<p>So! Post your previous sat scores, what book(s) you used to study, and the score you got after (it doesn't have to be the May test). Maybe we can get an idea of what books are effective for certain groups. It should muy interesante!</p>
<p>blue book is the best, the other books aren't even made by people that make the test so they're explanations aren't necessarily correct</p>
<p>why would you bother asking?</p>
<p>Wow...</p>
<p>Just so you know, blue book is not the only thing you need to get the best score you can (not even close). It doesn't actually teach the material and although other books don't have "accurate explanations" the blue book has NONE. This stunts the learning process. So while you know you got a question wrong, you don't know why and I think we can agree that knowing why is essential to doing better, right?</p>
<p>I hope your not dogmatic enough to say that blue book is all you need because, really, it's not (generally). In fact, I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from other books more than blue book because they need to learn math, grammar, vocab, or whatever that blue book only touches on. I just wanted to get an idea of what other books proved to be beneficial as well.</p>
<p>well if you can't find out why you got the question wrong after seeing in the blue book answer key then you're pretty dumb</p>
<p>yea good point.. usually i find out why i got it wrong after just looking at answer... like in the blue book practice questiosn (before the tests) i dont even have to read the explanations.</p>
<p>The blue book by far. I have used almost every SAT prep book and have come to the conclusion that the blue book has taught me the most</p>
<p>its the only practice tests you need because all the others: PR, Kaplan aren't reminiscent of the real test either by levels of difficulties and inconsistent scales</p>
<p>stix2400, most of the other books you've mentioned have the propensity to give ambiguous solutions that only lessen the average test taker's confidence and knowledge.</p>
<p>Huh... this thread is dead. No hope... While I do acknowledge that the blue book is the best, that claim doesn't substantiate the other books that are recommended by professionals and tutor (along with random people) on this site. There are other solutions. How about we establish this...</p>
<p>If someone were to study out of two prep books, one being the blue book, do you think that they would do better than if they studied out of just the blue book. (Let's assume they have 500 in each section).</p>
<p>And thanks for that last comment Chronic but I'm sure the vast majority of students (even after seeing that the answer is indeed "B" and not "A" still won't understand why they got it wrong, especially on hard questions. If they don't understand, then they're not learning anything and not getting any better).</p>
<p>And to Jason- I acknowledge the ambiguities in some books and, again, stress the fact that the blue book should be a central part of studying. HOWEVER, if you want to learn vocab, grammar, and some math, the blue book is not right solution. The other books are meant to teach the concepts. The ambiguities can be delt with if the student knows that the blue book is the "real" source. In other words, consider the source, take the good, and ignore the bad. I'm trying to find out which book helps teach (yes, I used the word "teach") the best (which I doubt is blue book).</p>
<p>I totally agree with you stix. I used the blue book and only the blue book (no tutor) to prepare for the SAT. Got scores back today and was pretty disappointed. Then I went back to the blue book to see how I did on some of the practice tests, and sure enough, my SAT scores matched the bottom range of most of my tests. However, if I want to raise my score (which I know I am capable of doing), I can't keep using the blue book. The blue book's tests are definitely an accurate reflection of how you will do on the actual SAT, but I personally don't feel it offers much terms of teaching concepts and strategies.</p>
<p>I think PR explains the answers really well, especially for the CR section. I would not recommend Barron's because its tests are too hard and explanations are elliptical (my SAT word for the day!) But I honestly recommend PR for practice tests (like I usually do one section--M,CR, or W a day and go over my answers) and the blue book for "real" examinations under time constraints and in one sitting. This helped improve my CR score from 660 to 720 (I'm hoping to maintain this come June 2) and my Writing went from 700 to 720 (not much but still)..Math I'm like challenged but PR helped me go from 490 to 550.</p>
<p>Cool... that's more like it. If we can get more of these type posts, then we can compile a list of recommendations for people in certain score ranges.</p>
<p>Is the blue book the official College Board book?</p>
<p>Yep... (10 char)</p>
<p>yeah plddogs, but the blue book is a whole lot shorter!</p>