is a 1400 achievable for most kids?
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Anonymous
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Hi. I'm going to be sympathetic to you because I had some mediocre math scores as a kid (high school and college age). These scores cost me scholarship money. I fixed it before grad school apps and got a great scholarship. So I believe extraordinary motivation can help.
First, you need to know if that 1180 is on the PSAT or SAT. Big difference. The PSAT is not "out of 1600". The scores are numerically lower. If PSAT, what percentile was the score. Sounds like a 97% or so is needed. 1180 on SAT might actually be too hard to get to 1400 on SATs. It suggests that your kid does not read/have a ear for advanced language of the type that will be common among Ivy undergrads. They will struggle to get good grades in classes that require writing at a college level. It also suggests that your kid has not been on the advanced math track OR doesn't retain the basic info from Algebra and Geometry. The easiest part to fix is math. Have your kid cram on Khan Academy and work on weak areas. Then take official SAT materials, keep identifying areas of weakness, and training to overcome them. If you made it through high school math, you can help by being a grader and classifier of which types of problems to study. For verbal, concentrate on understanding where your student makes mistakes. If it's reading passages...that can be hard to fix. But maybe your kid always picks the second-best answer? If so, they need training in how distractor answers are developed. The biggest factors in success will be your child's commitment to the prepping process and finding an effective means of addressing their knowledge gaps. It starts with good diagnostics. I have found that IXL.com can diagnose the same math knowledge deficits as the Mathnasium franchise's assessments. It's cheap to subscribe to IXL. |
Anonymous
| Yes, with targeted prep. Print out all old tests on reddit. Take a test every Saturday and then learn the questions missed. Lots of YouTube channels go over each question. The SAT is more about learning the "secrets of the SAT" than being smart. Just need to put in the work |
Anonymous
My kid used on YouTube: Anna's Universe Prep Expert Scalar Learning |
Anonymous
not a criticism- just a clarification |
Anonymous
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It is unknown and irrelevant what's achievable for most kids. Your kid should study and score whatever they score.
You have to learn "the tricks" and be a naturally fast thinker. No matter how knowledgeable and smart you are, you are still racing the clock. |
Anonymous
| Yes, he can likely get to 1400 with a LOT of work - but he needs to be motivated. Agree though that the math section is where one improves the most with prep. Verbal score is harder to improve. ACT is much easier to improve with test prep so consider that instead. |
Anonymous
| No. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
weird comment - smart kids typically get 1180 first time? |
Anonymous
DP The median SAT score for 2024 is 1050. Just FYI. |
Anonymous
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An ivy college class is not harder than a state U college class.
It all depends on the professor |
Anonymous
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DD had an 1180 or 1190 on PSAT. Got to 1420 SAT superstore over two tests.
First SAT was 780 or 790 verbal, only 590 math. Second test verbal came down a bit (750?) but got math up to…630? 640?. So each individual test was high 1300s, but the superscore hit 1420. Decided not to take it again, but said she could see that had she practiced even more, she’d get even better results on math. She definitely started to recognize what was being asked, the little tricks that made things easier — and sensed that the test could become even more familiar if she kept going. Test prep included doing 5-6 timed practice tests. Reviewed every question she got wrong. No tutor or formal classes. |
Anonymous
| Depends on the starting point. I’m confident more than 50% of kids could get a 1400+ given they grew up in a household that valued education throughout their lives. If you’re asking if most kids can get a 1400+ given they’re already in their junior year. Obviously not. |
Anonymous
| Of course it’s possible with good prep. Evidence: some schools have an average of 1500. |
Anonymous
| Yes. The current SAT is very easy with little prep needed. |