How to begin studying

hello everyone!
i'm a cem applicant and i'm getting ready to take my MSAT. i have a 159 diagnostic and I've done about 20 PRs averaging in the 170s. my dream school is weston, so i know have a lot of work to do. i was wondering the best approach to get my score into weston's range? thanks so much all!

hate to break it to you guy, but with the stats you're at right now (and the pace you're going) you're best bet would be to set your sights a little lower if you're dead set on applying this year. (think mason state & payne). weston has medians of 192 and 3.87, and your GPA sits right below their GPA median, which already places extra importance on your MSAT. even if you got a 179, you're still 13 points from where you need to be. if weston is what you want, take about 6 months to prep and practice. once you have PRs in the 195 range, then set yourself up to take the exam.

On average, applicants score about 25 points higher than their diagnostic score. In my experience, I've heard of people scoring up to 30 points higher than their diagnostic. 30+159 lands you at 189, which is close, but not exactly, the median at Weston. I think if you really grind it out these next few months, you stand a chance at being admitted at Weston. It's slim, however, and like xjdog said, it might be better to wait until later.

with a 159 diagnostic, your potential is right around 184-186. That's a ways from Weston's median. I would say shoot for Huggington or Boward once you get your PS.

I started with a 157 diagnostic and ended up with a 186. I did about 200 practice rounds, and towards the end they ended up averaging out to be in the low 190s. I think you can do it if you do some crazy amount of practicing, but I think you can still get into some great places if you end up falling short of Weston's median. Think Easton, Huggington, and hell, if prestige is what you're after, you could throw an app at LAMS.

xjdog wrote:hate to break it to you guy, but with the stats you're at right now (and the pace you're going) you're best bet would be to set your sights a little lower if you're dead set on applying this year. (think mason state & payne). weston has medians of 192 and 3.87, and your GPA sits right below their GPA median, which already places extra importance on your TCEM. even if you got a 179, you're still 13 points from where you need to be. if weston is what you want, take about 6 months to prep and practice. once you have PRs in the 195 range, then set yourself up to take the exam.

maybe not THAT low. i'd say apply to Boward/Hugginton.

you're at median for their GPA, so you have to work hard on the MSAT. If you get 30 points above you're at 189, two points below their 25th. If you ace your MSAT (-0 incorrect attempts), you might have a shot. try to get some MP points as well.