A few 800s

For a few years now, there’s been a nagging question hanging around my tutor-brain:  “Could I…should I…what if I get a perfect score on the SAT??”

This is the sort of question that lights a fire of determination behind the eyes of many a high-achieving high school student.  This is the sort of question that keeps 17-year-olds up at night and helps keep the whole test-prep machine running.  

And I want to answer it.

Debbie at the Perfect Score Project is also setting out to answer these questions as a mom. Be sure to follow her inspiring progress as well.

As a test prep tutor, scoring perfect 800s on all sections would make a big difference, not only in marketing myself and my company, but in the way I could approach students, and give them confidence — as in, “Don’t worry, I’ve been there.”

I’ll admit it:  it’s a bit different scoring these 800s as an adult who has been through college and the professional world.  This wouldn’t be a way to show how good of a test-taker I was, but how good I am now.  And though I’ve kept up with High School-level math and literacy work, I know it’ll take bit of brushing up  — and SAT strategy practice — to really ace the thing.  

When I took the SAT back in High School, I scored a 1500 out of 1600 (760 on Math, 740 on Reading).  That could give me some confidence, but I’ll bet those last 100 points are the toughest to get.  And we didn’t even have that Writing section…

So here I am.  I need to take practice tests.  I need to dig deep on what problem types are toughest for me.  And I need to register for the SATs!

I’m going to document everything I do along the way, and analyze it here on the blog.  And when everything is done, and I’ve got my 800s in hand, I’m going to figure out how to help my fellow tutors and our students implement the same strategies, understand the same material, and answer question after question correctly.

But these days, three 800s aren’t quite enough.  As I train for 800s on the SATs, I’m going to train to run three consecutive 8:00s on the track — 8:00 miles, that is.  Which will be (for me) as big of a challenge as any academic effort. 

So there you have it.  A few 800s. Perfect scores on all three sections of the SATs and three 8:00 miles.  These are big goals, but I’m already excited about achieving each and every one!  
Wish me luck!  And stay tuned:  I’m about to do some diagnostics.

Adam
Founder of Tutor Delphia