<p>The conundrum is that I'm entering my junior year this fall, and of course I'll be studying for the SAT's for the better part of the summer. However, from what I've read from "experts" and whatnot, is that companies and classes tend to teach the SAT the "wrong" way and rob you of your money. My parents insist that I take a class but I'm reluctant because of this. My parents gave me 3 options: A private tutor, class 5 days a week, or class only on Saturdays. The class I would be taking isn't from a big company, it's more of those small establishments that specialize in test-taking prep. I also need to boost my extracurriculars and service hours and whatnot, and I don't think classes 5 days a week would allot me time for that, I don't know though. If I do end up just doing self-studying, I wouldn't even know how besides reading over books.</p>
<p>It is madness to be spending the “better part” of one of the summers of your life studying for a standardized test. Go for the Saturdays only option, if even that. You also could do it fine on your own with a good prep book, making flash cards of the most tested words that you don’t know, reviewing the basic math, and taking a couple of practice tests. I hope you can enjoy this summer, maybe get a job. Don’t make the golden calf of college admissions the thing that drives every moment of your life. Good luck.</p>
<p>From your post, I am guessing your parents are right… you don’t sound like someone with the motivation and organization skills to self-prep. Some people can do that (my kids did), but you should probably take your parents up on the class offer. Go for the tutor or Saturdays option – leaving a lot of free time for volunteering and maybe practicing/beefing up on other ECs.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I need to boost my test score and even though I would love to spend my summer on something else, I personally feel that I need to spend a good amount of time studying for the SAT. </p>
<p>I have been self-prepping for the past couple of months, and I would like to think that I am organized… the only problem is, after I get the past the couple of prep books that I have and all the tests in the big Blue Book, I wouldn’t know what to do then. To be frank, I’m not sure how to maximize my studying for the SAT, if I were to self-prep.</p>
<p>Both of my kids met their goals through self prep. They did work hard and put in significant time. The Big Blue Book, review of early math skills on kahnacadamy.org, and a couple of subject specific books for my younger son. If they had needed additional help we would have invested in a tutor who will focus on the areas you need to strengthen, not things you’ve mastered. Everything I’ve learned about group courses tells me they are a waste of time and money. Seriously, why spend your valuable time and your parents money covering things you don’t need help on, possibly only spending 1/3 to 1/2 of your time on things you need reinforcement in?</p>
<p>During the rest of the time find somewhere to volunteer that you care about, or possibly a part time job.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>To those who have had their children self-study, were they relatively successful on the SAT? My goal is a 2300+</p>
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<p>Exactly. After sizing up the thing, spend your time on studying and self-testing the sections that are most challenging to you; you don’t need to take entire practice tests when you find that only, say, the math section is tripping you up.</p>