Anyone here 95+ percentile on the MATH SAT?

My trick was to get loaded the night before the test.

Which math guide did you use? You did quite a bit of improvement.

If you have to study for an aptitude test you aren't doing it right.

I got a 790 way back in the day. What a pain in the ass it was. I remember taking that crap twice to get up there.

OP, get the Barron's SAT math workbook. I'm not sure if they still make them, but I remember that was the best one. Math is the easiest section to improve.

And also, once you get 700+, it's not about knowing the material, it's all psychological at that point. Take a deep breath. These problems aren't supposed to take long to do. Most of them are really really easy. Remember, that it's all basic algebra and geometry.

It's all about practice at that point. Work through the book. Take as many practice tests as you have the patience for. You can't really 'study' for it. Just practice!

If you have some time, it might even be good to take a break for a week, clear your mind, and come back stronger.

Once you start hitting 700s regularly, I would stop reviewing the math and look at the reading and writing sections. Those are, by far, the hardest to improve. Spend more time on those if you can. Don't just concentrate on one. What's the point of an 800 math if you get 500s on the other two.

Good luck!

Pretty useless test. I would recommend not worrying about it. Just go to a community college, take classes, get straight As, then transfer.

Cheaper and easier.

.eric said:

Pretty useless test. I would recommend not worrying about it. Just go to a community college, take classes, get straight As, then transfer.

Cheaper and easier.

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Well, it depends on what the OP wants to do. If he's trying to go to a mediocre state school, this will work. But if he's trying to go to a good private or elite state school (WashU, Ann Harbor, Chapel Hill, etc), this isn't going to work.

AutoUnion39 said:

Well, it depends on what the OP wants to do. If he's trying to go to a mediocre state school, this will work. But if he's trying to go to a good private or elite state school (WashU, Ann Harbor, Chapel Hill, etc), this isn't going to work.

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Well, unless the OP has serious extra curricula's that isn't going to matter anyway. And more likely the time would be much better spent "volunteering" or whatever.

But it also depends on what the OP is going to go to school for. If they're going for, say, Chinese history or something than they would be much better served spending as little money as possible.

.eric said:

Well, unless the OP has serious extra curricula's that isn't going to matter anyway. And more likely the time would be much better spent "volunteering" or whatever.

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Valid point.

But it also depends on what the OP is going to go to school for. If they're going for, say, Chinese history or something than they would be much better served spending as little money as possible.

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Judging by the fact that he seems to want to boost that math score as much as possible, I'm guessing that OP wants to study math or engineering. Majors where you need to go to a decent school or you will go no-where.

boboruckus said:

You and I have very, very different goals, my friend

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Perhaps. What are your goals?

boboruckus said:

Bingo!

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Well, where are you trying to go to school?

boboruckus said:

Bingo!

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Yup, I've heard of way too people trying to take the "easy way out" by transferring in from community college. It rarely works. Not to mention, once it's time for grad. school, you will be up against other applicants who didn't transfer in from community college. They will, most likely, have the upper hand.

AutoUnion39 said:

Yup, I've heard of way too people trying to take the "easy way out" by transferring in from community college. It rarely works. Not to mention, once it's time for grad. school, you will be up against other applicants who didn't transfer in from community college. They will, most likely, have the upper hand.

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Idk. I'd say it's the smart way out. If you can get into the MIT, Georgia Tech, Cal Tech, Michigan, Purdues of the world, than great. But if you can't it makes 0 sense to pay to take some of the more general college courses at a main campus.

In my experience not a single person on the planet cares about whether you transferred into from community college. They care if you graduated, where you graduated from, and your GPA. And for grad school they are much more interested in what your interests are, whether or not you know a professor who wants you to work for them, GPA, extra curricular, etc....

But all in all, if the OP is trying to get into those top-tier engineering schools, the SAT is really the least of your worries. Idk if you ever check out reddit, OP, but there is a subreddit called /engineeringstudents where there are people who routinely come in with these sorts of questions. You'll get better responses to your specific question.

Once you get above 700, don't waste your time. Colleges don't put very much weight on SATs anymore.

I scored a 660 in math when I was in high school back in 05 and had no problem getting accepted into all the schools I applied to... including some pretty tough math/tech/engineering schools like WPI.

You'll be fine. Don't kill yourself trying to get that perfect score. It won't make a difference.

zioxide said:

Once you get above 700, don't waste your time. Colleges don't put very much weight on SATs anymore.

I scored a 660 in math when I was in high school back in 05 and had no problem getting accepted into all the schools I applied to... including some pretty tough math/tech/engineering schools like WPI.

You'll be fine. Don't kill yourself trying to get that perfect score. It won't make a difference.

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Agreed. With all the books and stuff they have out now, it's just a joke. Tons and tons of people get fantastic scores on it, hence you have to find something else to make you stand out. Having a 4.0 high school GPA and 800 SAT isn't enough for the best schools.

I scored a bit over 700 on Math, but that's just because I was a very good test taker, not because my math skills were any good...in fact my math skills were for crap.

zioxide said:

You'll be fine. Don't kill yourself trying to get that perfect score. It won't make a difference.

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I'll agree with with statement. But again, don't ignore the other sections OP, just because you got a 700+ on math. All schools these days always boast about wanting a "well-rounded" student. Showing you can do well on the whole test goes a long way.

I hate these standardized tests very much though. It's not about intelligence or knowing the material. It's all about being a good testing taker and being able to do it in the given time constraints.

Here's a question: How many people do you think are better than 95% of the population?

This thread is amusing...

What school are you applying to?

You will learn the math *at* the school. Just for reference - I went to a private engineering school (Lawrence Tech, Southfield, MI) - all the placement tests do is allow you to possibly test out of some of the calculus sequence... but you don't want to test out of them, because in Engineering, calculus is key and is used to weed out the folks who aren't willing to work. We lost 2/3 of our people in the calc sequence.

I'm no math genius - But I managed nearly all A's in the calc sequence - albeit back in the 90's... It just took a LOT of work and visits to the prof for help. Its about learning how to *learn*...

Unless you want MIT or some ivy league school, its not worth the stress you are putting on it.

And also - YES you will be able to have a decent career and make good money if you don't go to one of the a fore mentioned schools... Its about your attitude and work ethic.

You WILL start at the bottom, and you will have to pay dues - that's how it works.. Its about learning how things work in industry...

I have used maybe 5-10% of the math I learned in school and I am working in Finite Element Analysis / Computer Aided Engineering... We deal with the theory and the calc / physics / statics / dynamics, but if you need to apply a formula - you look up the relevant papers and apply it to your situation. You wont be re-desiging the wheel so-to-speak... Your education taught you *where* to look and to understand *what* you are looking for... not necessarily how to re-derive the associated maths...

At the end of the day - college is about training you in a mindset and giving you tools to be an effective problem solver.

If you really want to be impressed - google: Easton LaChapelle... Taught himself CAD / Electronics / etc / etc.. and built a artificial arm with biofeedback interface at 17. He can write his own ticket... Has companies drooling over him and hasn't even entered college yet... Ohh... and he spoke at TED... 17...