{"id":4881,"date":"2015-12-15t09:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-12-15t17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=4881"},"modified":"2019-03-17t19:18:51","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18t02:18:51","slug":"how-to-improve-your-sat-score-by-200-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/how-to-improve-your-sat-score-by-200-points\/","title":{"rendered":"how to improve your sat score by 200 points"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"how<\/p>\n

wondering how to improve your sat score<\/a>? this is always a hard question to answer: are you a student who is looking to go from 1400 to a 1600, or the more typical student who is looking to go from 1000 to 1200? depending you your answer, you will need a specific strategy.<\/p>\n

since the ranges are so different, i can\u2019t possibly give you just one. instead, i\u2019m going to answer this question both for mid-scores (900-1100) and high scorers (1300 and above). those in between those scores can mix advice<\/a> from both.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

mid-range sat scorers<\/h2>\n

scenario #1<\/u><\/p>\n

oftentimes a mid-score results from lack of familiarity with the test. if this is the case, crack open an sat book and take a practice test. sure it might be unpleasant, like jumping into an unheated swimming pool at 6 a.m. in the morning. but you\u2019ll get a sense very quickly what the test is like and the areas of the test you need to work on.<\/p>\n

hard work\u2014and i know this sounds generic\u2014alone can result in a 200-point increase. this means taking a practice test once a week and reviewing the mistakes. this means learning the basic strategies and reviewing math and grammar. the redesigned sat is like a big math final you have to take for three years of math. studying\u2014more so than the old test\u2014will make a difference.<\/p>\n

scenario #2<\/u><\/p>\n

let\u2019s say you\u2019ve been prepping for a bit and you\u2019ve plateaued. this happens for any number of reasons. the key is you figure why you aren\u2019t improving. it might be a specific section that is weighing. typically, critical reading is the culprit. many students simply don\u2019t want to put in the time studying vocabulary (understandable, but there really is only one way to learn the meaning of words like recondite<\/em>).<\/p>\n

other problems are easier to fix: learn to read a passage actively and learn to avoid the temptation of diving into the answer choices as soon as you read a question. though it will <\/em>take more effort, going back to the passage and finding the supporting evidence to the question, then putting the answer into your own words, will make you better at critical reading. your problem might careless mistakes in math because you are rushing through the section\u2014only to finish with 7 minutes to go.<\/p>\n

basically, you\u2019ll have to be a detective, figure out what you are doing wrong, and make the adjustments\u2014both minor and major\u2014so you can get out of that rut and boost your score by 200 points.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

high sat scorers<\/h2>\n

there is really only one scenario here: you are already very good at the sat, but you want to get close to perfection. the key is becoming an expert at figuring out why you missed what you missed. that might sound easy. \u201cuh, i made a careless error\u201d or \u201ci didn\u2019t read the right part of the passage\u201d.<\/p>\n

these \u201cepiphanies\u201d, however, are hardly useful. instead, you need to be as specific as possible, by putting yourself inside your head the moment the mistake occurred: what exactly were you thinking when you picked the wrong answer and what was the chain of thoughts that led to this mistake. here is an example:<\/p>\n

i read the question too fast so that i was looking for the value of \u2018y\u2019, which is given in the problem, instead of \u2018x\u2019. when i realized my mistake, i sped up and then forgot to remember that the question was asking what is the value of \u2018z\u2019. next time, when there are that many variables involved, i\u2019m going to underline the actual question. also, when i realize that i\u2019ve misinterpreted the problem, i\u2019m not going to speed up and make up for lost time, since i usually finish with about seven of eight minutes to go. <\/em><\/p>\n

notice how this student isn\u2019t only aware of the mistake he but also anticipates what he\u2019ll do next time around so he won\u2019t make a similar mistake. i have lot more confidence in him than in the student who says, \u201ci won\u2019t make a careless error next time\u201d.<\/p>\n

in a reading passage context, this self-awareness might look something like this:<\/p>\n

on the harder questions, i always narrow down between two answer choices. i tend to gravitate towards one that has a phrase that clearly matches the text and answer the question. but i\u2019ll overlook the part of the answer choice that uses a vague word or two that isn\u2019t really accurate. the right answer, on the other hand, will use a couple of vocabulary words that throw me off and will be stated in a less-than-ideal way. still, the answer is accurate. in future, i will be more vigilant about the \u201cfishy\u201d word or two in the wrong answer choice. <\/em><\/p>\n

at first you might want to write this out because, generally, writing forces you to think at a deeper level. a good way to organize this might be:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. why i missed the question? (remember the chain of thought that leads you to the incorrect answer?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. why the correct answer is the correct one and why the answer i chose is incorrect?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. what i will do differently next time?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        really understanding why you missed a question and making those slight modifications is what separates the truly great from the merely good.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        this is always a hard question to answer: are you a student who is looking to go from 1400 to a 1600, or the more typical student who is looking to go from 1000 to 1200?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[62],"ppma_author":[24882],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nhow to improve your sat score by 200 points - magoosh blog | high school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/how-to-improve-your-sat-score-by-200-points\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"how to improve your sat score by 200 points\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"this is always 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lele","image":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/9f063fdc4c0268d1eac74c41e0906a03","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/198545d5a4baea0ba0fd0c0fc8a5d466?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contenturl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/198545d5a4baea0ba0fd0c0fc8a5d466?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"chris lele"},"description":"chris graduated from ucla with a ba in psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. he's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including us news, gmac, and business because.","sameas":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chrislelemagoosh1\/","ttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0","https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/ucz4sgyj6l0cgnvnihy8gy6w"],"knowsabout":["gre","gmat","sat","act","mcat (cars)","lsat"],"jobtitle":"principal curriculum manager","worksfor":"magoosh","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":24882,"user_id":10,"is_guest":0,"slug":"chris","display_name":"chris lele","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/198545d5a4baea0ba0fd0c0fc8a5d466?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"lele","first_name":"chris","description":"chris lele is the principal curriculum manager (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/vocabulary-builder-workbook-activities-must-know\/dp\/193975481x\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">vocabulary wizard<\/a>) at magoosh. chris graduated from ucla with a ba in psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. he's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/education\/best-colleges\/slideshows\/10-test-prep-tips-for-sat-and-act-takers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> us news<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mba.com\/exams-and-exam-prep\/gmat-exam\/why-take-the-gmat-in-2021-when-many-schools-are-test-optional\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> gmac<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessbecause.com\/news\/gmat\/3263\/mba-admissions-gre-challenges-gmat\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> business because<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\nin his time at magoosh, chris has taught countless students how to tackle the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gre-prep-magoosh\/dp\/1939418917\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> gre<\/a>, gmat, sat, act, mcat (cars), and lsat exams with confidence. some of his students have even gone on to get near-perfect scores. you can find chris on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/ucz4sgyj6l0cgnvnihy8gy6w\">youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0\"> linkedin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh\">twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chrislelemagoosh1\/\">facebook<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4881"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4881\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4881"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}