<p>In regards to any of the tests (ACT/SAT/PSAT/SATII) would it be well worth my money and time to take a prep course? </p>
<p>I am a sophomore in high school in the US, and the only test that I have take so far is the PSAT as practise...</p>
<p>Prep courses are big scams. Stay very far away.</p>
<p>Alright, even if they are far too expensive for their benefit, do the test-taking skills actually work or are they common-sense kind of tips and tricks? </p>
<p>In other words, excluding the factor of money how much help have you found that they have given you?</p>
<p>Never took one. A friend of mine did and said it was a complete waste of money.</p>
<p>The only thing prep courses do is FORCE you to study for the test. What you need to do is read up on SAT strategies, find which work for you and then take practice tests. The more familiar you become with the test the better you will do. </p>
<p>Is the prep course with your time; most definitely. Your money; depends how much you value a 1000 dollars. If you ask most, no.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to get the Princeton Review and also see if your school offers the College Board SAT online class. Both offer different strategies, and I found that mixing the two to work for me improved my score a lot (120 pts on CR). Plus, the online class gives you tons of practice tests/questions; it will benefit you even if you don't like the strategies they offer.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>They're pointless. Just do the hundreds and hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of exercises available for free on the web. Or, if you really feel COMPELLED to spend money, buy a prep book.</p>
<p>Familiarity with the test is your best friend. Start with some old tests.</p>
<p>take the test masters course. if that's unavailable, do the princeton review one that I took.</p>
<p>it will help a lot. guaranteed. the pr one raied my score 200 points</p>
<p>My D is also a sophomore this year. I recently purchased Vol I&II of the Direct Hits series (based on lots of recommndations on this site). She's starting to work through those. </p>
<p>She has no interest in a prep classes. Her school offered a four-day PSAT prep class and she said it was a waste of time. </p>
<p>I did, however, plan on signing her up for the online course on College Board, but wasn't sure when would be the best time for that or if that is also a waste of time and $$. Would summer between soph and junior year be a good time or is that too soon?</p>
<p>I'm telling you guys that paying for SAT prep is a waste of money. There is so much free content available online it's ridiculous. Just search for "khanacademy" on Youtube. Hundreds of videos detailing how to solve SAT math problems. And I'm sure typing "SAT prep" or "SAT tutorial" would yield a plethora of results as well.</p>
<p>I hadn't thought to look on Youtube - thanks!</p>
<p>Why wouldn't a student that needs the help prepare for such an important test with a tutor or course? Would you advise a student getting ready for her road test to just look on YouTube? Would you tell a student who's failing Spanish that there's lots of free tutorials online? How about a baseball player who can't hit a ball... should we advise him to just keep practicing by himself and he'll eventually get it, even while his competitors have coaches and practice every day?</p>
<p>Some prep programs are good and others are bad. What is indisputable is that, regardless of whether we're talking about academics, sports, tests, or anything else, good coaching is always helpful.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why wouldn't a student that needs the help prepare for such an important test with a tutor or course? Would you advise a student getting ready for her road test to just look on YouTube? Would you tell a student who's failing Spanish that there's lots of free tutorials online?
[/quote]
Actually, yes. You could literally learn Japanese or Chinese - both written and verbal - just from utilizing the hundreds of resources available for free online. And Spanish? That's even easier.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How about a baseball player who can't hit a ball... should we advise him to just keep practicing by himself and he'll eventually get it, even while his competitors have coaches and practice every day?
[/quote]
The SAT isn't kinesthetic in nature. Those who do well on the SAT learned the right things. This is about learning, not perfecting a set of body motions.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Some prep programs are good and others are bad. What is indisputable is that, regardless of whether we're talking about academics, sports, tests, or anything else, good coaching is always helpful.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Of course it's helpful. The question isn't whether or not it helps; the question is whether or not it's worth the price. Unless you have a severe learning disability, it generally isn't.</p>
<p>it will get you from 500x3 to 650x3. If you're already at 650, don't do it because it's a huge waste of time and money. No course can show you how to nail the SAT. Most CCers are going for really high scores. Courses are good for people who really suck (sorry to be so blunt) to get a more decent score. You can't take a course and expect to get much out of it, especially if you're already over 2000. Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns.</p>
<p>Our school has a PSAT/SAT prep summer class that cost my parents $500... supposedly one of the better summer school prep courses in the area. The only thing that class did was give me initiative to actually study for the SAT, the worksheets and handouts I could've easily found off the internet. The prep book they gave us in class we only used for the practice test, and everything they said was like the sparknotes of the book. Just go buy a book- it has all the test taking tips you need, and you can save $500.</p>
<p>Here's my advice about something you can for free that will boost your scores enormously. </p>
<p>READ, READ </p>
<p>To learn how to score well on a standardized test reading section, the number one piece of advice is READ, READ, READ, and READ. Read about what you like to know more about. Read things that are fun for you. Find books and magazines about interesting topics and read them. Turn off the TV and read. Put away the video game controller and read. Read hard things, and read easy things. Read a lot. </p>
<p>For years, I wondered why it came so readily to mind to write "READ, READ, READ" in all capital letters like that when I give advice on this subject, as I have frequent occasion to do. Recently, I reread the section "Suggestions for Study" in the front matter of John DeFrancis's book Beginning Chinese Reader, Part I, which I first used to learn Chinese back in 1975. In that section of that book, I found this passage, "Fluency in reading can only be achieved by extensive practice on all the interrelated aspects of the reading process. To accomplish this we must READ, READ, READ" (capitalization as in original).</p>
<p>in addition to reading, i think the single easiest way to improve your score is to learn how to thrive on pressure, and to be able to just calm down and be logical at any given time.</p>
<p>I definitely agree, I found that it was much different taking the actualy PSAT under a timed and more stressful environment rather than in my room, etc. taking practise tests. I found it helped to practise in an outside environment (i.e. my local library)</p>
<p>I've never heard of any prep course brining a grade up more than maybe 10 points. The blue book by college board (official study guide to SAT) is probably your best bet. depending on how many hours you want to study for it, you could also purchase the online course when you're done with the book.
but it all depends how much time/money you want to put into the whole process</p>
<p>This topic is relevant to my interests. I don't know if I should spend $1800 on some prep course or if I should just study by myself.</p>