<p>wat is that manual called that the princeton review give to you for taking their classes?</p>
<p>Bump........</p>
<p>and the answer has not changed much. </p>
<p>Most books on the market have some qualities but none are perfect. There is only one book that is indispensable: the official College Board study guide. The next best books are the older version of the same book. Why: because they are the ONLY tests worth using for your practices. For all the Barron's supporters, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there is ZERO validity that the so-called harder tests present advantages. The synthetic tests written by the wannabe-writers working for Barron's -as any other similar outfit- are simply worthless. PERIOD! </p>
<p>As far as prep books, the first generation of books that came out during last summer and before the unveiling of the test by TCB were all pretty dismal. Books such as Adam Robinson's RR and especially Pete Edwards' Maximum SAT raised the bar considerably. They are MUCH better options than the PR and Kaplan's early offerings. The bible published by Gruber has always been a "good friend" to SAT students but its best use is as an information source only. Use the book as a supplement to your own practicing efforts. Look up the strategies while working through your tests ... do not try to study first and test later. You WILL give up sooner or later and waste time. </p>
<p>As usual, I am recommending -when feasible- to buy the different books or check them out at the library. Most bookstores offer generous return policies. Get the books, take a good look at the strategies WHILE working through the Official TCB book and find out FOR YOURSELF what makes sense. Keep the books you do like and return the rest. Do not even look at the tests, unless you like to be led in the wrong direction. </p>
<p>FWIW, I'm ordering a few of the "new" books and will gladly change my opinion if they do show improvement ... but I'm not holding my bated breath. If PR, Kaplan, and Barron's were unable to write decent tests for the OLD SAT -despite years of available information- I have little hope that they got better in a few months. </p>
<p>And remember that there are NO shortcuts nor secrets to a great score.</p>
<p>Thank you sooo much for your input, xiggi. I enjoy reading your strategy and your opinions regarding the SATs.</p>
<p>And yes, this subject is the most redundant on CC, as said by xiggi. I truly apologize to those who think it's annoying to see another thread about the "best SAT prep book". It's just that I've heard many different ratings on many books, and I'm not sure which one is the "best" one to use. </p>
<p>Thanks to those who gave great suggestions! :)</p>
<p>i used rocketreview. math went from 540-> 700, CR stayed the same and writing went from 620->660 (i barely used it for writing actually). anyhow, it works (except for that damn essay grading thing... it kept giving me 11's and i got an 8 on the real thing.. oh well) all in all its a good resource (better than PR for me)</p>
<p>xiggi, many great things were said about McGraw-Hill's book for the SAT. However, since it was released last summer in 2004, would this book be "dismal" as well?</p>
<p>I think Gruber is much too long a read for anyone who's busy with their school life. I say, CUT.</p>
<p>xiggi, or anyone else, I'm still thinking about getting Rocket Review however, I don't want a manuscript that's adapted from old PR techniques. I haven't looked it over, is the material in there new and correct? Or is it one of those "could do without books?"</p>
<p>Good thread.</p>
<p>Let's change the topic a little... how about the best book for ACT? :)</p>
<p>I guess I'm a barron's supporter becuase that was the first test prep book I bought and when I took the real test, I increased 170 points. I found the real test to be easy and went above my expectations. That was it-no real tests besides the one they sent you for free. While it may not be proven if harder tests are better, it raised my score either way.</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick reply, stix2400!</p>
<p>So anyways, what are some recommendations for the best ACT book out there?</p>
<p>Why are you changing the thread in the middle? There are so little ACT books, it is not hard to figure out. Also, studyin for the SAT is ismilar to studying for the ACT, except time is a restraint on the ACT.</p>
<p>Well for one the official act guide.</p>
<p>Grubers SUCKS!</p>
<p>Haha... gigante, I just thought that I could talk about prep books for the ACT instead of the repetitive recommendations / suggestions on the SAT prep books.</p>
<p>I just finished Rocketreview. It's good only if you have a low starting score and have abs. no idea about the SAT</p>