how to get a perfect sat score – sat 2018 | video post

shooting for a perfect sat score? the illusive 1600 is hard to get, but it can be done!

to get you on the right track, we’re proud to present the “how to get a perfect sat score – sat 2018” video. check it out for a mix of weird hacks and fundamental tips for getting a great sat score!

watch the embedded video below, or scroll down for a full video transcript. 🙂

what will i see in the “how to get a perfect sat score – sat 2018” video?

in this free 6-minute video, our sat expert chris will give you a brief introduction, followed by his best tricks and strategies for getting a perfect score on the sat:

1. know your fundamentals!
2. take practice tests!
3. work on pacing!
4. be zealous about mistakes!
5. beware of careless mistakes!
6. set mini score goals!
7. give yourself plenty of time!

“how to get a perfect sat score – sat 2018” full transcript

hi, i’m chris, the sat expert at magoosh.

and today we’re gonna talk about a very interesting topic, which is how to get a perfect sat score.

whoa, that’s pretty crazy, but yes, people actually do get a perfect sat score.
but it is very rare, because it is super hard to do.

but i’m gonna give you some tips to hopefully help you edge up ever closer to the summit of perfection on the sat.

so let’s start with know your fundamentals.

this is the very first thing i’m putting here because it’s important to know that, hey, look, you can’t just go in there guns a-blazing and say, i’m gonna get a perfect score, unless you really know the concepts.

you have to know all the stuff for math that you’ve learned in the past that’s tested on the sat.

in terms of grammar, you have to know your punctuation rules.

you can’t get away without knowing these fundamentals.

so if you haven’t gotten to this part yet, this is the first step, know your fundamentals.

what about the next thing to do, what should you do?

and that is to take practice tests, only by taking practice tests can you actually put your knowledge to the test.

and even if you know all the fundamentals, you can still miss questions, why?

well, that’s for you to figure out, i mean, there’s many reasons why.

it’s the way the test asks questions, it’s maybe that you have pacing issues, even though you know everything, you weren’t able to finish, or maybe you made a careless mistake.

the only way to answer or to figure out what it is that’s preventing you from perfection is to actually take a practice test.

and don’t just take any practice test, take the official practice test from the college board.

they’re available free online, so you have no excuse.

but the reason why these are so important is that they have the most accurate questions, questions that are super similar to what you’re gonna see test day.

and nobody out there can do the same job of writing these questions the way that the actual test writers do, and so take that official test.

but if you check the description below, you can click on a link there to a magoosh practice test as well.

so check us out, we also have really great questions, they’re just as hard.

and sometimes even harder than the ones that you’ll see on the sat so that this will be good practice on your quest to perfection as well.

next, and i talked about this just a second ago when it came to the practice test, and that is work on pacing.

see, you can know everything, you can even know the traps that the sat is gonna throw at you.

but if you don’t finish or if you rush towards the end and make a careless mistake, that’s gonna hurt you.

that’s gonna prevent you from perfection, so work on those pacing issues.

make sure you have a couple of minutes left at the end of each section so you can go back and check to make sure that you filled in every bubble, and that any question you weren’t sure of, you can maybe give a second try.

but figuring this all out by taking those practice tests, identifying those pacing issues, whether they’re a math, whether they’re on the writing section.

wherever it may be, they’re really important to resolve before you go and take the test that will give you that perfect score.

next, and this was a very interesting one, but it is key.

it is not just learn from your mistakes, as i’ve preached before, but it’s be zealous about your mistakes.

when you miss something, really let it dig into you and think to yourself, well, how did i miss that?

i’m never gonna let that happen again, what was it that i did wrong?

and be as specific as possible, really, again, dig down to the itty nitty-gritty of why you missed the question.

and if you can get that into your head, why you missed it last time, internalize it, and then anticipate it so it doesn’t happen again, you are well on your way to perfection.
next, and i mentioned them, yes, beware of careless errors because some of these mistakes that we make are very subtle.

they’re complex, the sat is tricky, oh, they got me that time, that was smooth of them, i’m not gonna let it happen again.

but sometimes it’s like x squared equals 4, the value of x if x is negative, and you didn’t see the if negative part.

and all of a sudden you get a 1590, no, no 1600!

so these little careless mistakes when you make them, think why did i make them?

what happened that i made this mistake that i shouldn’t have made?

and again, if you can identify what went wrong at the moment of mistakage, then you can prevent them from happening on the actual test in your quest for perfection.

i have a couple more tips left, these are important ones, though, setting these mini goals in terms of scoring.

you can’t say, well, i’m at a 1250, and you know what i’m gonna do?

i’m gonna study super hard and i’m gonna do nothing else in my life but study sat and then i’m gonna get that 1600.

you have to, of course, take those practice tests leading up to the big day.

but you can’t just have some vague, oh, i’m gonna do better, you have to set these mini goals.

and so let’s say, i’m gonna say 1350, i think that’s a good score, you’re within striking distance, and so let’s use that.

1350, you take a practice test after that, the 1350, and you get 1410.

i like that, your goal then was 1400, you set that goal of 1400.

then what’s your next goal, 1450, let’s say you get 1430 on the next practice test, what should you do?

keep that goal at 1450 and figure out how can i get those extra points to take me to 1450?

and then you take the practice test the next weekend, you get 1460, woohoo, what do you do?

next goal, 1600, no, you make it 1500.

and if you struggle to get past 1460 for the next couple practice tests, then maybe it’s 1480.

but keep doing it incrementally like this so you can have something that’s attainable that you can reach when you do the next practice test.

and eventually, you’re gonna be building all the way up to that 1600.

but notice that big pause, but what, well, it’s gonna take time, this is something that’s a skill.

already start brushing up on your fundamentals, become better at that.
take a practice test or even just one section, see what you can improve at.

but the more time you give yourself, the better chance you’ll have of scoring perfection.

and there you have it, those are those tips that will hopefully get you there, best of luck.

want more sat tips?

take a look at some of our other useful sat test taking strategies and resources:

happy studying! 🙂