Not all my SAT prep advice is "popular." Not all my advice is easy. 

But it is correct. It is proven. 

And most of it is very simple. Direct. Even "obvious," sometimes. (Still, students ignore the obvious all the time.)

But one thing's for damn sure: it gets results.

Because it's the truth. Because it's based on experience. Because it's coming from someone who's actually gotten a perfect SAT score, and who knows what it takes to help other people reach higher SAT scores of their own.

I've made a decade-long career of helping high school students improve their SAT scores & confidence.

So, here are seven of my top strategies to improve 200 points or more on your SAT test score.

It seems so simple. "Just read more?" you ask.

LOL. If only.

If only it were so easy. Trust me, I literally spend hours each day FIGHTING with all my mental and emotional strength to get high school students to just read more books so they can increase their SAT scores by 200+ points.

I could give a 2-hour seminar on this topic alone. So let me just hit the highlights here with four extremely-obvious (but totally-neglected) observations about reading.

1) Students who read the best, get the highest SAT Reading scores.

2) Students who read the most, read the best.

3) Students who read for fun, read the most.

4) Students who choose books they enjoy, read for fun.

The takeaway? Learn to figure out what you enjoy reading, then DON'T APOLOGIZE. 

Never apologize for the reading you do. Romance novels? Great. Fantasy? Awesome. Sci-Fi? Definitely. NEVER APOLOGIZE. JUST READ.

You aren't out to impress your future English professor. You're just trying to read more. So READ WHAT YOU LIKE.

Please, please, please trust me on this one. I'm literally begging you.

Believe it or not, the entire SAT "Writing & Language Test" is based on exactly 17 specific rules and question types.

The most common error students make is to answer by "sound" or "flow" or "what makes sense."

All of these are wrong. They are useless, and will not help you improve your SAT score.

Instead, you must learn and master the 17 rules of SAT Grammar. This also requires an understanding of the 8 Parts of Speech.

Once you know the rules, the SAT Grammar test becomes extraordinarily obvious and easy.

It takes hard study, practice, and experience - but every student can learn to dominate the SAT Grammar section in a relatively short time.

Here's a secret that almost no one knows about the SAT Math test: it's 86% composed of Algebra 1 & 2. I happen to know this because it's based on my own original research, not quoted from someone else.

The SAT test rewards students who invest massive amounts of practice time.

Many families underestimate how much practice time should be expected. This is not a 4-week project. Ideally, it is a 6-12 month study plan (although there are always exceptions).

Put simply, it just takes that many months to find enough time to do all the hours of practice required for a 200-point improvement on your SAT test.

My stern recommendation is to focus on untimed work until you're at least 95% accurate in each section.

Once you're getting 19 questions right for each 20, then you can start using the timer. But as soon as you start "rushing" to finish, then turn off the timer and start working without it again.

Accuracy is WAY more important than speed. Picture an archer who shoots 5 arrows really fast, but missed the target every time. Compare it to an archer who shoots so slowly that they can only shoot 3 arrows, but each arrow is a bullseye. The slower archer will get a higher score. And it's the same on the SAT.

So... practice without a timer. Accuracy and confidence are your first priority. Once you PROVE your ability to answer the questions, then - and only then - should you start working with a timer. Many families get this backwards, and it really hurts their SAT scores.

For every SAT practice section you complete, be sure to check and correct your answers. This can often take as long to correct as it took just to do the work in the first place.

That's OK. You can't imagine how much you'll learn simply by checking and patiently correcting your own work.

In many ways, the corrections are more important than the actual practice session.

If you want to gain 200+ points on your next SAT, invest just as much time into your corrections as you put into your practice itself.

There's one major obstacle that completely surprises even the most-prepared SAT students, and that is how LONG and EXHAUSTING the SAT test is.

It's really just like running a marathon. There's no way to understand how incredibly tiring it is... until you've done it yourself.

And, the more marathons you've run, the more you understand exactly how to use your energy so you can finish with a great result.

Amateurs need not apply. Just as a first-time marathoner will get demolished by the experienced runners, so will an inexperienced SAT taker be trounced by multi-time practice testers.

Don't underestimate how HARD your peers are preparing. They want to beat you. They are fighting for YOUR spot at your favorite college.

So practice and out-endure them.

A minimum of FIVE full-length Saturday-morning practice SATs is a decent amount of practice. You can do even more, but five full-length tests is a good start towards your 200-point improvement.

Be sure to carefully go over ALL of your mistakes and missed questions. Take a couple days off after your practice test, but then return and learn from your mistakes before you take another practice.

You'll be mentally strong and unstoppable compared to your competition, and that slot at your top college will be yours, for sure.

Now that you've reached SAT Tip #6, you're really getting close to total mastery of the test.

And - to achieve total mastery of the SAT - you must first achieve mastery of yourself.

"Mindset" includes things like:

- staying focused

- practicing when you'd rather do something fun

- controlling your sleeping and waking times

- learning to reduce your testing anxiety

- enduring for an entire 4 hour test

- staying positive and confident

This is a topic for an entire article. Just understand, for now, that the test content alone is not what determines if you'll get a 200+ point improvement.

No. It's also largely down to your SELF-MASTERY.

Confident generals have won battles they should have lost.

Confident athletes have won games they were meant to lose.

Confident test-takers have earned 200+ point improvements on the SAT.

Here's my final tip for now: you only need one high score for colleges.

Almost every college I know doesn't care if you tested more than once.

In fact, they expect it of you.

Elite students - the students who improve 200+ points on the SAT - plan to take the test at least 3 times.

But, they don't just test over and over again. No, they study HARD between official tests. They get a great coach and learn what they need to know. They take practice SATs over and over, and review their mistakes.

And when they're ready, they test again. And again. Until they meet their goal.

You only need one high score for colleges.

I hope that these seven points are clear to you. And I bet, deep down, you know I'm exactly right.

If they make sense, reach out to me today for a consultation. I can help you get massively-higher SAT scores and confidence.

But also reach out to me if you have any questions. I've made a career out of helping students and parents figure this stuff out. I want you to get higher SAT scores just as badly as you do.

Talk to you soon!