<p>I'm looking at Veritas, Kaplan, and Princeton Review for my kids; can anyone recommend the best online, instructor-led course? Do you think individual tutoring through the same companies is better? Please do not tell me to have the kids read the prep books on their own; they are not self-directed types.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Look for a private tutor as classroom led tutoring services are pretty much useless
and do not help very much. Either private tutoring or if you are capable of studying on your own… two of your best choices. Of course, if you choose to go ahead, go veritas, go kaplan go princeton. I have experienced classroom led tutoring… didn’t abet me so much as to maybe 100 points increase</p>
<p>I can’t resist, but it’s hard to do well if the kids don’t. But that’s the end of my lecture (phew!). Now on to your question. 1-on-1 tutoring is A) better and B) more expensive. Online group classes are A) so-so, mostly provides an introduction to the test and B)fairly expensive. Ideally, you would go for 1-on-1 tutoring every time, but there happens to be this interesting concept called “money” that exists. If you bear the costs, try the private tutoring. As a side suggestion, perhaps you as the parent could get involved, study with them personally, and try to motivate them. On the flip side, I do not know the full details of your situation, so you may very well be quite busy and cannot afford to spend that kind of time with your children, which is perfectly understandable and ends my long, rambling sentence. </p>
<p>Let me simplify: Weigh your options. Private tutoring if you can. Oh, and good luck to your children. They are lucky to have such a concerned mother. :-)</p>
<p>Chill, thank you. I don’t know what else to do.</p>
<p>Depress, thank you. I did spend years of working with them individually and it did help much. I wanted to return to school myself and work, and as I’m finally doing that now, I don’t have the time. However, I do have the resources to afford them whatever works best. I found an incredible tutor for an AP class for them, but this is my first time with SAT prep and I didn’t know which company with which to go. If I make the decision for private tutoring, I’m wondering if I should even go with the known companies, and maybe find someone on my own, as I did with AP. Hmmm…</p>
<p>I should add that I was the same at their age, and I did irreparable harm to my GPA in my early years in college. Harm that today, I’m still trying to overcome. I gave myself the big kick later, and I became self-directed. I know they have to want to do the same on their own, but I don’t want them to do that same harm I did, and regret it years later, as I am. Thanks again!</p>
<p>You may want to read my article “Should you take a prep course for the SAT.” It’s posted somewhere on this forum. Just do a search.</p>