<p>Hello, I was wondering what the best SAT and ACT prep books are. It would also help me greatly if you told me how they personally helped you. Thanks!</p>
<p>Hey nimonn, There are a lot of great resources and books out there. I would first recommend Grubers because they teach strategy and critical thinking over question patterns which made it a whole lot easier for me to arrive at the right answer without that much effort. The math section is especially helpful as they teach you the simple way to tricky problems (the “harder” problems ended up being easiest for me.) The practice tests were also quite difficult, which is GREAT because it is like training with weights on - it makes the regular SAT easier. You get the best value for this book at Amazon.</p>
<p>I also recommend combining it with the big blue SAT book by the College Board, which I only used for the practice tests. The prep material in it is pretty much useless. Hot Vocab Words for the SAT is great because it presents words that are related to each other (helping you learn the meanings quicker than with alphabetized lists.) </p>
<p>As far as the ACT, they have a great prep tool for that online. It’s called ACTropolis. Sounds lame, but it was very helpful for me (got a 35). </p>
<p>AceJuniorYear.com also has some great reviews and resources for the SAT, Subject Tests, and the ACT. ([Ace</a> Junior Year | Recommended SAT Books](<a href=“http://acejunioryear.com/sat/recommended-sat-books/]Ace”>http://acejunioryear.com/sat/recommended-sat-books/))</p>
<p>Links to Amazon:
Grubers 2011 - [Amazon.com:</a> Gruber’s Complete SAT Guide 2011, 14E (9781402237775): Gary Gruber: Books](<a href=“http://amzn.to/iaxGlR]Amazon.com:”>http://amzn.to/iaxGlR)
Hot Words - [Amazon.com:</a> Hot Words for the SAT (9780764144790): Linda Carnevale: Books](<a href=“http://amzn.to/eco2U7]Amazon.com:”>http://amzn.to/eco2U7)
The Official SAT Practice Test - [Amazon.com:</a> The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition (9780874478525): The College Board: Books](<a href=“http://amzn.to/eCq8dt]Amazon.com:”>http://amzn.to/eCq8dt)</p>
<p>Hope this isn’t too rambly, but there is so much to say about each of these resources! Best of luck and please reply if you need any clarification.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! :]</p>
<p>I agree completely with ronee90. Additionally if you search around of these threads you’ll find an extensive list of books that target specific areas. While Gruber’s is amazing for math, as the section is so comprehensive, I would definitely suggest looking at Barron’s (as it is more difficult, and extra practice to help cut out those silly mistakes never hurts!).</p>