<p>So, I never really noticed how BAD Princeton Review was until recently. So, last year I went to their National Testing Day with a free practice SAT, and I took it. Yeah, okay, it was admittedly a fine test, nothing wrong. Then, come around April 2009, I decided to go back and try to take another free practice test, until I was about halfway into the first section and I realized that not only was the essay prompt the same as last year, but so were the critical reading passages. And their passages were awful, one was able roller coaster physics and another about BLACK HOLES [OMG THE WORST PASSAGE I'VE HAD TO READ IN MY LIFE]. During the break, I asked the proctor "Did you repeat this test, because it's exactly the same as the test from last year," and she said, "I don't know, I'm new. But do the questions look the same?" And I said, "They're exactly the same." So this morning, I decided to get out my 2009 Princeton Review study book and practice the PSAT in the back... I do the first 8 vocab questions, feeling somewhat reminiscent, and then I open up the next critical reading passage and it's the same one with BLACK HOLES and STEPHEN HAWKINGS and I'm like, I'M NOT DOING THIS STUPID TEST THREE TIMES. So I close it, and now I vow never to use Princeton Review, who apparently is too cheap to produce real tests and has to continuously reuse their current practice tests. K thanks for reading my story.</p>
<p>I don’t know why you’re complaining. The first two tests were FREE. You’d have a point if you paid for private tutoring, but seriously? You were taking a test at no cost. Chill.</p>
<p>haha. well. i guess you should try a new cracker lol. :)</p>
<p>They’re too cheap? They’re allowing you to take a practice test for free. I would be happy to have that opportunity in the first place.</p>
<p>I could take a practice test at home for free. They only do it to get customers so if I get a shtty test I wont join their classes. Its not like it was a real old SAT or anything.</p>
<p>lol i remember taking that free practice test with the black holes and stuff. soooo boring</p>
<p>It was my WORST PRACTICE TEST EVER. I ALMOST GOT SUB-2000 but my essay was a 12 again :></p>
<p>make sure you take official college board tests (im talking about ones from the official study guide). PR tests have never properly simulated the actual test.</p>
<p>Is there an identical passage within one of the 10 SAT practices? Having 2 identical passages within the same book would be really lazy and unprofessional of them…</p>
<p>So I went back to National Testing Day for Princeton Review (today actually) and I opened up my packet and saw the essay was about censorship, the passages about BLACK HOLES and STEPHEN HAWKINGS and other science passages… I’m like ■■■ THIS. Third year in a row… I also noticed that they include like 2 really long science related passages and maybe 2-3 short science-related passages. They don’t really include too much variation now do they?</p>
<p>Is there abetter prep course that give you the free tests?</p>
<p>You get what you pay for. All of their material is copyrighted. They are not going to give it all away. Sign up for their classes or private tutoring if you want to benefit from their additional material. Or just buy a book of old tests from College Board (the Blue Book). You want something free? Tonight, look up at the sky – the moon – it is beautiful and it’s free.</p>
<p>I kind of agree. I bought their book and memorized all of the hit words. That REALLY helps your practice test scores (as they’re sure to use their own hit words in their own tests), and it will help your SAT score but not by nearly as much as would be predicted by the Review’s practice tests.</p>