<p>Do not use PR if you have over a 1300. Use a more specialized program, usually a local company. I used StudyWorks and am very pleased with my improvement.</p>
<p>the with PR is many of the kids started out WITH a 900 or 1000... you're damn straight they are gonna improve 100 or 200 points ;)</p>
<p>Think what you will, and I am sure individual experiences differ, but my D was a high scorer (not in the 900-1200 range) the first time and the online PR review helped her immensely. I guess you DO have to be 1) a good student, 2) self-motivated, and 3) a positive thinker. By the way, my D didn't think the course was doing any good WHILE she was taking it, but obviously it did. She was in the 99th percentile on V. after taking the course and improved greatly on the M (which is not her strength) as well.</p>
<p>lelalellen:</p>
<p>Did your child have a privet tutor for each subject (math and verbal)? I would love to have a ~~~~~~~ tutor but don't think i can afford that. How much is that, like 2,000+? </p>
<p>Godot:
HOw do u look for a local ~~~~~~~ tutoring company? Phone book under SAT's? lol</p>
<p>~~~ = S A T</p>
<p>"The thing that helped me the most was to use 0,1, -.5 for the quant comp."</p>
<p>Amnesia or anyone else, what does this mean? (I'm a parent who's been far away from math for a long time but I am curious....)</p>
<p>Kaplan has a program that used to be called Score Choice and now has another name. You can buy as few as 6 hours one-on-one with a tutor. If you already know some of the tricks from prep books, you don't waste time hearing all that again. You can use their center and take lots of prep tests if you want, and have access to the website. It is a little cheaper than the class you described and has the advantage that the tutor can tailor the lessons to what YOU really need to improve. You can ask for lots of homework between sessions to make the most of the few sessions you've bought. You can buy a few more if necessary, if you want more help for a retake of the test too.</p>
<p>you know when you have x > 0 x-y
A B C D</p>
<p>Something like that... you will see them. I use those numbers to check and make sure i get them right.</p>
<p>Masha, yes, the PR One on One tutoring is $2700 for 24 hours. You get 12 hours each from a math and verbal tutor. </p>
<p>But Masha... you seem to be the type of kid who is more proactive regarding the SAT than my son...(he's very proactive in other things, just not the SAT prep... although he is enjoying the tutoring and doesn't complain about the practice work) you are here on this site asking questions, really seeking to do better... For that reason, I bet you would be fine self-prepping! The books do seem to guide you through and teach you the special hints that the tutors teach. It seems the most important component in prepping for the SAT, whether self or tutored, is PRACTICE!! You can do that on your own! </p>
<p>If you're still wanting to be tutored, I'd look under Educational Services in the phone book... Huntington Learning Center and Sylvan are some other companies that were more inexpensive than PR!</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>I would not recommend taking PR, don't know about the other ones, I went in trying to raise my verbal score, had a 540 when i went in and came out with the same thing!
Didn't get a cent back, they did offer me more classes, but their classes are pretty weak, you can do all that urself, after u pay, they'll tell you that there is no one to help u but urself. They never said that before i paid. Anyway, I don't know about other courses. But for me, PR wasn't helpful at all. i studied on my own for 2 months and jumped from a 1170ish to a 1400 (wish still isn't that great, but i tried my best :()</p>
<p>there is this place called Elite that I went to over the summer and that place really did prepare me. I went in with like a 1250 avg and when i was taking the test there... my highest score was like 1510. But then again, it's also because the people gave sooooooo much homework... buh bottom line: this place really teaches you all the tricks you have to know to do well.....oh and i forgot to mention.. this place is super duper expensive....</p>
<p>I really think that the best way to prepare is to take practice tests, l got a 1600 my first time and my only preparation was to take practice tests and look up words in the tests I didn't know. I know it won't work for everyone, but I think test taking skills and such become second nature after you've taken a few practice tests. It's a boring solution, but I find that it's better to focus on knowing the vocab, reading a lot, and practicing writing instead of filling your head with strategies.</p>
<p>Do NOT take Huntington or Sylvan! (Huntington's classes are especially ineffective.) I've heard terrible things about both companies. Look under something like Test Preparation Instruction and/or Tutoring in your phonebook. You should be able to find a few companies. Good luck.</p>
<p>Masha,
No, my d used the online Princeton Review course, which was far less expensive than the classroom course. She is a bright, self-motivated student, so this worked well for her. The online course DOES offer the same guarantee as the classroom course, and takes a little over a month to complete.</p>
<p>You know, in some areas PR does have that honors course for high scorers. But if you are in a class you don't like because others are slacking, see if you can switch to another section. There's always gonna be a slacker somewhere - my psych class was like that!</p>
<p>I was watching a rerun of "Yes Dear" the other day (I was home sick and bored!!) and one of the women on there who got pregnant and married right out of high school is trying to go back to school. She was taking an SAT prep class and there was a slacker sitting next to her, who was like, "Yeah, who cares, I'll get a great job out of high school, who needs college?" So she finally said, "Ok, come with me" and had him go home with her, where he met her two insane kids and her security guard husband, and learned they had $23 in their checking account. That convinced him to study for the SAT. LOL.</p>
<p>Masha,
as the other posters have noted, there are a couple of issues to think about. If you are not disciplined enough to put the time in on your own, taking a course or retaining a tutor will help inspire you to put in the work. </p>
<p>If you decide to self study, another question is do you have someone around that can help if needed? My son went the self-study route, improving 180 points from his PSAT to his SAT (old style SAT with just m and v). But - he had his dad for math help if he got stuck, and me for verbal. We also set up mock practice sessions for taking tests from the 10 reals - did about 4 of those. </p>
<p>The suggestion that I like the best is to do some self study, and then get a tutor in to help with the rough spots. If you do a couple of practice tests over winter break you will have a pretty good idea which pieces need polishing. A good tutor (check those references!) could really be useful.</p>
<p>Whichever route you take, it is very important that you identify your problem areas and work on them directly. When you get a wrong answer, you have to figure out why you got it wrong, and what thought-process you need to get it right. Finally, if you look at the old site, a poster named Xiggi provided a lot of really useful information on SAT self-study. I suggest that you look these up. </p>
<p>Best wishes - its a lot of hard work, but it should pay off in the end.</p>
<p>My daughter, who has a visual disability and therefore a hard time with the verbal section, went to Huntington Learning center. My older daughter had tried the Princeton review course, and hadn't gained a whole lot from it. HLC is extrememly expensive. They tried to sign us up for 50 hours of lessons, at a total of more than $4000! We went for 8 lessons or so, the first being a full-length diagnostic. That was followed by a session to go over the test, with a woman who had been talked up by the manager as a perfect fit....yea. This woman didn't know much, and couldn't pronounce some of the vocabulary words and couldn't read fluently---she was not even foreign. That was that. We asked for another teacher. The new one is a gem. We're still not going for all 8 lessons because its a ripoff, but my daughter's verbal score has gone up more than 100 points in 2 lessons. This woman is someone who knows how to teach. The first one couldn't have scored very well on anything. I'm not at all sure that HLC has a minimum score for their teachers to have gotten to get hired. That place was spooky. There are lots of little kids who come several times a week, at $150 a lesson, to just do enrichment. I guess they're the ones who will eventually score 2400 on the first go. Stay away from HLC, and maybe try to go for a private teacher.</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I think taking practice exams is the right way to start studying. You need to practice with the questions a lot to get a good score.</p>
<p>I also think that unless you really plan to work at it, an expensive course isn't going to be worth it. You can't just sit through the class and expect to be ready to take the test. You really have to put in some work.</p>
<p>I found some checklists at <a href="http://www.testpedition.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.testpedition.com</a> that have helped me. They were free at the time I signed up.</p>
<p>Lisa</p>