How to raise my 1230 SAT score?

I know the guy before me said not to worry too much, but I don't think you should shut any doors for yourself by not getting the best score you can get. From the looks of it, you are a smart enough kid. If you have the potential to do well, then why not? At the very least, you'll feel good about yourself and be able to brag about your great scores ;) With enough studying, you can certainly bring your score up to a 1800, or even higher. First I would recommend buying as many SAT prep books and, as painful as it may be, just going through them. The official guide to the SAT from college board is fantastic, and has 10 retired tests which you can use for practice. Kaplan, Baron, Princeton Review, and many other companies also have books that could be useful. More importantly, however, is just to do a lot of reading. That will improve your speed, comprehension, and vocabulary, all of which are huge components of the test. As you read for school or for pleasure, underline and look up any words you come across that you don't know. The only way to guarantee a good score on the test is simply practice. Take all of the tests you can get your hands on, do every practice question in the books, sign up for the college board SAT question of the day, or whatever else you can do to get the raw practice you need. I know it is expensive, but you may want to look into getting a tutor, even just for a session or two to clarify certain aspects of the test, and to help you with the essay. I have done that, and it has proven very useful. Just be diligent and I'm sure you will do excellently!