<p>I'm just wondering what goes on during those sessions and what you thought about your experience.</p>
<p>I have! It is mostly practice questions and tests that they give you.</p>
<p>Did you do a class? And did you do any outside preparation other than that?</p>
<p>I did a prep class. I am usually motivated and prepared on my own through many prep books. But I owe most of my improvement to my prep course.</p>
<p>I had a tutor, who really helped me, especially in the critical reading section. We focused on that almost exclusively, and it really boosted my score (in my opinion). I was a high-scorer on the PSAT and practice tests, but I wanted to make sure that I felt totally comfortable going into the SAT. A lot of kids at my school take it more than once, and I didn't want to have to do that if at all possible.</p>
<p>I had a private tutor. I quit the day he said "well, i'm not very good in math, so lets do some reading questions!".</p>
<p>
How was your own studying insufficient?</p>
<p>I felt with both the PSAT and the SAT that studying would be a waste of my time and wouldn't help me. I got a 222 on the PSAT. I think my only "prep" was skimming the little book from the College Board the morning of the test while eating my cereal. Fingers crossed for National Merit. My SAT was a little less cool--2140--but I'm much more proud of that score knowing I got it based on what I just plain know, not what I crammed in while studying with an expensive tutor or three-inch-thick book.</p>
<p>Some of the best prep you can get is just paying attention in school, reading a lot, and getting enough sleep the night before. Eat a good breakfast, bring snacks, and relax.</p>
<p>^I tried when I took it...I barely slept the night before. Also, I brought snacks...but never had an appetite during the breaks</p>
<p>I had a tutor. I'm not sure the actual training helped more than a book, but the fact that I was OBLIGATED to practice for the SAT made me, well, practice. So if you aren't motivated enough to practice a lot, a tutor is great in that regard. I also did tutoring in the morning so i guess it was a little more like test day conditions-- it wasn't like i could say, "oh, i'll just take the test after lunch" or something.</p>
<p>oh, and purists may say tutors suck but the fact of the matter is they will help you get a better score most of the time--i don't really see how it could hurt if you are willing to pay for it.</p>
<p>well for now im just on my own basically. does any1 suggest a good prep course?</p>
<p>I think there aren't any great prep courses. They mainly just force students to take practice tests, and therefore, score increases are due to a kind of diluted xiggi method.</p>
<p>It may be true there are no "great" prep courses, but the above post is an exaggeration which is generally untrue. If it is not, and it is based on first-hand experience, the poster picked a horrible tutoring company.</p>
<p>I mean, why do you think people who practice things are good at them? : /</p>
<p>The only question the OP needs to ask is whether or not she can discipline herself to read prep books and take practice tests on a regular, scheduled basics. If the answer is "no", tutoring could be a good option.</p>
<p>I've taken a prep class, and I actually enjoyed it. I consider the tutoring company to be one of the better ones (certainly better than the more mainstream PR, Kaplan). Still, it did not increase any of my classmates' scores by more than 200 points, with many only increasing 50-100. Still, my classmates and I were already scoring 2000+, so that might be an important factor in my experience. The truth is, to get really great scores, you need more targeted, personalized prep. A prep class can help you get to 2000-2100, but rarely to 2300s.</p>
<p>I went to a prep course. While it did improve my score, I think you can get the same effect by taking practice tests yourself.</p>
<p>My prep course teacher spent hours explaining "shortcuts" for the math and reading sections. I did much better without her shortcuts than with them. (Why should I plug in the answers to a math question, when I can just solve it much faster?)</p>
<p>Ultimately, practice, practice, practice is the key. You will notice an increase in your score just by simply taking practice tests. Of course, I do believe there is a "limit" (I've taken tons of practice tests and have never gotten higher than 2200). If I wanted to get 2300, I'd have to actually study vocab and figure out the reading section on the SAT. Lol.</p>
<p>I used tutors to point me in the right direction and teach me basic strategies, like covering the words on vocab questions and, in math, solving questions before looking at answers and forcing yourself to write out even the most trivial parts of the solution. But then after that I just practiced, practiced, practiced and figured out what strategies best worked for me personally. In the end it all worked out and I got a 2400. Now I want to be a tutor myself and get paid lots of $$$ to actively train a small army of students to go on a search and destroy mission against the SAT.</p>
<p>prep courses are good if you have no self-discipline, like me. they force you to do practice tests are study. additionally, you have to be motivated--if a parent forces the kid in, he's not going to get any better. </p>
<p>i went up 280 pts. the average raise for the class was around 50 pts.</p>
<p>Hmmm, PBailey, I personally don't agree with that statement. I have a 2400 SAT score and tried a prep centre for a few days (full days tho mind you, 8 hrs :[). My scores did not improve from its horribly deflated 2050 w/o essay (2200 ish with essay). I did feel a bit more secure about the test but maybe my experience is unique. For me, I found it more productive to pay close attention to books and improving my English proficiency on a regular basis, learning more for enjoyment than anything else. The important thing to remember is not only the time you put into studying but also the attention. I do like the practice MATERIAL they give for the SAT IIs though, but as a more independent learner I always felt learning to be easier with more freedom at my own pace.</p>
<p>PS-sorry if it sounds like I'm flaunting my scores, just trying to give context as to what qualifications I have or don't have to comment</p>