<p>Hey,
Has anyone taken the Princeton Review course? I heard they give you a 200 point guarantee. Does it really work?</p>
<p>depends what you are aiming for.</p>
<p>No. I would not recommend it.</p>
<p>really? why would you not recommend it?</p>
<p>First of all. My CR score went up 10 points. Second of all. My Writing score went up 10 points. Third of all. The whole thing is crap. I recently took a course, and they teach you the same nonsense where you can read about them all in various prep books. If you're paying for the course, I suggest you try looking into TestMaster's or something with that caliber.</p>
<p>Oh wow..that's horrible. You paid all that money for your score to go up 20 points? So..then why do they have the guaranttee? Do they give you additional test prep or something if you don't get 200 or more points?</p>
<p>don't. i also used to really think i needed a course to force myself to spend time, and was THIS close to doing so, but.. considering the prices of the SAT courses, it's not worth it. plus, they don't teach you anything you wouldn't have learned yourself if you had just spent the time to take practice tests and look over your answers.</p>
<p>you just need to take enough tests and KNOW what ETS is looking for, enough so you know the structure (not needing to read instructions and knowing how to manage your time), know that the english they test is standard english, and that many things that are appropriate in spoken english are wrong. practice using a watch. know when to cut your losses. know how to cross out answers, and to skip tiny tiny details in passages, and reread the question after you choose your answer, just to make sure one more time, and yeah. you can learn these things without a stupid course, just through practice alone. and potentially save hundreds or more... think about it, ~$50 in practice books cheap from half.com, or $300-$1000 in a course that's not even substantially more helpful.</p>
<p>on the other hand, if money is no object, then there are a few courses that i hear are okay. such as testmasters or ... eh. maybe testmasters is bad. i think there's something better than testmasters, but i'm short on time right now, so you can find that out yourself.</p>
<p>so.. yeah, i'd recommend not taking it, but it is always comforting to have someone with experience hold your hand all the way through. it's your choice.</p>
<p>fake edit: oh and btw, happy halloween!</p>
<p>ALSO - one more thing. you have access to something many people who take those courses don't know about - CC. you can find out what books and tests are good, and which aren't worth your time. this is also a major reason you are better than SAT courses.</p>
<p>Take it. If you don't go up 200 points you'll get your money back. Thats a pretty sweet deal that no one can guarantee if you self study. Theres a lot of anti prep elitism on this website( ie 'I didn't prep at all and got 2400' barf), often to the detriment of those asking for advice. It's silly.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends took Princeton Review classes and didn't get much improvement. The thing you have to realize is that the classes can only take you so far, the rest is on you. Also, the teachers tend to just read straight from the book that they give you so it doesn't help that much unless you are iliterate.</p>
<p>i took a princeton review course</p>
<p>sat1: 1450--->1870+ (retaking in nov) thats at least 310 points
math2c: 650--->720 thats 70 points</p>
<p>i liked it because it made me practice for the sat/sat2 and i learned many good techniques</p>
<p>They gear the problem for stupid people. This is how you add alg. equations etc etc.</p>
<p>It's retarded. Don't take it.</p>
<p>Most of the mistakes are generally not from lack of knowledge but sloppiness and reasoning behind it. Only effort can help you there.</p>
<p>my bad...420 point increase for sat1</p>
<p>Classes are generally not going to be helpful for anyone whose score is already relatively high and who already knows the basic strategies. A tutor is a much better option as long as you get someone really good. If you live in northern or southern CA and you can afford it, check out <a href="http://www.compassprep.com%5B/url%5D">www.compassprep.com</a>. I scored 1320 (old SAT) before Compass. You can probably guess what I scored on the new.</p>
<p>[Yes, I suppose it is true that anyone can raise their score with the help of CC and enough personal motivation, but that doesn't mean outside help is a bad thing. It's like hiring a personal trainer if you want help getting into shape.]</p>
<p>look. i took the generic kaplan's course and it raised my mark from 1910 june to 2230 oct.</p>
<p>I don't know what to think...</p>
<p>Me
1st Diag test in the class (Jan): 1930
March SAT: 1990
No additional prep- May SAT: 2180</p>
<p>Friend who also took the course
1st Diag (March): 1850ish
May SAT: 2090
Some additional prep- Oct: 2140 (now has a 2180 composite)</p>
<p>Another friend who took the course.
Not sure about where she started but I know she got a 2250 right after taking the course and she was very pleased.</p>
<p>I only took it for math, but I found it very helpful for that, and their diagnotistic tests helped me in verbal and writing anyways. my math improved like 100 points from my psat after taking their course, but i don't think it will help if youre already at like 700 cause the stuff the teach you is very simple, basic stuff. theyll teah you to solve everything other than the last 2 really hard ones in each section it seems</p>
<p>"Take it. If you don't go up 200 points you'll get your money back. Thats a pretty sweet deal that no one can guarantee if you self study"</p>
<p>Better check the fine print on the money-back guarantee.</p>
<p>True. Correction: if you don't go up by 200 points, you can take the course over again.</p>
<p>Dont take princeton review. It is absolutely horrible and a waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>