<p>The Barron's books (2400 and the workbooks) seem to be a favourite on this forum, but other people have told me that they're extremely difficult and inadequate for the SAT.</p>
<p>A few months ago, I took a random SAT practice test, just to see what it was like. I had no prior preparation whatsoever, and I got a 2150. </p>
<p>I had no trouble with the writing section (if I remember correctly, I made 1 mistakes on the multiple choice section) but I thought the essay section was difficult. I have to think about my ideas before I can put them on paper. Practice is obviously very important, but is there, by any chance, a good review book for the essay section?</p>
<p>For the math section, I could answer most of the questions effortlessly, but I had some trouble on the harder ones. Once again, is there a good review book for the medium to hard math questions?</p>
<p>I found the vocabulary part of the critical reading section to be easy, but the passage-based questions were difficult. I had to think about many of them, and even after having spent a number of minutes on a single question, I still couldn't come up with the right answer. This section probably becomes easier with practice, but I'm new to all this, so is there maybe a good review book for it?</p>
<p>I still want to prepare for the SAT because I don't want to wing it and risk getting a lower score. I'll get the Blue Book for sure, but I still need some advice on prep books!</p>
<p>Rocket review. Also, check my post history for a detailed post to see how I went from 1860 to 2320 (which could have been much higher; the curve was very harsh -- one wrong on math for 770 and 1 wrong on W for 750)</p>
<p>I've heard that Rocket Review is good for getting your score up to a certain degree, but that it isn't enough if you want a 2300+ score. Thanks for the reply, and I'll look into it.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the above post. Taking only real CB practice tests was by far my best tool. If you do it enough, you'll develop a sense for the right answer (on the English sections, math is more black and white)</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with 2 posts above. akahmed provided me CB tests for free. Thank you!!! Now I'm done with SAT's and yes, with TOEFL as well, though I didn't get my expected scores.</p>
<p>I will definitely practice with real CB tests. Past AP exams sold by the CollegeBoard are always the best prep, and I'm sure it's the same for the SAT. However, I really feel as though I should still use a review book. I really think I could benefit from going over some extra SAT-like questions.</p>
<p>The only way that I prepped was using CB tests... but I do have a few general tips.
1- After taking a practice exam, try to identify any general areas of weakness. I was personally terrible at combination problems (how many different pizza topping combinations can Carlos choose?), so I practiced these until I was comfortable with them.
2- Try taking the CR passage section different ways... I realized that briefly scanning the passage and then looking at the sections with specific questions more critically worked for me. Some people don't read the passage first at all, and some need to read it slowly and take notes. See what works best for you.
3- For CR passages, sometimes it seems that two answers could be correct... pay special attention to connotation.
4- For the essay, MAKE UP examples if you have to. It's not as if the College Board is going to investigate your life to make sure that your pet gerbil really died... If you need one more paragraph, just make up a personal anecdote!</p>
<p>With CR, there are always 1-3 answer choices that I can easily rule out, but I struggle with the last few. Once I see what the answer is, I understand why it's correct. I guess I just have to pay more attention.</p>
<p>I'm not very worried about the writing section. I'll just have to relax when I write the essay.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any company that makes very accurate SAT practice tests?</p>