Ok. Ready for a wall of text? I have a lot to say about the SATs. Basically, the math section is built like an obstacle course. There are ways that you can learn to avoid the most common traps. Length is one of them (rushing over the easy questions to try to finish the test, when you get as many points for answering an easy question as a hard one). Another common technique is to have a complicated question that looks like it needs a lot of algebra to solve, when you can plug in the answers. I would recommend practicing as much as possible, obviously, and with a test prep book/class. Kaplan and Princeton review and those classes do teach you how to do the math, but they also teach you to go through the questions, starting with choice C, and plug in/eyeball/guestimate to see if you can answer the questions without really doing the problem. It really works because what the tests are testing is both a) your math skills, built up over high school and b) your test taking skills, and basic familiarity with the SAT format. You can improve the first, but you can also improve the second, and that tends to raise your score. It also helps to memorize certain formulas and numbers from high school trig-- the sides of each triangle. The square root of 2=1.4. That kind of thing which you can use to plug in and save time. Another thing, finally is familiarize yourself with the questions and see what they are asking. Are they asking for the probability of something happening, or NOT happening? The area of the circle or the square around it? So much gets buried in the wording. Circle the trick questions on the page, just to remind yourself. These kinds of questions have a very high wrong response rate.

I would recommend getting a test prep book from a local bookstore or public library and if it's really high on your priorities to raise your score, then signing up for a course. That way there will be regularly assigned homework and an incentive to study all the time. I've googled low cost college prep services, which some students that I know are eligible for and have found really good: http://www.letsgetready.org/Resource...gePrepServices. Some branches may be better than others.

The final thing to remember is it's a marathon not a sprint, so keep at it! It can be frustrating to study so much but there are ways you can make it a routine and something enjoyable, and man it feels good to see a higher score. Good luck & happy studying.