<p>I seem to have a lot of time on my hands these days since state-mandated testing is coming up, and teachers won't be able to assign homework. I decided to use this free time to prep for the PSAT which I will be taking this October. I will be taking this as a sophomore though I still intend to prepare for it. The only book I have is a Kaplan 2005 PSAT book and a PR 2005 SAT book.</p>
<p>What are some good books besides the Blue Book that I can use to prep for it? My junior year, would it be worth it to take a $1200 PSAT prep course? Thanks for all your help.</p>
<p>-cooljoe</p>
<p>I used Kaplans (but it was the most recent version), and did well with it. You will probably do fine with a book and some practise tests. I REALLY would not advise spending $1200 unless you are quite rich... :-) It's not worth it. Just study on your own...practice tests, and more practice tests, and be sure to look over the answers, maybe even checking over the ones you get right.</p>
<p>Don't plan yet on taking a course. You might not need it. I think the books you have now to prep for the PSAT will be fine. You don't need to go overboard, and if you exhaust materials now, you won't have much left for your SAT next year (the publishers come out with new books every year but not entirely new tests).</p>
<p>Anyone else please?</p>
<p>I really do not think that you should take the prep course. You probably won't need it, and in general, I have a bad opinion of the courses. From what I hear, they didn't really help people I know very much. Plus, it's really a practice test, so don't do the course.</p>
<p>In terms of preparing, I would get some books. I liked the Princeton Review PSAT book, which had a nice size vocabulary list. It's only the PSAT, so do not go crazy and try to memorize every word. A list of a few hundred is fine. The best thing to do is practice tests. Take a lot of them. I took practice tests in PR and Barron's.</p>
<p>I do no reccomend the Kaplan PSAT book. The one that I had (I think the 2005 edition) had a lot of errors, especially some math formulas that were blatantly wrong.</p>
<p>Oh no, I have the Kaplan 2005 book! Anyway, I still haven't used it that much.</p>
<p>Any advice for SAT books? If I prep for the SAT, I guess I'll kill 2 birds with 1 stone.</p>
<p>On an unrelated note, TAKS testing is lame.</p>
<p>It's the PSAT. Your $1200 will only buy you a National Merit Scholar position, only if you do extremely well. The PSAT does not count for anything. Buy a $20.00 review book or two, take the practice tests, and study the vocab, and concentrate on your weaker areas. Nothing more than that-- I'm sure you'll do fine!</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Yeah, TAKS testing is such a waste of time.</p>
<p>You SHOULD prepare for the psat with a prep course. People say "What can you learn from that?" You can learn a lot. Especially from Princeton Review. They go over vital strategies that helped me get a 232. The most important thing is practice and the pr gives really good practice that is sure to show up on the real thing. You should take this seriously since colleges give extra consideration to merit scholars. $1200 is not a big deal if it helps you get into a top college.</p>
<p>Personally, I think if you're capable of achieving above a 200, you don't need a review course. In most cases, the scorer has the motivation to do well and will study from a review book. If you plan on taking a review course for the SAT, which I recommend, don't waste another $1200 for the PSAT, where they teach you the exact same material you would learn for the SAT. Princeton Review uses the same materials for the PSAT & SAT. Merit Scholar positions, while they do look good on applications, it won't guarantee you a spot in college. There are around 16,000 semifinalists or something to that number and even more commended students. If you plan on applying to an Ivy or top school, most students are Merit Scholars, so it won't really be taken into consideration. Relax. It's only the PSAT. It does not count for anything.</p>
<p>Yeah. The whole SAT tutor and review course thing has gotten ridiculous. Seriously, there's only one reason somebody smart should take a review course: if you will not pick up the book and review on your own, at least the courses force you to allot a certain amount of time to preparation.</p>
<p>Now, PSAT courses and SAT II courses are even more ridiculous. They can't hurt, but I can't see spending that much money when you can just buy a book. Some people will say that the courses teach you strategies. But the best way to learn strategies are not to just accept ones you see. What I reccomend is reading the strategies offered in several books, take practice tests with each strategy, and see which one works best for you.</p>
<p>So the bottom line is - just take practice tests. It's the best preparation for almost any test.</p>
<p>NO. EVERYONE IS A COMPETITOR. NATURALLY OTHERS SEEK TO LOWER YOUR SCORE! Take the prep course, it will help you. There is no harm in it. Every little bit of effort helps.</p>
<p>Well, I got a 2250 on a practice SAT, so I still have some room for improvement. I probably won't take a prep course unless I have to. I heard Test Masters is pretty good. Anyone have any opinions of it?</p>
<p>A decent score. Testmasters can help make that an excellent score and possibly even a perfect score. It is true that one can get a high score by self studying, but taking a course like Testmasters help prepares you better. It teaches you how to be an SAT machine, systematically doing each problem guaranteeing a near perfect score each time.</p>
<p>A 2250 is an amazing score. The PSAT course (especially Princeton Review's) you will find to be a waste of time. These courses are more geared towards lower-scoring students. It will require you to dedicate time to studying, but I think you will find that you will be very bored and won't feel challenged. Stick with the practice tests. Get as many as you can. Buy some of the strategy books if you want to learn strategies. I'm just trying to save you or your parents $1200. A 2250 is an amazing score. I would not sweat it. You will see that it is very hard to raise your score the last 150 points, but I don't think Princeton Review or any other prep course will teach you to raise the 150 points. Those will just come from being exposed to the various types of questions. So take as many practice tests and don't sweat it.</p>
<p>Thanks, guys. In fact, I'm going to take a practice test right now to see if I've improved any.</p>