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lucydresd... lucydresd...
 
M$3 March 14, 2009 08:44 PM

What is the best SAT prep course available?

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easyeboy easyeboy
 
 March 15, 2009 12:30 AM
I read a blog in the USA Today that recommended you save your money and not take one of these SAT prep courses. Some of the courses offered by these SAT preparation courses are nearly $1000 a prep course. There are much less expensive options recommended in this blog.

According to the blog, it recommends signing up for Number2.com
http://www.number2.com which is a site created by two Harvard University graduate students. You will get free prep courses online for the SAT.

The College Board at CollegeBoard.com offers free questions and tips as well as a full length SAT for a price. Check out: http://www.collegeboard.com

Here are some others to check out:

ePrep:
http://www.eprep.com
Free videos and test taking tips

TutorVista
http:///www.tutorvista.com
Test prep is outsourced to India and you've got 24-hour access to tutors for less.

This should help you with preparing for the SAT. Good luck!
Source(s):
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/06/sat_prep_course.html



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lon lon
 
March 15, 2009 05:47 PM
I used to teach SAT prep myself, and I can say from experience that this is pretty good advice. Expensive courses that put a student in a group with 10 or so other students is not really the way to go...Often, these courses instill a sense of false confidence ("Oh, I took a course, I don't need to do outside preparation or study vocab lists!") that end up hurting the student's final score.

This does not mean students should not prepare, or even that they should not get a tutor. One-on-one tutoring services can work wonders, even just for an hour or two total.

Excellent use of citations and online resources in this answer, Easye.

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easyeboy easyeboy
 
March 15, 2009 09:34 PM
Thanks, Lon! I went to UCLA over the summer when I was in high school, and took a class in Calculus. I thought that the Calculus class was better preparation for math than any of the people who were enrolled in the Princeton Review SAT prep class. Although there were a ton of people enrolled in SAT group classes, I refused to take this course. What I realized was that I could study it on my own, and do well on the test. I'm sure these people taking these classes got a little higher score, but it's not like studying the tests on your own isn't any less. The best preparation is to study the vocabulary lists and everything on your own. You are right about those thinking they took the class and then they believe they do not have to study extra. I believe those who take classes like this might not have the motivation to study it on their own, which leads them to believe the course is a replacement for self-study.

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cjd cjd
 
March 14, 2009 08:46 PM
I suggest you look on this site for information:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/06/sat_prep_course.html

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jacob peac... jacob peac...
 
March 14, 2009 10:23 PM
I would recommend trying Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. http://www.kaptest.com/index.jhtml
Source(s):
http://www.google.com


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davepamn davepamn
 
March 15, 2009 02:56 AM
My recommendation is that you purchase the Barron SAT 2400 book.

Peterson is good study guide:
1. Master Math for the SAT
2. Master Critical Reading for the SAT
3. Master the SAT 2009
4. Master Writing for the SAT

I recommend studying prior to testing for about six months. There is alot of material to digest.
Source(s):
Preparing for the SAT.


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lon lon
 
March 15, 2009 05:52 PM
Great, very specific answer.

A good study guide is essential, yes, and Barron is probably the best. (I suggest everyone avoid Princeton Review...My experiences with that company and their prep methodology were universally disappointing.)

Boosting a student's score is not magic. It's based on learning and mastering a few basic strategies. One-on-one tutoring can be useful in this pursuit, but a motivated student can probably pick up these on his or her own with a good preparation book and some time. (Six months sounds about right.)

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kenman345 kenman345
 
March 15, 2009 04:53 AM
Having taken the SAT's twice within the last year and having more than a 100 point bump on the second one, I can tell you the best help for the SATs is to get the SAT prep books and do a test, correct it, and then see why you got it wrong. It may be best to do this with some sort of tutur or someone who knows the specific topic better, but basically the SAT prep courses teach you the test and ways to take it. I took the Kaplan SAT prep course and thought it was crap. Their is nothing better than experience so time yourself and take the SAT tests from SAT prep books. Also, relax on the day of the test, you will be more prepared than anyone else and the more stressed you get, the worse you are going to do.

EDIT: Make sure to sign up on the college board website (http://www.collegeboard.com/) and do the SAT question of the day. Its a great way of getting a new question from the people that make the SATs.
Source(s):
Life experience


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pumkin pumkin
 
March 16, 2009 12:48 AM
I got a "page not found" error when I clicked on your link. I think the ) got in the link somehow.
Here's the corrected one: http://apps.collegeboard.com/qotd/question.do

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fkotsianas fkotsianas
 
March 16, 2009 07:19 AM
I second Kenman's answer. I got a pretty high score on the SAT (95th+ percentile), and what I did was do tests over and over and over. I did 1 per week (all in one sitting - spreading it out will give you a false sense of security because you are not working under time constraint) for about 4 months. After each test, I would correct myself, and then go over each question that I missed.

You begin to develop a feel for the types/categories of questions on the SAT, where you should look for the answer, etc. What the Prep classes do is, at an arm and a leg each, give you shortcuts to finding these things that lead you to think you do not know how to figure out the answer on your own. The few valuable things they teach - process of elimination, how to guess - are obvious. Speaking of guessing, don't listen to the "don't guess ever" policy. You have to figure out if guessing is right for you. Do some tests and see if you miss a lot of the ones you guess on; for me, it was bad to guess on vocab, but I generally made good comprehension guesses. If you want a 'guessing rule', a good one is to guess if you can narrow it down to 2 (since you only lose 1/4 of a point, this should be mathematically beneficial) - just try not to be 'lured' by the tasty-looking answers they put on there to test you.

The best collections of test books are published by the CollegeBoard itself (20 REAL SATs, the online course offered on CB (this one is cheap, too - $100, I think?), etc.) - do NOT get one by another company: the word lists are different, the math is different, and they are generally dumbed down. You generally will score 100-200 points better on a non-CollegeBoard SAT, and you will not gain an understanding of the questions on the test.

The last thing I want to say is that, if you do not know how to do a certain type of problem on the test (say, sines and cosines of triangles), do not learn a 'shortcut' to doing it. There is
Source(s):
CollegeBoard.com
Personal experience


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conpecci conpecci
 
March 17, 2009 11:59 AM
The SAT test prep that is good for one person may not work as well for another - we all learn differently so we need to find the test prep method that is best for us - one size doesn't fit all. For example, those of us who have an auditory learning style may not do well with an online test prep course that offers text chat only with the tutor - auditory learners do better with voice communication.

There is a great site out there where you can compare all the test prep providers in one place www.comparetutors.com - check it out and find the style of course and provider that will work best for you.
Source(s):
www.CompareTutors.com


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