<p>What's with this "underground" sat prep guide called Grammatix? People recommended it to me, I read the intro, and it seemed like the author has an ideology of "Don't trust what the collegeboard says. They suck." The author uses very casual language as far as I see...and it's making me wonder whether it's really an authentic SAT guide. The people I talk to at school have never heard of it as well. </p>
<p>And if it's real, does this thing really work? I am a little suspicious.</p>
<p>It supposed to be good for CR + W, my two weaknesses. Supposedly, if you usually get below a 650, it will help you score in the high 600s on both CR + W.</p>
<p>high 600s that's it? I want to get 780+</p>
<p>Idk...maybe it could get you a 780+...I sure wouldn't mind it...getting a 750 on both in October is all I need.</p>
<p>Short Answer: Yes.</p>
<p>Long Answer: Yeah.</p>
<p>I have reason to believe that Grammatix is a scam. None of my frinds at school who tried it said it was good. Even my teachers didn't recomend that I get it. The ysaid that it was a waste of time.</p>
<p>umm your name "stuck on 1700" doesn't give me any reason to be convinced by your post.</p>
<p>Really though guys, why does Grammatix NOT work? The author Mike Barret I heard is the most famous SAT Prep tutor (charges $100 per hour) and has improved kids' scores by 200+ in only one day of tutoring. The guide looks pretty straightforward, easy to understand, and is more "casually worded" than other SAT Prep guides.</p>
<p>It seems like when you're reading you think "Oh, with this I can easily get a perfect score."</p>
<p>I haven't taken the SAT yet though . . .</p>
<p>Why is Grammatix not good?!!</p>
<hr>
<p>you know, i have tried to change that; to update it. it's 1830 and I'm damn proud of it.
By the way; the post says: "None of MY FRIENDS..." I never said I thought it was bad. I'm saying what my friends said.</p>
<p>Grammatix is a must have for CR. I borrowed a friend's for one day and my CR score went up from 650 to 730 pts instantly.
It sux for math and writing though. Very generic tips. RocketReview is much better for this.</p>
<p>My CR went from mid 600's to high 700's.</p>
<p>Grammatix is the real deal. =p</p>
<p>way too expensive</p>
<p>if anyone wants to buy it from me i can give u a much better price then wat he charges of $50.</p>
<p>Don't buy grammatix. It's 193 pages( that's including the table of contents) of crap. I bought the book and it's completely worthless. I have emailed Mike for a refund but he still hasn't replied back. I personally like RocketReview , it's a much better book than grammatix.</p>
<p>Well, define scam. Grammatix hasn't upped my score dramatically, but my CR & W were already mid 700's. It was my math that needed help and RR seems to be better than G for that. Mike, though, has been totally courteous and prompt with my refund and questions. He even let me keep the paper copy</p>
<p>I already have a copy of Grammatix you see, cause my friend gave it to me. I wanted to know whether I should start using it or not. The tips do sound very generic like you said, phsycopath1. </p>
<p>But I'm looking for an 800 in CR and Math...what makes RocketReview so much better than Grammatix?</p>
<p>I think those sort of study programs only help if your score is around 500-600, because if you're scoring mid 700's then you've pretty much figured it out except you can't get 800 because of the time restraint and you're just missing a few stuff based on lack of vocab knowledge etc.</p>
<p>First off grammatix is so small you can practically finish it within an hour. Secondly the approach/tips mentioned in grammatix are pretty generic( skimming passages, looking for clues etc). On the other hand, the tips in RR are a lot more helpful ,For ex : using one or two high level vocabs in the introduction of your essay to impress the readers. Also you find the RocketReview book at Barnes & Nobles or your local library . So basically you can check it out before buying it.</p>
<p>$100 is ultra-cheap in terms of "top SAT tutors". However, you really do get what you pay for. The most well known expensive tutors are Arun, who charges $700 for 50 minutes, and Donald, who charges $525/hr. Top PR tutors get $200-350, depending on their level of experience.
None of these folks could charge that much if they didn't get great results. As far as tutoring goes, you only get new business from proven results, because if your student goes up 600 points on the SAT or GRE or another test, then their parents tell all of their friends, who quickly realize that $200/hr. is small potatoes compared to even a semester at college. Having developed national test prep courses, written books, taken the SAT and other tests a few dozen times, and trained thousands of teachers can give someone a fair amount of street cred, too.
On the other hand, if you get a cheap and/or inexpericenced tutor, then spend months with them and don't get any results, then you have NOT gotten a bargain, and you've wasted a lot of time and effort. Plus, your score sucks, and it may be too late to take it again.
If you are high-scoring, most teachers won't know that much more than you've already figured out, especially if you've waded through thousands of pages of inaccurate or basic books you bought already. This is because most tutors haven't done years of research, or written tests. That's why you would hire an expert.
Of course, an expert only multiplies your effort, and adds a bit.
So, if you do no practice whatsoever, and just sit their nodding at the tutor, then you can expect to go up only a little bit from exposure, unless you buy like 60 hours of tutoring and the tutor just makes you do all the homework in front of them.
If you start early and work hard, then the level of tutor makes a big difference, like a different multiplier.</p>
<p>so, in general, most of you agree it's a scam</p>
<p>I won't say it's a scam. The guy might take forever to get you the book, but I think once you have it...it's pretty good.</p>
<p>PM me if you want more info.</p>