<p>I took an SAT prep course (cheap one) taught by college students, last fall, it wasn't extremely helpful, and I forgot most of the stuff. </p>
<p>Which books to use? (I'm strong in math, weak in CR and Writing)
How to start? Do I do a test first and then address my problems? </p>
<p>I heard that you should never use tests other than the "Official SAT study Guide". Is that true? What if you need more practice?</p>
<p>Vocabulary, is it really that important? </p>
<p>Should I take another SAT prep course, a college student back for the summer from Harvard, is teaching a course for some test prep company (not Princeton Review or Kaplan)?</p>
<p>I've heard the Princeton Review's 11 Practice are very similar to the Real SAT.</p>
<p>It is best to use real tests. Ask around and see if anyone has copies of released tests from March 05 - May 08. You can buy old PSATs from the College Board's Online Store. And yes, Vocabulary is very important. Check out the "Which Vocab list did best?" thread to see how the different lists and books performed on the June SAT. Some very surprising data.</p>
<p>Yeah, there's enough CB stuff out there to last you. If you go through the blue book and all the released Q&A, buy "10 Real SATs". If that runs out, well, then go to old PSATs. If you REALLY need more, just buy some GRE prep books :P</p>
<p>EDIT: w00t! 1000 posts!</p>
<p>I have taken PR's tests and they are pretty darned close to the real ones. I don't agree that only CB tests are worth taking. </p>
<p>Best thing to do is practice, practice, practice, and carefully review the results. Figure out where you're going wrong, and attack those weaknesses. A tutor might be a good idea once you've done more prep, but I wouldn't sign up for a course yet.</p>