yoshidude65 Wrote:Jacob, no need to worry 
. PSAT doesn't matter anyways 
... SAT matters. (EVEN THOUGH ACT IS FAR SUPERIOR)
Ugh, the ACT is such a horrible test. Aside from the fact that I have trouble concentrating for a whole hour at a time on such mindlessly easy questions, their scoring system and science section are total jokes. No penalty for guessing? If you're running out of time, it makes more sense to spend a few seconds/minutes bubbling in 'C' on all your remaining questions than it does to try to actually finish as many questions as you can. Some accuracy, there.
And the 'science' section is entirely speed-reading, good test-taking skills, and graph analysis. If you follow their lovely instructions ("Read the introduction and look at the graphs before answering the questions" or something like that) and you read at the pace of an average high schooler, you won't have enough time to finish the entire section. Speed reading or test-taking skills, take your pick of which you'd rather hone in preparation.
And, hate to break it to you, but graph analysis is math, not science. Math is great and all, but at least call it by its proper name. You realize that colleges like Caltech still require at least one science SAT II even if you do take the ACT, right? That should tell you something about the quality of that science section.
And no, I didn't do poorly on the ACT. I just honestly think it is a horrible test and that, while the SAT isn't flawless, it's certainly a whole lot better.
I just got my SAT results back today - 740 in Math - 97%, 690 in critical reading or whatever - 74%, and 600 in writing - 81%.
I didn't get to finish my essay, but I still got a 10 (in total) on it >.>. I have improved in the past years, but I haven't been getting 6's ever. I'm in eighth grade, and I took the test soley for some kind of summer camp my mom signed me up for.
My friends say that I lower their self-esteem, and they're really jealous. ._.
Wow, great job on the essay. 6's are almost impossible, and I know for a fact that you can get a 10 on the essay and still get an 800 on the writing section, so don't stress over that too much. Besides, if you're only in 8th grade, odds are your writing will only improve
Actually, great job overall. Especially on the math - what level math are you taking right now?
I'm in A&E, in this school district, it's the equivalent of being in an honors class two levels above you. We're supposed to be ranked top in the nation when it comes to contests and stuff, but like everywhere, there are the smart and the not-so good. I'm not doing too well in my math class right now, though
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Thanks for the advice, and compliments though.
Quote:You realize that colleges like Caltech still require at least one science SAT II even if you do take the ACT, right? That should tell you something about the quality of that science section.
You do realize that Caltech requires a science SAT II even if you take the SAT I? That's because it's primarily a math/science school. They have parts on their supplements that ask for math scores (like the AMC 12) and math/science extracurriculars.
Well, the SAT I doesn't claim to have a science section on it, does it? So of course they'd want a science SAT II if you took the SAT I.
i took the SAT for the first time in 6th grade and got a 1020
so glad i never have to take another standardized test EVER AGAIN.
college rocks, lemme tell you.
Wow, I can't believe I never saw this topic.
I took the PSAT this year as a sophomore, and while it doesn't really matter this year, I guess it was ok. I'll have to do better next year though.
Writing: 79 (99th percentile)
Reading: 69 (something like 89th percentile with this score, I think)
Math: 59 (yeah, I'm a weak math student)
I love English. I love reading and writing. I enjoy reading about history mostly, although I read exclusively science Fiction when I was younger. The last three books I've ordered on Amazon are "Mein Kampf" By Adolf Hitler, "the Communist Manifesto" By Karl Marx, and "Othello" By Shakespeare. That in itself should say something about where my scores come from.