🗺️ ROADMAP TO

1510+

Credits to SAT Hub, made by Kamoliddin

1
Contents:

FOREWORD………….………….………….………….……………………3
MATERIALS………………….………….………….………….……………5
PAPER SAT AND WHY YOU SHOULD PRACTICE IT…………………..8
BEYOND SAT………….………….………….………….………….……...11
MY DAILY SCHEDULE………….………….………….…………....……19
TIPS AND NOTES………….………….………….………….…………….20

2
FOREWORD: Point A

My preparation began in October 2022, with my background in English being

C1 (ielts8) and Math being only basic (7-9th grade vaguely mastered). The
baseline score I took off with was 1140 (Paper format; don’t remember the
sections).

For the first 2,5 mos we focused solely on the paper format when, after the
December exam, we witnessed one of the major transitions in SAT’s history -
full digitalization of the exam. Indeed, I gained particular benefit from the
relentless attempt to cope with complex and mundanely long narrative,
science, social science, and history passages (I will elaborate more on this
point in the Paper SAT section of this document).

Since we were the first-ever batch to take the SAT in its Digital format, we
had little to no practice materials and resources to get to feel the novel
structure and question types besides a very limited DSAT guide on Khan
Academy and 4 official practice tests on Bluebook. The paucity of materials
made it difficult to get to know the test. However, I knew that it isn’t only
about knowing the test, but also about the skills that actually make success
possible. I knew that mere strategies wouldn’t help, so, beyond the new SAT
theory, I put heavy emphasis on honing my skills. You can go to war with an
AK-47 (or the heaviest and deadliest weapon you can lay your hands on), but
as long as you don’t know how to use it, despite how deadly it is, it’s
completely unavailing.

If you do not know how to read and understand the English written language,
discern facts and arguments, and conceive inferences from the given
premises, strategies are not going to save you. Think of the SAT preparation
process as the construction of a building. In case you intend to build a
skyscraper (=a monumental success), you need a foundation that can
withhold the nimble corpus of your establishment. Just like a tall building

3
needs a strong edifice, your success in SAT also needs a solid foundation to
be established. Reading comprehension, rich vocabulary, well-learned
grammar, sharp critical thinking, ability to focus, and even as unrelated a
concept as emotional control are the backbone of a triumphant aftermath.

The timeline of your preparation depends on how solid the foundation you
have (if you do have one). I started off with a decent English background and
a relatively modest insight into math, and never was I able to get 800 in math
(miraculously enough, there were always one to two blunders that I kept on
making) though got a good grasp of English section, beginning with 680 and
thereabouts on practice tests and ending up with 740 on the real exam.

Generally, we advise students to first work out the fundamental skills they
will need to get the score they want -reading comprehension, vocabulary, and
grammar - by, perhaps, taking one of the many international exams we have
here in Uzbekistan. IELTS, TOEFL, or CEFR are reliable indicators of the
student’s capacity for the language. In the case of math, SAT encompasses
the topics that we cover in 7th through 9th grades: algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, basic statistics (mean, median, mode; std+bar charts are
advanced), and word problems. Usually, if you are very good at DTM Maths,
you are unlikely to have too much trouble solving SAT Maths questions. In
fact, I remember some of my peers with rock-hard familiarity with DTM
Maths big majority of whom breezed through the SAT Maths, procuring
scores in the 99th percentile and above.

Concluding, we encourage everyone to objectively quality-check their skills

prior to turning to the SAT. This will enable them to delegate more of their
time to understanding the exam and cracking its perplexing questions.

Enough of this,

Let’s get to the marrow!

4
MATERIALS

Before we dive into the ins and outs of the journey towards 1510, here is the
list of materials I consider were most helpful in my preparation for the test.
To make it more convenient, I divided the materials into categories and
subcategories. All the materials listed will be uploaded on
https://t.me/SATHUBchannel. Hope you love it!

EBRW

Vocabulary:
1) Ivy Global
2) College Panda 400 words
3) SATashkent Word Collection
4) 195 DSAT Vocabulary (Farangiz)
5) Vocab from texts and passages

Reading Comprehension:
1) Books
a) Philosophy
i) On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
ii) Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
iii) The Antigone by Sophocles
iv) The Republic by Plato
v) The World As Will and Representation by
Arthur Schopenhauer
vi) The Muqaddimah by Abd Ar Rahman bin
Muhammed ibn Khaldun
vii) The First Critique by Emanuel Kant
b) Fiction

5
 i) 1984 by George Orwell
ii) Animal Farm by George Orwell
iii) Sherlock Holmes Series by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle
iv) The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
v) The Metamorphosis by Frans Kafka
vi) Jane Austen’s novels are good too

2) Articles
a) Social Science and Science
i) Smithsonian Magazine (TOP; resemble SAT
passages)
ii) New Scientist
iii) Scientific American
b) History and American History
i) Smithsonian Magazine
ii) History.com
iii) The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History
iv) National Geographic
c) News
i) The New York Times
ii) Al Jazeera
iii) NY Post
iv) The Washington Post

Exercises:
1) SAT Question Bank
2) Khan Academy
3) Vibrant prep

6
 4) Princeton Review
5) Kaplan DSAT Prep Plus
6) Paper SAT!
7) McGraw Hill 500 SAT Reading questions

Practice tests:
1) Bluebook 4 PTs
2) Resolve Prep 5 PTs
3) Princeton Review 4 PTs
4) Kaplan 1 PT
5) Paper works too

MATH

Exercises:
1) College Panda - best to quickly get around the basics of
math
2) Vibrant Prep DSAT Math practice questions - incredible
exercises; all feel legitimate
3) Dr Chung’s New SAT Math - perfect for challenging
oneself
4) SAT Orange Book 1600.io - fabulous one for starters;
encompasses every concept in sheer detail
5) Barron’s Math Workbook - personally liked this one;
questions push you to think outside the box
6) SAT Hard questions set - get to feel what real exam hard
questions look like
7) SAT Question Bank - real exam questions; arguably the
only resource that is 100% credible

7
PAPER SAT AND WHY YOU SHOULD PRACTICE IT

“SWEAT MORE IN TRAINING… BLEED LESS IN BATTLE.”

The paper format consisted of 3 sections: Reading, Writing, and Math. In the
Reading section, you had 52 questions to solve in under 65 minutes, 44
questions in under 35 minutes in the writing part, 38 Math questions in under
55 minutes with a calculator, and 20 questions in under 25 minutes for
WITHOUT-calculator Math section.

The long and tiring narratives, complex science and social science passages,
and archaic history texts were tangibly harder to comprehend in comparison
to the compact paragraph-long passages we are given in the current version
of the test. What makes Paper Practice tests so useful is how challenging they
are. Remember, if you are good at understanding and dealing with as tough
tests as the paper format offered, you are going to have little to no hardship in
tackling the DSAT Reading and Writing questions.

The harder questions you do, the easier the actual test becomes. The more
you do those consistently, the better you get. The test-taker who is able to
score 40-50 in the Old Format Reading will get at least 620 on the Digital
Exam even if he had zero notion of its question types and structure. So was
the case with us. As has been mentioned in the Foreword, I have prepared 2,5
months for Paper SAT and got to the level where I consistently hit 40-44 out
of 52 on Paper Reading, 40-44 out of 44 in Paper Writing, and 50-57 in
Maths, although the full-fledged strictly timed mock exams produced
1230-ish. Once I transitioned to DSAT, my first mock exam procured me 680
in both English and Math. I loved the changes!

Day in and day out I did the math and worked on my reading comprehension,
not grammar because it was the one section I had no mistakes in. We kept on

8
doing Paper practices - we had no other option, as Bluebook tests were saved
as the last means for assessing our progress. In addition to that, we immersed
ourselves in Khan Academy’s grammar drills (that have been removed from
the platform as of now), reading passages, and 1-passage writing exercises;
read novels; scrutinized philosophies; and, last but not least, fell in love with
Chess (so much so that I used to get constant rebukes from my relatives that
were hosting me in Tashkent during my prep).

WHY PAPER SAT?

EBRW

1) It is long and hard. If you become good enough at dealing with Paper
SAT Reading and Writing questions, you are going to have no problem
with DSAT skill-wise.
2) It helps expand your vocabulary base because the passages presented in
this format are derived from research papers, historical documents, and
novels, all the types of sources that are infamous for their complex
language and the usage of extra rare words. You need a solid
vocabulary to get to the 99th percentile (730+) on the SAT English.
Having a strong word knowledge is conducive to fast and strong
reading comprehension. Not only that but also, as we have specific
Words In Context questions on the DSAT English, having a good
vocabulary will increase our odds of tackling these questions
successfully.

MATH

1) Although I subjectively believe that the Math section in the previous

SAT was easier than DSAT Math, Paper Math was of immense benefit
to get the fundamental insight into SAT Math: understanding the

9
 Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Word Problems, and
more.
2) Abundance of practice materials. We have an opulent bank of practice
tests, books, and exercises to prepare for the Paper Math. Although
Paper Math and DSAT Math have slight disparity in question
formulation, the fundamental skillset needed to ace the section is the
same across the formats. Therefore, instead of worrying too much
about the scarcity of resources for DSAT math (which is less of a case
at this point), focus on honing the skills you need to “be good at math.”

10
BEYOND SAT: MORE THAN A MERE TEST

Before coming to Tashkent, I was reveling in my recent triumph in getting

IELTS 8 (you call it a triumph)). The societal expectations and parents’
constant reminder of their invincible belief in my success in the language
proficiency test was pushing me under duress for so long (more than 1.5
years) that once I got that 8, the world felt like heaven - the mountain off the
shoulders that were already numbing. The success obviously entailed
attention and glory from friends, family, and beyond. Everything turned in
my favor. I felt like I won this game already. We know it wasn’t the end. In
fact, very far from the end.

Regardless, the English language was my pivotal point. IELTS was just an
excuse, a mere destination. The process was what mattered, what actually
made this turning point, well, a turning point. The people I got to know (my
teachers and peers), the self-introspection I was exposed to (a profound peek
into myself), the whole reconsideration of values, and the fathoming of the
meaning of life, all happened because of that simple “dream” to pass an
English proficiency exam.

For me, learning English was one of the best things that could happen to me,
because English isn’t only about the language itself but is also about the
cultures that it unites, the novels that inspired generations, the music its
speakers produced, traditions within the English-speaking circles, its
unfathomably profound history, and many more.

More commonly than not, in our society IELTS is glorified and IELTS
experts are idolized even though they haven’t done anything more ambitious
than proving that they know a foreign language. However, IELTS is more
about the language than the test itself. To excel in the exam, you have to be
good at English than at the test itself. You may know the best strategies, but if
you don’t know how to read, listen, write, and speak the language, you won’t

11
be able to use those strategies. Strategies are about finding the most optimal
ways to solve certain problems, but, if you don’t know what the problems are,
what are you even trying to find solutions for? Therefore, it’s important that
you train yourself to first read, listen, speak, and write the language before
learning the strategy. Indeed, it’s very effective to first learn the language and
then prepare for the language proficiency test itself.

CASE WITH SAT

In October 2022, I was faced with a difficult dilemma: going to Tashkent to

take an SAT course and prepare there or committing myself to self-studying. I
knew I could get 1500+ in both cases - well, at least, I geared myself to see
that as the only outcome. However, there were the aspects of the former
decision, although a little risky and potentially expensive, that overshadowed
the ambition to accomplish the score by preparing on my own. I saw going to
Tashkent as an opportunity to challenge myself, gain a strong network, see
the world beyond my city, and go from surviving to thriving. I believe that
the risk was worth countless hours and attempts to convince my parents of
the validity of my decision, worth the snubs and continuous concerns, worth
all the dangers and odds, and worth changing my life for.

Think about it, I could stay where I was, in a dreary city, with old friends,
same room, same house, same people, same experiences, old habits, under
the wings of my parents, comfortable and worry-free, devoid of any fear, any
trouble, any crises that I could have a chance to resolve, same me. Tashkent
presented a more invigorating life: new obstacles, fresh experiences, and
people of all sorts to finally cultivate my stoicism, FEAR for life, FEAR for
the future, FEAR that I had to deal with instead of avoiding. I knew I had to
survive, and to survive I needed to communicate with people, to face my
insecurities, blindspots, and uncomfortable realities that the involved; I
understood that living a good and meaningful life requires constant
occupation with the resolution of different problems, being it a family,

12
business, school, people’s attitudes, arguments, or exams. That’s what
compelled me to going to Tashkent. It was actually interesting.

So, if you are reading this, know that growth happens only outside the
comfort zone. Otherwise, you keep on hiding from the bitter reality without
ever taking a step forward, fearing that this step may hurt you.

Okay, now, let’s get back to the point. SAT is more than just a test. It opens
an ocean of opportunities you can make use of for your overall personal and
academic development.

THE NETWORK

“YOU ARE THE SUM OF THE 5 PEOPLE YOU SPEND MOST OF

YOUR TIME WITH.”

When I was preparing for the test, I got an opportunity to team up with
incredible individuals who continuously brought up the best in me whenever
they were around. Each one of us influenced and motivated one another.

Imagine you have people around who constantly remind you of your mission
and of being vigilant with momentary gratifications. These people kept me on
track, helped cultivate the right habits, stimulated meaningful discussions,
and always helped to push beyond preconceived and predefined societal
standards. For them, SAT was not as big of a thing as for many people. It’s
just a test.

I learned a lot from them, changed my standards, perhaps reshaped my

perception of reality, and changed my perspectives on many things. They
preferred reading novels to practicing reading passages; predefined truths
seemed not enough, for which they developed a habit of challenging any
belief; they always did more than the average people did, always exceeded

13
the normal. It always seemed like people outside our circle were too fearful
to think of goals beyond building a stable income, getting a family, living a
secure life, or going to university. We had this perception that everything that
life is given to push beyond the boundaries of the possible. What is deemed
impossible by many, once done by one, doesn’t seem impossible anymore.
So, what is humanly possible can be done by any human as long as there is
no objective physical constraint.

For me, the SAT was just a tiny step towards academic success, a gateway to
a good bachelor’s program at a prestigious university or college. I didn’t
think much of it while many used to idolize the successful test-takers. There
were times I was told to my face that 1500+ from the first attempt is near
impossible, so I should rather sign up for 2-3 more tests in advance. Well, no.
“Can I get the score I want with enough time and energy dedicated?” Yes.
The objective reality of things differs from the subjective perspectives of the
masses. One can think of something as bad when another takes it as the moral
standard.

“PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT FLYING WAS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL

SOMEONE REFUSED TO ACCEPT THEIR LIMITS.”

Summary: walk around people who do not confine themselves to the bounds
of social norms and standards.

ACTIVITIES

Now, you know that the SAT is not just a test, it’s an opportunity to develop
new skills, to get around people who have the same crazy ideas for their
lives, and, to a degree, to change yourself.

To succeed in the SAT, I needed certain skills that are quite universal (=skills
that can be applied anywhere): reading comprehension, critical thinking,

14
creativity, and (subjectively) imagination. I did a certain set of activities that
really helped to improve all of the skills listed.

1) Chess - improves critical thinking and focus. Chess requires the players
to be fully immersed in the game to win the game. Both opponents try
to outthink each other, and with one slight lag, another player can
outplay his opponent. Focus and critical thinking are like muscles, you
need to train them. Removing and replacing short-form content and
instead engaging in things that push you to focus and think is the way
to go.

2) Novels - improves critical thinking, focus, reading comprehension,

memory, and imagination. Reading novels is human. It helps you
understand your own kind, your own people, yourself, and the world
around you. On the technical front, reading novels consistently
improves reading comprehension, focus, and imagination.
Reading comprehension: you struggle to understand the sentence, you
learn words, you understand the text, and you better (at least to an
extent) understand English.
Focus: the process of reading a novel is a long one; you might not be
able to finish it overnight; to follow and remember the plot, you have to
keep consistent at it for a prolonged period of time; if you do this
activity long enough, and reach a level where you can sit down and
read a novel for 3-4 hours, your focus will drastically improve; you
may have a good reading comprehension, but if you are not able to
concentrate on the text, you won’t have anything to use your reading
comprehension for.
Critical thinking: novels present various situations that stimulate you
to evaluate a character’s morality, weigh his decisions, and consider the
pros and cons of certain actions. This in turn, heavily bolsters your
questioning and reasoning, the skills you need to ace the Reading
section of the exam.

15
 Imagination: imagination is not a prerequisite, yet having the ability to
picture written context in your mind can be an unparalleled advantage
in solving any question on the DSAT. Remember Command Of
Evidence questions where you are presented with different
experiments, researches, studies, and situations? This is where
visualizing contexts can benefit you the most. + Play more chess to
figure out complex patterns and structures in the arguments given in the
text. Novels can be incredible means of training your imagination
because it makes the reader picture everything he reads in his mind.
Memory: imagine you read the first 4 chapters yesterday and continued
reading the rest today. You struggle to remember who certain characters
were, their roles, and at what point in the story they came in. This
struggle is going to activate your memory to its max. Repeat this same
action enough times, you will be good at remembering things. People
who lack a good memory and are a little forgetful tend to have trouble
remembering the text they read seconds ago and confuse information in
the text a lot, thus ending up choosing the wrong options.

The more and longer you read, the better you are going to develop the
alluded skills.

3) Articles - explore science, global affairs, social science, economics,

business, psychology, and more. I read articles almost every single day.
In people’s perception, articles have become a boring and difficult
‘method’ to improve reading comprehension. NO! A popular
misperception. Articles' inherent purpose is to present a compressed
form of otherwise bulky information in an understandable to the
layman manner. Articles, if taken from the right sources, are very
insightful, be it news articles, science, social science, or economics. I
believe, that we shouldn’t focus too much on the SAT itself, but rather
enjoy the process that enables us to extract maximum fun and benefit
from the test.

16
 Read because (or if) you enjoy the activity, not because you want to
improve the skills above.
4) Writing (Creative writing, posting, documenting, essay writing) -
the BEST way to enlarge lexical resources. Remembering words works
just like remembering people. The more you see a person, the better
you remember him. The more experiences you have with him, the more
familiar he becomes. So is the case with words. The more you use the
words, the better you are going to remember them. The more contexts
you use the word in, the more familiar with the word and its usage you
are going to be.
I used to document my day, experiences, and certain lessons in my blog
on Telegram, and the words I used were the words I freshly jotted down
in my notebook or the words I already knew. I did this particular
activity quite frequently. Therefore, I learned words at an inconceivable
pace. I did not need IVY GLOBAL, COLLEGE PANDA 400 WORDS,
or any other WORD LISTS. I learned more words at a faster pace when
I read abundantly and used the words I discovered more often than did
people learning and memorizing the words from the popular Word
Lists.
Remember, words come from contexts. Get words from contexts, not
from word lists where the word is given and then the context. I do not
refute the entire idea of using word lists to improve vocabulary, but
rather I’d say that for a long-term vocabulary, you would better want to
consume more language and produce your own contexts using the
words you learned than plainly memorizing the word collection,
because you have the odds of forgetting the word collection
Contexts include written and spoken language like novels, articles,
podcasts, YouTube videos, movies, documentaries, etc. My advice:
once you encounter one unfamiliar word, write it down with the
definition(s) of the word, include the context you got it from, and lastly
create your own context/situation using the word in its definition(s).

17
5) Social detox - every person has an extent of influence on you.
Everything you hear, you say, and you do has an impact on your mental
state, which directly affects your overall performance on the test (and
life in general). Filter everyone you spend your time with - make sure
that the people you are with always bring up the best in you. Every
thought matters. If you constantly think that Better distance yourself
from those who infect your mind with negativity, because negativity
drains energy that you need to stay in the most optimal position.
Social media permeates with opinions. There are those that you like
and those that you don’t. You don’t know which one you get. Rather,
stay away from any of it as one undesirable post, and you are caught.
I only interacted with a few of my friends, only those around whom one
could feel energized and powerful. Life is a game that you have to win
no matter what. Right people and thoughts are like cheat codes to win
the game.

18
THE DAILY ROUTINE (ROUGHLY)

*slept 7+ hours every single day

*read at least 2 articles per day every day
*follow a routine consistently

Morning:
1) (8 am-9 am) A set of math problems to reboot your brain
2) (9 am-9.30 am) Some chess to sharpen you up
3) (9.30 am-11 am) News+science/social science: read,
analyze, and learn novel vocabulary.
4) (11 am-11.30 am) Vocabulary recap

Afternoon:
1) (1 pm-2.30 pm) EBRW practice & analysis
2) (2.30 pm-5 pm) Reading a book
3) (5 pm-6.30 pm) EBRW practice & analysis

Evening:
1) (7 pm-8.30 pm) Math practice
2) (9.30 pm-11.30 pm) read
3) (11.30 pm-12 am) solitude. Disconnect from the world, sit
alone with your thoughts, meditate, breathe, reflect, and
self-analyze.
4) (1 am - 9 am) off.

19
TIPS AND NOTES

Self-analysis

Analysis is the only aspect of the prep process that induces

growth. Imagine driving through the city streets. At one point,
you stumble on stumble on a pothole. This incident slightly
damaged the chassis of your car. You understood where the
pothole was and will never drive through that pothole again.

The same is the case with analysis. You need to understand

where you are lagging behind, what questions you are not
getting and why, what position you are in, and how you do not
repeat the same errors ever again. Analysis is important
however long and boring it might not seem.

Rest

Workaholic, motivated insomniac grinders are the first to fail.

Always take care of your health and take as much rest as
necessary to feel fresh and energized. I used to sleep at least 8
hours every single day because I knew a good sleep was
conducive to a productive day. If necessary, take a nap during
the day as well.

Tutors & courses

20
I believe there is value to tutors and courses. There is a ready
guide who offers the ready map, and your mission is to follow
that guide and map to get to the desired point B. Self-studying
is not impossible, but it’s more effective to get a teacher who’ll
walk you through the whole process.

1-2 DAYS BEFORE YOUR EXAM

📌𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 you got on official practice tests. Also,
review all question types on Khan Academy and all the
approaches needed to be taken to solve them.

📌𝐀 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦, do casual things, such as analyzing

practice tests, reading books, khan academy, do not forget to
breathe and eat and drink. Relax, mindset is everything. Do not
concentrate on the test, nor on its results, nor on what to
expect from it. Sleep 10+ hours.

📌𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐩. Close social
media for a day: hard to admit, but we are still prone to be, at
least slightly, influenced by negative people.

📌𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧, 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧 when preparing for the exam. Sugar

hinders brain activity, it makes you too relaxed and less alert.

21