SAT question? please help?

Question

ok i took the SAT's in 8th grade

it didnt count for anything but i just wanted to try it

i got a 1550 and i just wanted to see if that was a good score

keep in mind i was in 8th grade

by the time i take it for really i want to raise my score about 500 points. is that realistic?

Answer 1

No, raising your score 500 points is not realistic at all, since you will be taking it most likely in 11th and probably 12th (that is what most people do...they take it -3 times before applying to college). 1550 is average...it is not too bad...but these days people get well over 600 on each section, since colleges are so competitive. You will probably raise your score about 40-50 points...this is A LOT! (dont get me wrong)...only about 1% of test takers raise there score 100 points after taking it the second time...so your chances are extremly slim...trust me...it takes a lot to raise your score and just by retaking it over and over will raise your score but not as much as you think it will go up very, very slowly...but will never go up to what you are hoping for...it is just unrealistic...to have a 1550 and think your going to raise it another 500 points!!!..your asking for a 2050 here...thats just about harvard material...now if you had lets sat a 2000 as opposed to 1550...then yes you can possibly raise it to a 2050....which is 50 points...good luck though!

Answer 2

It's hard to answer these questions without knowing more about your academic background, but I will try to give you a reasonable answer. That you actually attempted the SAT's as early as the 8th grade indicates that you're probably a bright, hard-working student. This also gives you 3 years before you need to take the test officially which gives you plenty of time to get familiar with the exam, practice (with SAT prep books such as Princeton Review or Kaplan's or through SAT prep classes) and build up your score.

For an 8th grader a 1550 is a very good score since you are already at the average and the majority of test takers are in 11th or 12th grade. If you are dedicated to SAT prep, then you could very well increase your score by 500 points. The other answerer said that you are more likely to increase your score by 40-50 points which is more accurate if you didn't prepare well enough. I'll just reemphasize that the best way in my opinion to prepare and assess your improvement is through test prep books. These often contain several SAT practice exams that are comparable in difficulty to the actual test.

Speaking from my own experience, I first took the PSAT (practice SAT) in 10th grade and got maybe a 175 (SAT equivalent of 1750). I took a SAT class the next summer and also worked through two prep books (Princeton Review and Kaplan) through my junior year. When I took the SAT the last time I had raised my score significantly and earned a 2190. That's an improvement of just over 400 points. With that in mind, I could definitely see you raising your score by 500 points.