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How I scored a 1510 on SAT On My First Attempt 

By Roman Shrestha 

A 1500+ score is always a dream score for every SAT aspirant and it was for me too. Actually, it was insane and I couldn’t believe that I actually achieved my dream score when I checked my SAT score on the results day. 

My scores- RW – 720 (R-7,W-3),Maths-790(-1). Total- 1510

Here’s a guide for everyone who’s preparing for this test or who’s planning to prepare. 

How I prepared for the test:

I started with the black book of SAT. I learned a lot about this test and strategies to approach this test. So I don’t recommend anyone to skip reading this book. However, my results were not that satisfactory. I got a 510 in English and 630 in Maths on my first test. Then I came to know about 1600.io from a post on a group. I then starting following the lectures from 1600.io. I used to solve the passage myself and listen to the answer explanations from 1600.io. My thinking about the test and my approach to the test completely changed after following 1600.io, That’s when the tables turned. On my next test, I got a 670 in the Reading and writing section. Then my scores improved even more and once I even got 51/52  on the reading section. 

As for Maths, I used the College Panda Maths Workbook and by the time I completed the book, I started scoring 770+ in the Maths section too. As for the rest 30 marks, I figured out my mistakes and learned the topics I was weak at from youtube ( The Organic Chemistry Tutor). After that, I solved lots of old tests and practice tests(almost every released SAT QAS since 2016). Talking about time, I spent about 3 hours on the English section and an hour on the Maths section every day for two months and up to 16 hours a day during my last week.

The resources I’m about to list are really very useful and important resources so don’t skip any of them.

-Black book is the bible of SAT. It guides you thoroughly with most of the key contents of SAT and ways to approach this test. 

-For the Writing section, I used to follow the black book of SAT. During my last week of SAT, I realized this score was not enough for getting the 1500+. So I switched to Erica Meltzer’s Grammar Preparation book. That’s when things changed and I started getting a 41,42, even 43/44 on the writing section. So I highly recommend this book.

-(The most important one) 1600.io is a treasure map to SAT . George’s explanations are just outstanding and his way of approaching the test is really very effective. 

-For the Maths section, College Panda is the best resource.

-Khan Academy is a very good place to practice but I didn’t use it much unless I ran out of practice tests during my last week. (Just don’t fully depend on Khan Academy and the Blue Book of SAT)

Strategies and my suggestions to approach the test:

-The most important thing one needs to acknowledge about SAT is that ‘SAT test is completely objective. I’ve heard many say that SAT is subjective and it’s really about the writer’s mood. NO, IT’S NOT! Each and every question on the SAT test has only one right answer and all the others can be proven wrong no matter how much you argue it’s correct. So one needs to keep this in mind before approaching this test.

-Don’t search for the correct answer, search for the wrong ones. Attack each and every option in every question and try to prove each one wrong until you find the one that can’t be proven wrong.

-Collegeboard is really smart. Don’t fall for the traps. Don’t just pick an answer because you feel it’s right. Never do that! That’s where most of the students fail. Pick an answer only when it can’t be proven wrong.

-SAT scores are exponential and they flatten out after some time. They are also really inconsistent and might go down sometimes. Don’t panic at that time. It’s completely normal. The more you panic, the worse it gets, I used to get an average of 700 in RW during my tests but sometimes they would go as little as 650. (A fun incident: I panicked so much a day before the test that I even got a 3/10 on the reading section for the first time. It was at about 11 pm and I had my test at 8 am the next morning. )

-Sometimes it might get really frustrating especially when you’re a perfectionist. I used to be soo mad at myself even for getting a question wrong in the reading section. Just don’t give up.

-Practice and practice a lot.

-Consistency is the key. Spend lesser time but be consistent. Practice daily. It’s not that hard after all.

-Don’t panic during the test day. It’s just yet another test and it’s not the NEB board exam that you get only one chance. You can always regive the test. So stay calm and confident and you can easily score a 1500+ on this test.

If I missed out on anything or if you have any questions feel free to comment down. Best of luck to all the upcoming test takers.