关于如何考sat高分，Quora上一个很有趣的走题回答，对GT有参考价值，学校只看最高分到底是不是lie？

DarthWalker

Kai Peter Chang, 張敦楷 First of his Name, Warden of Oakl... (more)425 votes by J.C. Hewitt, Walker Wu, Benjamin Xie, (more)

Do what I did - cheat.

NO, not cheat on the SATs - cheat the way they are reported. I'll explain, but before I proceed, let me back up and outline a few relevant things:

Understanding the SATs, in the Context of College Admissions

Elite Colleges and Universities are in the difficult position of evaluating tens of thousands of hopeful new students to decide which [X] percent of those applicants they will extend offers to. They must do it with limited information and limited manpower (admissions officers) within a very narrow window of time.

SATs are a standardized way to have a numerical representation of your "aptitude" so every applicant from a prep-school blue-blood rich kid from Choate Rosemary Hall to a rough-and-tumble dropout from the streets of Mumbai can be ranked on a single (seemingly) objective scale.

One of the things every elite college desire is "smart" students, and since they cannot administer IQ tests on all applicants, the SATs become the imperfect proxy used to quantify that portion of an applicant's profile.

What does a high (or perfect) SAT score reflect? It's a composite function measuring the test-taker's

1. Native raw intelligence (30%)
2. Reading comprehension ability/speed and general vocabulary (20%)
3. Error-correction skill (ability to spot one's own mistakes and fix them before committing to a seemingly-right answer that is a bait/trap (20%)
4. Ability to game the SAT system itself (related to 3.) (30%)

(The percentages are my estimates as to what each ability/skill contribute to a high score. Each version of the SATs would have differently weighted percentage breakdowns, but the fundamentals remain the same.)  

There is little you can do to change 1. so most tips revolve around some combination of improving your 2., 3., and 4. On that front, Rich Rodgers, Sam Coren, Jonathan Swirsky, J.C. Hewitt and Ryan Lackey offered excellent advice on just that thing. I would only add that a formal SAT tutoring course by folks at the Princeton Review can help a LOT with 3. and 4.

All that said ...

Not all High SAT Scores are Equal

Several of the respondents have reported taking the SATs multiple times - and indeed, multiple attempts at the test is one of the most sure-fire way to hit a high or perfect score. Repetition of the drill, familiarity with the SAT's protocol, reducing the anxiety through multiple exposure to an otherwise-stressful situation all help you perform at your personal best.

Imagine your personal composite "aptitude" which is a Function of the above-mentioned 1. 2. 3. and 4.

F (1., 2., 3., 4.) = SAT Score

Once you've maxed out your 2. 3. and 4., multiple attempts at the SATs will, over time, reveal a scatter diagram around your average composite 1. 2. 3. and 4.aptitude, with scores above, below and heavily clustered around your "true" ability.



Every college will tell you they only consider your highest SAT score to evaluate your application. This, like most things large organizations tell you, is a lie.

Why would they throw away all that useful data you so generously provided for them?

Indeed, if you made 20 attempts at the SATs and averaged, say, 1440 and peaked once at 1550, they will view that high score at the tail as the outlier that it is, and discount it accordingly. Far as they are concerned, you are a 1440 guy who got lucky once, not a 1550 guy.

How to Cheat the SATs

I understood at age 15 that a single, solitary high SAT score was far more impressive than multiple attempts to arrive at it.

At the time (this may have changed), the ETS tracked your SAT-taking history through your Social Security Number. With this in mind, every time I took the SATs between Sophomore and Junior year, I deliberately wrote my SSN off by one digit.

When I finally got the score I wanted (1510/1600 in my case), I called up ETS and raised hell, telling them they screwed up my SSN and demanding that they correct it to my true SSN.

"Oh, we are so sorry Mr. Chang. We will fix that for you immediately. Please accept our apologies ..."

Consequently, only one high score was attached to my true SSN, and it became the basis for my applications.

Thus, when I applied to colleges, I gave them only one data point that *I* knew to be an anomaly, but they were forced to accept the 1510 as representative of my true "aptitude" since they were denied any other data points.

ETS may have changed their policy since then, but if not, it works like a charm.

The rest is up to you ...

okokap

GMAT和TOEFL的注册信息是不能随意改的，看来ETS已经发现这个问题了~~难怪前几天有人问，可以不可以重新注册ID来考GMAT呢~~

DarthWalker

不过至于多次分数是否同时报送，校方是否会做文中提到的那种discount呵呵真的只有天知道了

okokap

GMAT肯定是送5年内所有成绩的，这个官方就这么说的~~~TOEFL就不知道送不送之前的了，虽然官方说只送一次的~~~校方年年招生都比较忙，也不知道他们有没有时间做这个discount~~这些真的是天知道了~~

DarthWalker

如果保守起见的话就是G的感觉不好就果断当场弃分，以及尽可能更充分的备考每一次，不因为GT可以“无数”次考而掉以轻心

okokap

估计中国学生一下子弃分的大量增多，GMAC马上就会起疑心了~~