<p>is it really that useful to get prep outside of books? What prep classes would you recommend? (NYC) I am looking to get my sats up from a 1970. 660 math 680 cr. im really want to hit a 2150- 2200. PLEASE help. my scores are so damn average. how can i improve it? Thanks alot.</p>
<p>Actually, it's not worth it. I spent $1,000 on a Kaplan course and it was a waste of time. For one reason, the kids in the class were stuck-up pin heads who thought they were all that and didn't need to take the class, and kept bad-mouthing the teachers. Morons. For one, you can receive the same kind of instruction by doing it by yourself, from the College Board SAT Blue Book. </p>
<p>I am telling you this in total honesty. Don't waste your money on classroom private instruction. </p>
<p>Just use the Kaplan CD and Books, and College Board Blue Book. These are the keys to success in the Offical Test Prep Area. </p>
<p>To better prepare yourself, you should read lengthy passages from long winded texts in order to build your reading comprehension skills.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would just do a lot of practice tests.</p>
<p>My dd took the course (Princeton Review) and improved overall by 250 points--100 on each of verbal and math and 50 on writing. She may have done better, but she had the flu the weekend before the test and had a tough time recovering.</p>
<p>I studied from SAT books and so forth by myself, so, although each case may be different for a person's situation, my 2250 is not a lie, I improved my score over 270 points ALONE on the third time. It's just better than being in an overpriced classroom with an overrated instructor.</p>
<p>Use that $1,000 towards a college fund or something. Don't throw away your money to those over priced, blood sucking organizations. It's like being in school...it's overrated and caters to the ignorant and superficial.</p>
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My dd took the course (Princeton Review) and improved overall by 250 points--100 on each of verbal and math and 50 on writing. She may have done better, but she had the flu the weekend before the test and had a tough time recovering.
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<p>How do you know this couldn't have been accomplished through reading prep books/using prep computer programs? It's more a question of books doing the same thing as courses, rather than whether or not a course actually works.</p>
<p>My PSAT was 2040 (204) in 2005, my first practice test in the blue book (without a time limit) was 2090, my last practice test, (with a time limit) was 2250, and in the SAT 4/2006, I got a 2200. They work, it's about how you use them.</p>
<p>Man, such negativity! How you prep is very personal -- based on your learning style, self-discipline, etc. Some people do great learning on their own, others do better in a classroom. Making a blanket statement that it's a waste of money to take a class doesn't help anyone. Obviously, they help some people or companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review wouldn't still be offering them (granted, I think PR is way better than Kaplan, but still, they're both around). </p>
<p>kateh...if self-prep didn't work the first time, then think about what might not have worked. Did you have enough time to study? Were you able to review your tests well enough to pick up patterns where you went wrong? How many practice tests did you take? If you did all the right things and still didn't get where you wanted, then yes, a course would probably help. A higher score can get you scholarship money, so do what you need to do for your prep, and don't worry so much about what other people think.</p>
<p>I am sure that for some a class is a waste and for others it's the greatest thing ever. To each his own.</p>
<p>"It's like being in school...it's overrated and caters to the ignorant and superficial."</p>
<p>Sooooooooooooo I guess you don't plan to go to college then, eh? </p>
<p>Can I have fries with that??</p>
<p>Dumb ass, I was referring only to high school.</p>
<p>Someone's a little touchy.</p>
<p>And I totally agree with WWW - to each his/her own.</p>
<p>I mean, if you're more successful in classes go for it, but there really is very little you can learn in most classes that you can't learn from a lot of the books--but there's a huge difference in money spent. If you're going to go for a class appraoch instead of books, then considering the money difference I'd be sure to make sure the difference in performace was also likely to be huge.</p>
<p>The course really helped me. I took Princeton Review and rose my score from a 1850 (before any classes) to a 2050 on the October SAT. I'm taking a PR refresher course starting next week and hope to get a 2150 on the June test.</p>
<p>For me classes were an utter waste of time..I went in thinking I had placed into a class for people who had scored high like meon their little placement exam..but it turned out that the class was focused on improving people with less than 1800 scores to get to that 1800 mark..It was really annoying..
I soon realized that I didn't really have to prep for the SAT (not in the way that they were prepping), and all I ended up doing was taking some sections of the practice exam book. I think the best way to prep for the test is to take the practice exams yourself, under test conditions, and then go back and see why you've been getting things wrong, and try to find patterns in your mistakes..</p>
<p>I went from 213 on the PSAT to a 2350 on the SAT with only the Blue Book, for what it's worth...</p>
<p>thanks so much!</p>