Tips & Tricks to Improve your SAT Score by 200 Points

Standardized Admissions Test (SAT) is the examination conducted for admissions in prestigious universities in the US. It includes questions from various fields such as Reading, Maths, Writing, and Language and so on. To be accepted by a reputable university like Ivy Leagues, your SAT score should range somewhere between 1400-1500 points. It thereby becomes important to pay attention to all the subjects and start preparing immediately.

Read below to learn how to improve your SAT scores by 200 points.

Tips to Improve SAT Scores by 200 Points:

Even if you’re already on a high score, improving your SAT scores by 200 points requires two months or even longer period of consistent studying and self-assessment. Here are some tips to improve your SAT score by 200 points: 

• First of all, start appearing for the practice tests at least once a week. This will help you realize the sections you are weak in. You can work on those parts and perform well later.

• While identifying your mistakes, make sure you find out the reason behind it. 

• The next step is to set up a goal. You will have to decide what score you want to achieve in the SAT. This could be based on the admission criteria of the university you wish to apply in. Once decided, start working towards achieving the score.

• One of the most important questions that will cross your mind is how many hours should I study for the SAT. For that, make a proper SAT study schedule and stick to that. This will help you figure out the amount of time you need to devote.

How to Study For The SAT Maths:

The Math sections on the SAT are divided into 4 subsections: 

1. Algebra
2. Problem Solving and Data analysis
3. Passport to Advanced Math
4. Some additional topics

Here are some of the techniques for studying for the SAT Math:

• Take practice tests: Take as many practice tests as you can. The most important thing you need to do is to keep a check on time while taking the Math section. Suffering from a lapse of time is the most common problem that the students face while attempting the Math section. 

• Have Command over basic calculations and avoid careless mistakes: There is a section in the SAT where you cannot use a calculator. For that, you will have to learn to perform the basic calculations without any mistakes and without taking much time.

• Try to improve your speed: Practice under timed conditions. This will surely help you improve your speed of solving the problems. 

• Review your answers: Always try to complete the test at least 5-10 minutes before time. This will help you review all the answers you have attempted. It is extremely important for you to get the numbers right because even a slight mistake may lead to negative results.

• Practice, Practice & Practice: We all have heard the saying, “Practice makes a man perfect!” Well, you know what to do! The more you practice, the more confidence you gain and become familiar with the SAT Math question types. This will help you solve all kinds of questions that come in the SAT and will eventually help you get a good score. 

How to Improve the SAT Reading Score:

• Firstly, you need to know that you will be getting approximately 1 hour to read 5 passages. In that one hour, you need to answer a total of 52 questions. The questions will be related to what you have read in the passages.
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• After that, you need to figure out the amount of time you are going to dedicate to each question. Proper planning is necessary for you to read the passage as well as solve the given questions in the provided time.
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• Reading questions are not provided in the order of difficulty. So, you can choose your own order; tackling fast questions first and slower questions after usually help. Just remember that you need not panic if you get a difficult question in the beginning. You can keep the difficult ones for the last and solve the easier ones first.
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• Only read what you need to for solving the related questions. You don’t need to waste your time reading every single word of the passage. Don’t go into the little details.
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• Lastly, always save the main idea questions for the last. The general questions such as those related to the main idea or purpose of the passage should be answered at the end. Once you are done with the specific questions, you get an idea of what is inside the passage. This will help you answer the general questions more efficiently.

How to Improve the SAT Essay Score:

To get a good SAT essay score, execution of your work is equally important as the preparation. Here are some of the steps you need to follow to improve your SAT essay score:

• Understand how the SAT essays are scored: The SAT essays are not the multiple-choice answers you give for all other sections. The SAT essay section includes the reading, analysis, and writing of the essay. Accordingly, three scores are assigned for your essay by two readers who read your essay. The scores given by both the readers are then added together to give the final essay score.
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• Refer to professional writings and editorials: This will help you develop your analytical reading skills. Dedicate at least one hour every day to read professional writings and editorials so that you can get an idea of how to write a decent essay.
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• Take the help of SAT essay samples: The SAT essay samples will give you a basic idea of the quality and kind of essay you need to write on the SAT day.
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• Finally, on the SAT day, you need to make sure that you read the provided essay passage thoroughly. Once you are done with the writing, review your work at least twice before you finally submit it. Also, make sure that your essay has a strong body as well as a strong ending.