<p>Or, how many of you paid like tons of money for prep courses and books and such and ended up with like a 2300? This REALLY annoys me. -.-</p>
<p>Pretty much everyone buys their score to some extent. Some just do it more than others. And then there are some people who completely abstain like myself.</p>
<p>And me! :) It just really annoys me because you didn't earn your score. You paid for it.</p>
<p>It's like getting into college because mommy and daddy bought Harvard a new library.</p>
<p>I paid someone $800 to take it for me,woo.</p>
<p>Kidding. I've probably spent about $40 on prep materials, not too shabby imo.</p>
<p>XD I thought you were serious, I was going to be like...</p>
<p><em>picks up the phone to call the cheating agency</em> </p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>^That's kinda okay I guess. Like if you buy one prep book I don't think it's that bad because you still have to do most of the work yourself.</p>
<p>It's when you pay like $500 dollars for a tutor and prep course that it starts to bother me.</p>
<p>Why does it matter how much someone pays, or what they do? And how is that even remotely considered cheating? </p>
<p>Cheating would be if someone paid someone to take the test for them. In this case, someone wants to improve. Someone cares enough to go out there and spend money on tutoring and test materials to get better. All the materials do is push you, you make your own score -- no one else. There is no ruling that says you can't get tutors and you can't go to prep courses, god forbid someone actually cares enough to do so. </p>
<p>foolish kids.</p>
<p>There's no magic to prep books and courses. You don't just get a better score if you pay for test prep. You have to work hard for a good score whether you pay for it or not.</p>
<p>The point is that not everyone can afford a tutor = higher income families usually produce better scores. If you have the money to spend on a tutor, lucky you. I don't consider it cheating, the student still has to put in effort. But having a tutor explain things to you is much more luxurious than having to figure things out by yourself over and over.</p>
<p>I dont really beleive using a tutor helps because all the guys that used tutors in my school failed(got 1500,1600) while those that didnt got 2000 and above. So beleive its just u and ur brain.</p>
<p>what do you consider of online courses, such as PR or Kaplan? But i believe buying prep books doesnt mean your "buying" your score, your still going to have to work your arse off..</p>
<p>Did I ever say the word "cheating"? No, I didn't. So don't put words in my mouth.</p>
<p>^I agree with you there, because you're still doing the work. Like I said, it's when you pay several hundred dollars for a tutor and prep course that you are effectively buying your score. Why? You didn't earn it on your own. Even if you buy a prep book or an online course without a teacher, you have to learn the stuff on your own. But when you pay hundreds of dollars for, let's say a Revolution Prep Course (they send kids from my school so much stuff...I seriously have a whole garbage bag full). Especially if you get the private tutoring. You get someone to come and sit down with you and tell you everything you need to know about the test.</p>
<p>In fact, they guarantee a 200 point increase if you buy their product. So don't tell me that's not buying your score.</p>
<p>By the way, Sleppy...just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they're foolish.</p>
<p>Exactly who “guarantees a 200 point increase if you buy their product”? NO ONE.</p>
<p>If you look closely at the big test prep programs (Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc.), their “guarantee” is basically: if you aren’t satisfied with your score, we’ll let you take our course again for free. (And sometimes, with some strings attached, you might get a refund of your money.) That’s not much of a guarantee. If the course didn’t help you enough the first time, why waste your time taking it again?</p>
<p>No one has any control over your test performance but you. You cannot "buy" a better score, but you can go into the test better prepared by being familiar with the types of questions and understanding how the test is scored so that you can make better use of your time. You can do that without expending big bucks if you're willing to just do a little research (reviewing sample questions -- free on the CB website, taking practice exams, etc.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Exactly who “guarantees a 200 point increase if you buy their product”? NO ONE.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Taken directly from the Revolution Prep web site:</p>
<p>"What is the 200 point guarantee?
Any student who attends all classes and does all of their homework but does not increase by at least 200 points can take the course again for FREE. No new materials are provided. This guarantee is based on Revolution Prep’s average score improvement."</p>
<p>These kids go into the test better prepared, yes. But how did they prepare? By paying people to give them insight as to what is on the test.</p>
<p>Taken directly from the Revolution Prep web site:</p>
<p>"What is the 200 point guarantee?
Any student who attends all classes and does all of their homework but does not increase by at least 200 points can take the course again for FREE. No new materials are provided. This guarantee is based on Revolution Preps average score improvement."</p>
<p>These kids go into the test better prepared, yes. But how did they prepare? By paying people to give them insight as to what is on the test.</p>
<p>This is the important part of the guarantee: but does not increase by at least 200 points can take the course again for FREE.
If the class helps you very little the first time, chances are that it won't help the next time. As long as the test prep center has your $1000 in their pocket, they'll give you as many sub-par classes as you want.</p>
<p>i might be planning on enrolling in the 99 dollar PR online or the collegeboard one..idk</p>
<p>but mainly im set on prep books</p>
<p>Whoa, OP! Whose grace fills you, again? Where's the grace? ;) </p>
<p>On a different note, I'd say that practice alone is tremendously important. Everybody who sees a truly huge increase buys it. . . but with time, not money. Tutoring helps. . . sometimes a lot. . . but it's not magic. So don't worry too much; just keep getting solid advice on CC and log the hours, and no-one will be able to pass you up just by throwing money around. </p>
<p>I just had to yell at a seventeen-year-old kid whose family is spending thousands of dollars this summer on SAT prep. . . he's not doing his homework, and after a certain point, there's nothing I can do for him if he doesn't do his homework, no matter how much his family pays me. I see a ton of kids who make very little long-term improvement because they don't do the work, even though our center is expensive by your standards. So remember them every time you start to get "annoyed."</p>
<p>Time invested beats money invested every time, so relax and get to work!</p>
<p>I guess that's true. :) Thanks for your perspective!!</p>
<p>I don't believe in tutoring because I believe you should earn your own score. However, I do think prep materials are acceptable to study from because you are the one teaching yourself, not someone else.</p>
<p>^Exactly. :)</p>
<p>@HisGraceFillsMe</p>
<p>Did you think this argument through before posting?</p>
<p>"^I agree with you there, because you're still doing the work. Like I said, it's when you pay several hundred dollars for a tutor and prep course that you are effectively buying your score. Why? You didn't earn it on your own. "</p>
<p>Do you have a teacher for a class? If so, then you didn't earn that grade on your own. You should self-study the course and never expect anybody to help you as that would imply that you didn't earn your grade.</p>