<p>I am thinking about preping for the SATs over this summer as i must take it next year (since i am a Sophomore in high school right now).</p>
<p>What program do you suggest me taking? I want one that is efficient, not too costly, and just want to hear your past experiences in whatever program you took and how it helped you...</p>
<p>This year i took the PSATs and did not score too well in it, my math grades aren't bad and is my verbal but my writing skills are really lacking...</p>
<p>I would personally say you don't need to pay big money, you just need a few books, but if you want to go the tutor way....
.I would probably say(I know little, just using common sense) to NOT go to one of the big sat prep people (PR, etc) and find some smaller, more local one. Find out what scores the instructor got on the SATS, and get a tutor that will teach you more then just strategies. You would be best off asking the highest scoring seniors at your high school.</p>
<p>I took SAT Prep before. They could only help you so much. the Rest is up to you. Yes, they will give you some tips here and there and suggestions but at the end its up to you. As you keep taking Practice test learn from your mistakes and hope you overcome them.
The only thing that really helps is practice tests. The more you take the better you'll get.</p>
<p>I'm personally squatting in the camp of "You can't study for the SATs". And I know a lot of people dissagree, but this seems to be for opinions based on personal experience. The SATs test reasoning ability, and now, how well you write. It's a bit late in your education to learn critical thinking, you should have had the foundation laid for that when you were a child building lego cities. Now the best thing to do in my experience, is relax, and let come what may. I sat through my SATs in doggy pjs, and I just assumed the mentality "if I don't pass now, I'll pass later. This only shows what I already know". If you're a sophomore, just try to do well in your regular classes, love learning, and the SAT with be nothing to you.</p>
<p>I disagree with the notion that one cannot study for the SAT for writing and math. SAT wrtiting is mostly about grammar rules and success in the math section is a function of one's experience with mathematics.</p>
<p>However, I do agree that studying for critical reading is probably extremely difficult. The CR section is probably the least conductive to preparation and the biggest test of innate ability.</p>
<p>well i'm lucky that next year i will have a very strict Honors English teacher who loves writing and guarentees an improvement in our writing score once finished with her class because she is a grammar freak.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice but my question still remains... i know PR and the other big company programs aren't necessarily that helpful but it does boost self esteem and does teach you somethings if not a lot, which of the big companies do u think is the best or do you have any suggestion of a small company SAT prep i should look into?</p>
<p>I'm taking them in about a month and I'm freaking out about studying, but I think it's probably best to do things like SAT Question of the Day (and take it seriously and read through their explanation of the question) from CollegeBoard.com, and getting a book or two and taking Diagnostic tests and then practice tests every few weeks.</p>
<p>I'm planning hopefully to take Diagnostic Test Thursday, and studying a lot over my spring break (next week) then taking another practice test the weekend after this one. It sucks how I have AP, ACT, SAT, and SAT 2's all together in a clump like this! If you can space them out-do!</p>
<p>It really depends on your situation and your goal. </p>
<p>Assuming that you're aiming for 2300+.....</p>
<p>If you're in the 500s or low 600s in any category, a good prep program WILL help.
High 600s I'd consider a borderline candidate for prep.
Anything in the lower 700s, do yourself a favor, save the few grand and go to Barnes and Noble and buy all the practice books you can find. </p>
<p>If you aren't shooting for perfection, and you're in the 500s or low 600s, it'll probably be better for you to hit the books too.</p>
<p>One last thing..... PSATs mean absolutely nothing, my PSAT was almost 200 pts lower than my SAT</p>
<p>so which of these "good prep programs" have any of you tried and would recommend for me?</p>
<p>Do you live in Jersey? I could recommend a killer SAT program.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, do that, and you're pretty much set for the multiple choice writing portion.</p>
<p>password: pswd</p>
<p>Math, you pretty much just prep for. Verbal, same thing.</p>
<p>i live in New York which makes that a problem...</p>
<p>Thanks a lot though, i can probably try to find one in New York</p>
<p>hmm, idn then. Here in soCal, we have a bunch of nutzo Korean places that are pretty good. From what I heard though, Ivy West is a waste of money. (Get someone who did well to tutor you for lesS)</p>
<p>I took Princeton Review, and it helps if YOU put in the effort. The same goes for all over SAT Prep courses. The only thing prep courses do for you is that it forces you to study. If you're really ambitious, save yourself the $2000, get a few books, and start working!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.smartdoodle.com%5B/url%5D">www.smartdoodle.com</a> - it's free and efficient</p>
<p>honestly, just prep books. courses help little</p>
<p>Taggart, why do you have to live in Jersey for that site to work?</p>