I got the SAT blues...

[RubyJewelStone]

I just got my SAT scores back from CollegeBoard and I'm less than thrilled...
I know I have to take that stupid test over since I SERIOUSLY need to raise my math score if I want to qualify for the 100% Florida Bright Futures Scholarship.

Granted, I knew I wasn't going to score too high, especially on my first try, but my goodness! I took the PSAT every year and my scores did not indicate that my math was THAT low.

Now the prospect of taking the "test from the depths of hades", as I like to call it, over again is enough to make me go mad. There's not much more that I despise than standardized testing. It's so uncomfortable.

The thing with math, is that I'm not actually bad at it. I usually get A's and stuff, and I usually don't get questions wrong simply because I don't know what I'm doing. It is usually because of a simple mistake like a decimal point or accidentally hitting an extra button on the calculator. Overall, if it's explained well enough, I can get the gist of it.

My main issue with standardized testing is the time limit. I can't seem to work fast AND well at the same time, so inevitably something gets sacrificed.

The scholarship I’m trying to qualify for requires a score of 1270 for Critical Reading and Math combined. As of now, I’m at 1080.

I need a way to be both fast and accurate. I can’t get it at school when they're usually just satisfied that you did the work at all. That won’t cut it for this most despised test.

How can remember everything, work faster, and most importantly, calm down?

Btw…Here’s my scores.

Test.......................Score........National Percentile
Critical Reading........610.................82%
Math........................470.................33%
Writing.....................570.................73%
----Multiple Choice.....57 (score range: 20-80)
----Essay...................8 (score range: 2-12)

Also, in case anyone is wondering why I'm not stressed over writing, I'm planning on going to a state school. Therefore, acceptance is not my worry, funding is. I am doing my best to stay far, far away from any loans whatsoever if I can help it. As is, I can get a 75% scholarship, but I want that 100%. Plus, I have some people to prove wrong.

Please pray for me and my parents. Especially my mom. She's clueless. She'll look at the scores, see 33% think that it is actually 33% out of 100% and then commence the yelling. NOT looking forward to that...

I guess the most frustrating part is that I really didn't practice as much as I could've....*le sigh*

Well, I'm only a junior in high school so I have more chances to take it over. I hear that the ACT is not as bad so I'll try that out as well.

If you have any tips, I'd love to hear them.

[Kawaiikneko]

yeah definitely take the ACT. It's alot easier b/c you can guess if you have to. What math are you in? Cause if you haven't taken trig./pre calc. yet both tests will be VERY hard.

I haven't taken the SAT yet, but I took the ACT at the end of my sophomore year right after I took trig./statistics/functions for math. Still, math was my worst score. I was a little disappointed b/c usually its my best.

[RubyJewelStone]

I'll be taking trigonometry next year. I think I'll do Statistics on top of that for my college credit course. I need all the math help I can get.

I'll have to look into taking something over the summer at the community college as well. When I did the placement test, I missed college level by 1 point...>.<

Right now I'm in Algebra II, last year I had geometry and then Algebra one the year before. I'm really mad because I could have been taking Trigonometry this year if it wasn't for the fact that they made me take Pre-algebra twice in middle school (even though I did not fail...long story...).

And calculus? Pfft. I don't think my school even owns a calculus book. Usually when people place higher than trig. they do a dual enrollment with a college.

[Kawaiikneko]

Well, definitely take it again either during or straight after Trig. It does a world of help. =]

[GracefulRocker]

I hated taking that dumb test! My boyfriend had taken it that same day, and so afterwards, he came home with me, and we passed out on the couch. It really takes it out of you, and I definately am glad I didn't have to retake it!

The math portion, for me, was something akin to this
or perhaps this

[mitsuki lover]

I think you would probably feel more like this:
when you were done.

[GracefulRocker]

Now, see, AFTERWARDS, I looked like this
All brain function spent and ceased. Poof! Gone! Nobody home!

Now if only there was a smiley for coma-like sleep...
While we were sleeping on my couch, my brother came in, saw us, and thoguth it would be funny to tell my mom that my boyfriend and I were sleeping together. Technically, we were, but my mom jumped up and came into the room anyways. She tells me that she saw us snoring, shook her head, and sent my brother outside. lol

[RubyJewelStone]

Nope I was definitely like when I did the math.
Boo...

I was so glad when it was over. I wandered out of that classroom in so much of a daze I almost went into the wrong car... lol

Therefore, I have a theory that SATs are created to drain the life out of the non-geniuses through a number 2 pencil...

[USSRGirl]

I support your well informed theory, Ruby. I also subscribe to the theory that the SAT is spawned from the darkest level of Dante's inferno. I took the PSAT for the first time awhile back, and somehow managed to score low in math AND writing (Temulin score 76% in WRITING?!). I was depressed and brooding over it for like a week after. That was when I randomly screamed in the middle of a Walmart that I was going to join a Quaker society after highschool and live a life of solitude, peace, and oatmeal. Yeaaah... still an ambition of mine. I was prepared for my math scores to be less than fabulous, but I usually do very well in English, History, and Science. Especially English, usually in the higher 90 percentile.

SO, do I have any useful advice? None whatsoever other than prayers and fellow SAT victim support. Hey maybe we could stage a protest saying the SAT should be illegal because of the torment it causes innocent teenagers. Lemme know and I'll start drawin' up the picket signs!

[termyt]

As I recall, and I took these tests a long, long time ago, calculus is not a big worry, but trig is. Once you finish this school year and start the next, you will be in a better position to score well on math.

To further prepare, when you do math homework or prepare for the SAT, put a time limit on yourself, since it seems to bother you. That way you will become used to doing math quickly, or at the very least, you will be more comfortable under the pressure of the real test.

[mitsuki lover]

As I found out when I was in college you have to have taken the SAT sooner or later.If you don't take it when you're in high school they generally make you take it in college just so they can have your scores handy.

[USSRGirl]

As I found out when I was in college you have to have taken the SAT sooner or later.If you don't take it when you're in high school they generally make you take it in college just so they can have your scores handy.

Hmm I thought it was required by your senior year if you're lookin' at 4-year universities.

Anyway, you don't HAVE to take it. You can always just drop out of school, buy a bazooka and a copy of Soldier of Fortune, and become a freelance mercenary/hitman(or girl) for hire. The life insurance policy isn't great, but hey it may be a fair trade off.

[Althaia]

true *by the way ussrgirl CLEAN YOUR PM BOX*

[Peanut]

Hehe...one thing about high school I will never miss...especially that statement on the back of the test which you have to copy in cursive...anyway, as termyt said, once you take trig your math scores should improve. The only other advice I can give you is really probably all stuff you have heard, get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast, don't be afraid to omit questions, if a question is taking to long, skip it and come back to it at the end of the test, etc...

I also subscribe to the theory that the SAT is spawned from the darkest level of Dante's inferno. I took the PSAT for the first time awhile back, and somehow managed to score low in math AND writing (Temulin score 76% in WRITING?!). I was depressed and brooding over it for like a week after. That was when I randomly screamed in the middle of a Walmart that I was going to join a Quaker society after highschool and live a life of solitude, peace, and oatmeal. Yeaaah... still an ambition of mine. I was prepared for my math scores to be less than fabulous, but I usually do very well in English, History, and Science. Especially English, usually in the higher 90 percentile.

No offense Temulin but I'm not surprised that your writing scores were lower then you would want. The writing portion (at least on the PSAT if I remember correctly...) is mostly about how well you can identify random mistakes embedded in sentences and other such things which have no real connection to how well you write...sure they have that "essay"...but even that...is well...bad... especially compared to the essays you have to write for the AP's. Those you would probably do really good at since they actually will appreciate any portion of creativity you can put into your essays...anyway, I'm done unearthing bad memories about the SAT...I'm done with it, I've gotten into college...and now...now I can finally let the full wave of Senioritis infect my life (especially with about 5 weeks of high school left...)

[USSRGirl]

*** Cleaning ***

Yeah but, I'm usually very good at grammar and spelling on the state tests they give out every year. I didn't mean creative writing, I meant proper English/grammatical stuff. *shrug* Just not my day I guess.

[Dante]

You have SAT I have GRE... Wanna trade . I hate standardized tests, especially ones that are based off of solving sneaky math tricks instead of actually testing students on useful materials. For instance, the GRE physics test consists of 100 physics problems and one is given 180 minutes to complete it... the archaic thing strictly forbids students from bringing in mechanical pencils, making use of ANY calculators, or even bringing in scratch paper... (Plus ETS is cheap and fails to really give you enough paper to begin with). But the thing is, you're not actually supposed to solve the problems they give you, you're supposed to do other problems instead like checking the units of the equation with the answers, or calculating whether the signs make sense in context. But seeing as how we're giving off test results here's mine for the graduate exam... I had to take it to apply for grad school .

Quantitative...40%
Verbal... 25%
Writing... 3% (Utter bullocks, I am NOT better at writing and engrish than I am in math... should have demanded the students use integral calculus and I'd be shining).
Physics GRE 60%

Percents represent the amount of people above me, but I maxed out my writing score (100% of the points) which puts me in the top 3%. Mind you, I've been rejected by Montana State University and several others... so obviously you need to be God to get into grad schools these days. Either that or I need to up my other scores and do as hideous as possible in the other areas as physics abhores the english language!

[Dante]

Oh, actually, I didn't have to take the SAT, in AZ if you have an associates degree from a community college, you're automatically put through a back door entrance into the university...

[QtheQreater]

Ignoring Pascal's depressing presentation on what happens a while after the SAT (are you trying to freak people out here, Pascal?)...

Find yourself full or half-length practice tests. Set the time limit, and work through all of them. You'll find yourself getting faster. I've noticed that for me drilling increases my speed and my problem recognition (you know, that "Hey, I've seen one of these before and I know exactly how to do it" type of thing). And remember, if you don't know how to do it, move on. Answer everything you're sure of first and come back to the others later.

I generally meant that for math, but it works for the verbal stuff, too. The more you see something, the faster you can deal with it when you get to the actual SAT.

And as far as decimal places and minus signs go, two words: pay attention. I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. I'm dyslexic (which makes math miserable in the first place) and those two words are becoming more important to me every day (I took a calc2 test the other day and if it hadn't been for my not paying attention I would have scored 100 on it). You need to remember that the decimal points and such are your weak point and double check them as you are working the problem.