots or you're not and you'll want to study; but there's only so much you can do if they don't come to you naturally. That's the sort of information that just sorta builds up as you learn the language and there's too much to have to go back and relearn it.

For Math, learn your calculator and be fast with it. Sure you can multiply 231 by 11 in your head, but it's still faster to punch it in real quick. Whenever possible type the equation into the calculator and then run the different possible answers through it 'til you get a match. With a graphing calculator, learning the simple scripting so you can do this will let you get through seemingly hard questions as fast as you can retype the equation into your calculator. I think I finished the SAT 2 math section with 5 minutes to spare because of this "technique."

QM

I got a 2000.

I am going to take it again.

And I wouldn't necessarily say top tier schools look more at SAT either.

Vandy, for example, takes them both with fairly equal weight.

I took the SATs back when they were on the 1600 point scale; I got 1560. (780 math, 780 verbal)

I never took either the ACT or the SAT.

After the changes that have come recently, I'm glad I dont have to take them now.

I kind of want to take the test now though, just to see what my scores would be, after maintaining a 3.95 cumulative GPA at college so far (A's in every class, except one, and thus far I've completed 18 courses)

What site is that?

every time I took the SAT's I improved by 70 points. don't worry about it, you'll probably improve. and a lot of colleges value your GPA more (which sucked for me, since I have a good SAT score, but lousy GPA since I'm so lazy)

On my first ACT, I got a 29 composite... 30, 29, 33, 25

Second time... I got a 29 composite... 31, 27, 34, 25

I quit.

34.

1430/1600.

Honestly, SAJN, don't even worry about it. Or do, and study and stuff. I don't know. If you (rightly) don't accept that you're 50th percentile, why would you believe a different score? It's a tool to get you into a college you like, and isn't even that useful.

I haven't been to any colleges other than Washington University in St. Louis (number 11 on the list Wolfy linked to), but they consider test scores to be among their last considerations. The general idea is, that if you got a 29-31 on the ACT... that's good, but only if you can combine that with a solid record at a solid high school. Or so I hope... my class rank is higher based on grades than on test scores...

2250/2400

Why dont you be humble? There people who wish they could just get in the 1200s....

SATs, and the like are in NO WAY A MEASUREMENT of actual intelligence.

They're more like a measurement of how much useless crap you can retain, and a test to see how you perform under stress.

The most IMPORTANT thing to remember about the SAT is to NOT BE NERVOUS.


Other than that, I suggest studying the stuff you have the most problems with the night before, right before you go to sleep.

Things you read before you go to sleep, for some reason it's hard to forget them the next day.

I've always been good at tests.

Though, I'm not a college guy. Theres a reason I got into a technical field, and thats so I don't have to deal with that crap. Though, I'm considering going to an art school...

I just have to finish enough crap to ahve a decent portfolio.

Definitely don't overestimate your ability. I figured I was going to ace the SAT's and I only received a 1270 (out of 1600). However, it really didn't hurt my chances to get into school and I plan on moving to a better school for my masters. I would try prep courses to see if you can improve your grade. Worse comes to worse, you go to a community college and move up to a better school in two years.

Funnily enough, when I tell people my SAT score, they are surprised that it isn't higher. It just goes to show that it isn't truly indicative of your intelligence.

Speaking of SATII's, I had a 760 (out of 800) for both math and history. My writing one sucked at 500, but I never profess to be a good writer.

I got a 28 on the ACTs. Never took the SATs.

I'm really glad I didn't have to take the SAT with an essay. I'm in the last class that got to take the old exam. I'm bummed about the analogies, though. I thought they were fun.

What I really disliked about the old math section was that it was so easy that many people were able to answer every question right. Thus, to get an 800, you had to have everything perfect. Some years even missing a single question could drop you to a 770.

Thanks Wolfy.

Cal = top ranked public university

The ironic thing really, if you had gotten a 2200/2400, you'd be all like "SATs are the best test EVER"

Welp... beat my 1510. 750 math 760 verbal

Not necessarily. I did passing well on them, and I still think they're pointless wastes of time. The only thing they're indicative of is how good you are at taking tests.

In a sick way, standardized tests are fun. But not more fun than actually being able to sleep past 7:30 on a Saturday morning.

Pointless wastes of time that can easily make or break getting into certain schools...

Heh, I took the ACT in 7th grade for some special "talent search" bull****, and I ended up with a 22, one point over the national average for high school seniors that year. My best score is a 30, though. It would be higher, but I seriously ****ed up in math and science reasoning.

English-35
Reading-34
Math-25
S.R.-24 (I think)

Ubuu: Because I think my SAT score is an inaccurate measure of my exceptional skill at taking standardized tests, which I am proud of.

That, and kyle and Yecti (and oS) scored higher, which is threatening my ego.

SAT's dont mean much anyways....I did worse then most of yall 1500's people and got into one of the best universities in the nation, so really..im proof it doesnt really matter.

ACT: 32
Math: 29
Reading: 35
English: 31
Science: 34

SAT: 1320/1600

Yeah, the verbal section on the SAT completely reamed me. The word association - pure crap. That's all I can say. Pure crap.

The analogies were the worst part of the old SAT.