How To Improve In Secondary Science?

I have a 2010 on my SATs. I'm looking for computer science programs in unis like Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Cornell, and UCLA. How and by how much should I improve my score?

• (660 in maths, 670 in reading and 680 in writing) I have decent grades and good co curricula. Where else can I improve?

• Answer:

  At most of the schools you are looking at your scores are in the low range.  For example, here are the score ranges at Carnegie Mellon. It is worth noting that most of those admitted with scores near the lower end of the testing profile are specials (athletes, legacies etc.) so unless you have a hook, you have some work to do. Test Scores -- 25th / 75th Percentile of admitted students ·       SAT Critical Reading: 640 / 740 ·       SAT Math: 700 / 790 ·       SAT Writing: 650 / 750 I should say testing is not nearly as important as your academic performance in secondary school. You need to have a great program and strong grades. I should say this, but the reality is that test scores are very important too despite what gets said in brochures.   In order to improve your scores you have many choices, but the real key to improvement is pretty simple. Put in lots of time. The more you study for it the more likely your scores will improve. You can do this on your own, through a testing prep company, or a private tutor but the results depend mostly on how hard you work at it. I wish you the best of luck but I would also advise you to start adding some less selective schools to your list. I am not trying to be mean but you need to have some schools in which your tests scores fall into the top range rather than the bottom 25%.