SAT preparation?

Question

I want to take the SAT in the spring and want to get 3 or 4 books to study. I know for sure I'm getting the "Official SAT Study Guide" and I'm going to need the "Hot Words for the SAT" so I need opinions for which other book I should get. My GPA isn't so strong so I need good SAT scores. Here's my list:

-Official SAT Study Guide
-Hot Words for the SAT
-Cracking the SAT, by Princeton Review
-Barron's SAT 2400:Aiming for the Perfect Score
-Barron's Critical Reading Workbook for the SATs
-Cracking the SAT Math 1 & 2 Subject Tests

Anyone who's taken the SAT, which book was most useful? and is it necessary to get SAT Subject Test books to study?

Answer 1

It depends what you feel your level is right now, and how much work you feel you need.

The regular Barrons is great for average students, or those just starting their test prep. It's middle of the road in terms of difficulty, but it presents the material well, broken up into sections so you can learn the answers.

If the Barron's is too easy for you, or once you've learned all you can from it, decide whether you really want to challenge yourself or keep going at the same average level and perfect your skills.

If you want to prepare yourself for the hardest questions possible (harder then you will see on the SAT) so that the rest looks easy, then use Gruber's. (Do not start with Gruber's unless you're already super-prepared or a really good student. It will only be frustrating.)

If you'd rather just continue trying more realistic practice questions, both Princeton Review and Kaplan are pretty much the same. Princeton review maybe has better explanations, and Kaplan is laid out in a nicer format, but I've never found a huge difference between the two of them.

The Official SAT study guide is almost useless as a study guide. Most other books are better than it is for that purpose. But, why you MUST have it is for the full-length practice tests. Those are the only "real" questions, and that's how you should FINISH your studying -- by doing full tests over and over again.

Don't do full practice tests (other than every now and then to check progress) until the bulk of your "studying" is done. You should study topic by topic from the study guides that have similar questions grouped together, so that you get the hang of the different sub topics. Many students find it too frustrating to study only from the tests because they have to process all different kinds of questions at once when they really should be learning how to do one kind well, then moving on to the next kind etc.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

If you want to build your vocabulary, I would suggest books by George Orwell, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien, even J. K. Rowling (surprising as it is, her books incorporate a lot of Latin-based words, which is where a lot of SAT vocab comes from), and so on. Really, though, just find an author that's a little bit above your reading level with a topic that interests you and read their books. Being interested in the storyline makes it easier to infer the meaning of some words, and, at least for me, made me want to find out what they meant if I didn't understand stuff. =) (I don't think that last sentence made any sense at all, but oh well.) Good luck on your SAT!

Answer 3

I've used the official SAT study guide. It was somewhat helpful. I really didn't use it that much. I'd recommend just starting off with one SAT book and if you finish it, then buy another. Everyone says they're going to prepare so much for the SAT but few people actually get around to it.

Answer 4

My best advice would be to look online for sat test or sat test preparation and you should find practice tests you can take, first of all, and second, go to a health food store and get some DMAE, a natural substance with no side effects but it has been shown over some 20 odd years to increase your memory and concentration. I take it myself now and the and every student I have recommended it to has thanked me for how it helped them.
Good Luck on the tests!!

Answer 5

Too much information. Go to Kaplan, arguably the foremost place on the SAT and get the proper study guides and mock tests.

Answer 6

Take an SAT prep course. They may cost $500, but they make a big difference.

Answer 7

Why not just take an IQ test? You don't even need to study for one, just show up? What's so important about the SAT test that an IQ test won't tell you?

Answer 8

get them all and take the tests as much over and over again in each one. That will insure getting a high score.