<p>How come people keep bashing SAT studying classes. Are you guys talking about actual classes or the books like the ones Kaplan has at Barnes & Noble. I've gotten myself the Kaplan Premier program book for 35 bucks, it seems to be preparing not too bad.</p>
<p>I wouldn't pay one dime for any SAT or ACT preparation group class. You can self-study and get all the benefits using materials from your public library or the College Board or ACT online study materials.</p>
<p>Depends. I've got friends who say it helps a lot (e.g. huge score boost, 200-300 points) but on the other hand, I've got friends who say they are pretty useless. Either way, it depends from person to person really.</p>
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You can self-study and get all the benefits using materials from your public library or the College Board or ACT online study materials.
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<p>what materials?</p>
<p>i agree w/ quesce. i've heard all 4 stories.
people that take prep classes and it helps ALOT
people that take prep classes and do worse/same
people that don't prepare at all and still do pretty well (me)
people that don't prepare at all and don't do well</p>
<p>it varies from person to person.</p>
<p>agree with quesce, also. if you want a score for state schools/mid-level schools (1200-1800) you can probably score that without any prep. if you want a chance at selective private schools (1800-2000) you may need a book and some practice tests to teach you lessons and give you the necessary experience. if you're aiming for the ivies (2000-2400), a tutor or online course may be necessary. but then again, some people get 2400s without studying..specifically for the SAT. so it's best to take a practice test w/o studying or purchasing any materials, and then assess how much improvement you need. prep courses are not useless, although PR and Kaplan classroom courses rarely give you personal attention/cost too much/move too slowly for many of the CC members, understandably..but some people benefit from that pace. so look for the option that's right for you. online course/book/tutor...free/paid...it all depends.</p>
<p>I do agree to some extent that it depends on the student, however I am almost positive that self-studying is definitely more efficient than learning from someone who most likely has very little knowledge of the strategies that are vital to do well. Maybe I am being a bit biased, but I haven't heard of any signifigant increases through a review class.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think it depends on your "learning style."</p>
<p>Personally, I think I can learn as much SAT/ACT prep from a book as a tutor...I think.</p>
<p>but if your in a class, you will most likely do the hw (idk, there are some ppl that do their hw anyways, but if your a geek like me (but obviously still pimp ;)) you will do your hw no matter how late it is), and some ppl may not b motivated to self-study</p>
<p>i took 2000 dollars class during the summer. And after that class prep, I wanted to shoot someone. Any questions?</p>
<p>SAT prep classes probably won't help</p>
<p>unless you are scoring very low (1500's), SAT classes won't help 90% of the time (and for places like PR,kaplan,elite,etc., make that 100%)</p>
<p>peteyflow-i feel the same way, my score went down from 2000 to 1920 after a summer prep course lol</p>
<p>and then afterwards i took a few practice sections by myself and scored 200+pts higher</p>
<p>i took kaplan i did 200 points better not still what i wanted...I had a math tuter but no for such a long time. HOnestly i think the tuter helped more than the class eventhough the class was bout 12 hours and i only sat down with a tuter for 2.</p>
<p>There's a tutor by me that hasn't had a student get under like a 2100 ever. She costs more than our car payment though, so I need to take the SAT and SAT IIs like fast lol.</p>
<p>SAT Prep classes aren't THAT bad..for PrincetonReview, I had a really intelligent instructor..and his advice, more than PR's stuff helped me out :)</p>
<p>Here's what my dad tells me.</p>
<p>In SAT Prep Classes: you memorize vocabs, give u strat (most of them u can find in usual prep books), take a practice tests and review/analyze them.</p>
<p>You can do these without paying thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>BUT! If you can't study on your own (such as too many friends, computer geek, etc) Prep classes will make you study.</p>
<p>The thing about these ultra elite prep programs is that they don't accept anyone if they're not scoring a certain amount. That's the reason that they are able to have their kids get high scores. If you start out doing nothing getting a good score, you do some work--you can get a great score. It's pretty logical.</p>
<p>Prep classes will not make you study ALL the time though. Friends of mine took prep classes and barely did the work. Their scores went down. If anything, prep classes allow you to be lazy because you're just sitting htere listen to the teacher explaining it -- not doing it. I think taking responsibility for yourself and doing it yourself is the best way. At most, it will cost $100...much better. =]</p>
<p>How does your Dad know that? Has he taken one lately? LOL.</p>
<p>I took a Kaplan group class with a base score of 2220. The class itself bored me out of my mind, and was focused on very basic strategies. I spent most of the actual class time doing the hw that I hadn't done beforehand. </p>
<p>However, in the end, I was glad I'd taken the course. Because despite the fact that I despised "wasting" so many hours of my life in a pointless class...I knew I wouldn't have put in the effort otherwise. I'm just not that motivated, nor did I have the free time. (A class forced me to "make" time). So being forced to do full practice tests and sets of practice problems did help me. The class itself? Nah.</p>
<p>So I guess my point is, if you can honestly commit yourself to working hard, you don't need a class. But if you need to force yourself to put in the effort, then a class can be good.</p>
<p>If I started with a 2220, I wouldn't have taken a class. There's not much they can teach you at that level; it's about practice then.</p>
<p>I got 1930 and will take a Testmasters course this August and September. Hopefully I'll be able to reach 2100.</p>