CC Poll: Taking an SAT/ACT Prep Course?

<p>sat prep classes (I have been told) can be beneficial because you can hear the other questions/concerns from students. this is helpful as long as they are similar academically to you.</p>

<p>My D scored a 25 on her ACT without any prep classes or materials. Her BFF originally scored a 19 and then got a 23 after taking a couple prep classes. I just signed up my D with a private tutor at $35 per session. After seeing how much it helped her BFF and needing a 26 to get into the Honor College at her school of choice, I think it’s a good investment. Should she score a 27, she’ll earn another $1,000 per year in merit scholarships, and with a 28, she’ll earn full tuition. A mom can dream, can’t she?</p>

<p><em>used no real prep methods</em> </p>

<p>I don’t know what to put…</p>

<p>1950->~2350ish after a prep class. definitely worth it.</p>

<p>I took a one month ACT prep course at Sylvan Learning Center in August after taking the ACT for the first time in June. My score went from a 26 in June to a 30 in September, without much prep over the summer. I dont know if its the prep class itself that helped me improve so much or if I got a low score in June because it was my first time and I was super nervous.</p>

<p>Went from 185 PSAT (No prep) -> 2190 SAT (Prep class) -> 2310 (Self prep).</p>

<p>Having someone who actually knew a lot about the SAT there to explain how to solve problems and learn from my errors helped tremendously. I did about two months of tutor-prep and my score went up a lot. After I learned the basic SAT methodology from my tutor, I practiced a lot and polished my skills on my own and went up 120 points. So I guess it’s a bit of both for me.</p>

<p>However, one thing I will emphasize is the importance of what you learn in school. We did a lot of writing and passage comprehension prep in AP Language, and that definitely helped with the Critical Reading questions. The stuff I learned in AP World and US History definitely helped with potential essay topics as well. And I feel like there’s an overall wisdom that you gain as you go along in high school that just helps you tackle the SAT exam better. Call me crazy, but that’s just my opinion.</p>

<p>I’m about to take the test, but I did prep. I think it helped a lot and my practice scores went up 3 points on the ACT. But still I haven’t taken the actual test guess we will see. I think im more prepared tho.</p>

<p>Took a 6 week local prep course where 81% score higher than 2100, and was able to boost my score from a 1710 to a 2200(first try). I attended a class twice a week for three hours, as well as a practice test every Saturday. In my opinion, it was not necessary to me getting the score I wanted, but it definitely motivated me to put in the work.</p>

<p>I have taken two SAT prep courses and one ACT course. All three with Kaplan. ~$1,500
Very helpful.
Raised my scores on the SAT.
Not sure about the ACT as I am taking it tomorrow.</p>

<p>first sat - 2030
second sat - 2090
third sat - 2290 </p>

<p>difference on the third? I actually opened up my blue book that I had bought after the first test and stuck my head in it for a week. 6 practice tests later, I felt much better about what the test was looking for. </p>

<p>Some may benefit from courses, especially if it’s a low score from the start, but for most all it takes is some serious determination and a blue book.</p>

<p>I took it the summer before my junior year. Helped me jump about 300 points, but then i self studied and jumped another 200. I think the prep class didn’t help that much except with grammar/writing. I think it was the fact that we took a model test every week for 10 weeks straight was the reason for score increases.</p>

<p>Is there any free online material? As in tutorials like khan academy</p>

<p>Wow! That was so incredibly rude. If you’re so perfect maybe you shouldn’t be on a website for college hopefuls, and people willing to help out those hopefuls. What you’re doing isn’t helping anyone.</p>

<p>My mum wants to take tutor for me ,but I donot want to prep with tutor…</p>

<p>I took a group SAT prep course. It helped me up to a certain point, and after that it sort of lost its usefulness because it catered to average, middle-range students rather than higher scoring ones. I think that taking a course or getting a tutor can be helpful for some because the regular meetings of the course would force the student to stay focused on preparation. Without the class, I wouldn’t have had the self-discipline to make time to study for the SAT. But knowing that every week, I had this day and that time slotted for SAT prep helped me dedicate time to study. Plus, the simulated practice tests helped me familiarize myself with the testing format in a relatively short time, a familiarity that is extremely helpful in raising one’s score. (in only 6 weeks I went from an 1830 to a 2190). </p>

<p>Just putting my opinion out there.</p>

<p>Prep course for me. </p>

<p>Before: 1800’s
After: 2360+</p>

<p>Time commitment: 20 hours over 1.5 months</p>

<p>I think an important distinction to make is whether or not the prep courses and self-prep were spent teaching one’s self strategies, or spent just as… practice.</p>

<p>What helps the most is taking the test over and over. I went up 240 points on the SAT by doing that</p>

<p>I believe tutor/Prep Course are more beneficial to those below 2000ish.</p>

<p>Once you’re pretty high up, I believe self prep is the way to go.</p>

<p>I have taken both the ACT and SAT once each and have not taken any self-prep courses. I’m a decent test-taker and I did well on my tests so I don’t see myself taking any self-prep courses in the future.</p>