<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>So I'm a rising Junior, meaning standardized testings such as the ACT and SAT will now become my main hell. Problem is - I have no idea what to do in preparation for them. Could somebody give me advice on which test I should take? I know that, in general, for some types of people the ACT works MUCH better for them than the SAT. If it's any help, I'm more of a mathematics and sciences person, but I can provide you with more info if you'd like.</p>
<p>Also, if possible, can somebody familiar with both tests maybe whip up a list of pros/cons of both or a general structure of each?</p>
<p>And... if the SAT would seem like a reasonable test for me to take, I'd really appreciate it if somebody could please answer the following questions:</p>
<p>-How helpful are SAT prep courses? I have my mom nagging me to take one but from what I hear, they're not very helpful.
-Can anybody recommend me books on grammar or vocabulary?
-Any recommendations for novels to improve on my CR?</p>
<p>ANY additional information/input is very much appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks in advance (I know this is a lot to ask, so seriously, THANK YOU)!</p>
<p>P.S. If there are any threads containing this type of information, please feel free to direct me to them.</p>
<p>I think you can find many suggestion in this board.</p>
<p>Novel can not help your CR so much.</p>
<p>grammar book I like Barron and vocab -Direct hit is the best.</p>
<p>No one can answer which test is the best suited to you. </p>
<p>about prep course, I have no idea but ,for me, it is helpful since I am international student.</p>
<p>I’ve only taken the SAT, but in general people seem to agree that:
-the ACT is easier and more straight-forward than the SAT
-the ACT is more time-intensive than the SAT</p>
<p>You probably know this, but the ACT is broken down into an english, math, reading, and science section, whereas the SAT is only critical reading, math, and writing. Both have essays, but the ACT is optional.</p>
<p>As for prep courses, I believe they’re useless unless you know that you aren’t very self-motivated or you love procrastination.</p>
<p>Silverturtle’s guide has an excellent grammar section. I personally did not study for vocabulary - I found that I knew enough words to either identify the correct word, or eliminate all other choices.</p>
<p>Practicing CR sections will help more than reading novels.</p>
<p>I heard that the ACT is better for those who are the hard-working but not necessarily smart types, while the SAT is better for those who are the “lazy genius” or smart but cram/don’t study much types.</p>
<p>If someone more helpful than me replies and you decide to take the SAT:
For prep, I used Barron and CollegeBoard’s own book. Barron’s book comes with a bunch of vocabulary cards. Not a lot, but at least 300, maybe. Personally, I like Barron’s book for its practice tests. I also bought a Kaplan book that was filled with practice tests because that’s just my way of studying for SATs.</p>
<p>If you will be taking the subject test for Math Level 2, I’d say that you should try studying from the Barron book a little and take a bunch of practice tests. They practice tests are pretty hard, but if you get maybe a 650 or something on them, you’d get an 800 on the real thing. That’s what happened to me :P</p>
<p>Prep classes are quite overrated, but they can help…a little. If you’re better at studying independently, don’t waste money on prep courses. My reading and writing classes did NOTHING for me. The math class might’ve helped me a little, but not really. It was more of the practice tests that did it. If you can find cheap classes however, you might want to take them. Just don’t go for ELITE (if that exists in your area) or some other super expensive prep class. It’s NOT worth all that money at all.</p>
<p>I’m really not sure about novels, but you can usually find a lot of reading lists around, like on CollegeBoard. I heard that there are also a few books that, if you read them, they can be used for pretty much any essay in the SAT Writing portion. One of them might be The Great Gatsby, but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys! I really found it helpful.</p>
<p>Now if only I could get a bit more input on which prep books to buy!</p>
<p>Also, if the writing part for the ACT is optional, what makes students take it?</p>
<p>(Thanks again!)</p>
<p>The writing part for the ACT is optional for the student, but some colleges actually require the writing part. It also helps exempt the student from certain things, like the entrance exam or the reading and composition course or something like that, depending on the college. Basically, it’s like how some colleges look at the writing portion of the SAT and some colleges don’t.</p>
<p>@kagami6918
I have to disagree with your notion that “the ACT is better for those who are the hard-working but not necessarily smart types, while the SAT is better for those who are the “lazy genius” or smart but cram/don’t study much types.”</p>
<p>I myself am one of those lazy people and quite simply can’t bring myself to study for either the ACT or the SAT. With that said, I scored much better on my first attempt on the ACT than on my first attempt on the SAT (35 composite vs. 2210). This also seems to hold true for most of my friends. </p>
<p>My guess as to why this is so is probably due to the curves. With equal preparation, it is not hard, I imagine, to score very well on both tests. However, the ACT curve is much less forgiving and naturally suits those who are predisposed to make less stupid and not-so-stupid mistakes.</p>