<p>Hello; I recently bought the Princeton Review, and read all the way through the CR part of it. I then took a look at one of my brothers older study guides put out by college board (for the old SAT).</p>
<p>I noticed a lot of contradictions, like the college board one says there is no short cut you can take on the reading, though the Princeton Review is completely about how to cut corners and basically "crack" the system.</p>
<p>Can anyone confirm that the Princeton Review Methods actually work? A lot of their tips seem too good/easy to be true, of course college board obviously wouldn't want to give away how to crack the system, or the test wouldn't measure your "intelligence" accurately.</p>
<p>Well, of course the CollegeBoard will say that there are no shortcuts, because they want you to do things the long way! The CollegeBoard will always instruct you the way you're 'supposed' to do it. For instance, they would never tell you for math problems to plug in values until you get the right answer, although sometimes that strategy works. Yes, you're right in the last paragraph that the CollegeBoard wants to get the SAT to measure what they want it to measure!</p>
<p>Here's the thing about Princeton Review's methods:
Some of the strategies are very good. For example, plugging in each of the words into the sentences for sentence completions helps me a lot. But it seems like most of the strategies are used for when you're short on time. Sometimes if you use Princeton Review's strategies, that will take even longer than if you just solved the entire math problem. So on math (my strength) I mostly prefer to solve all the problems by hand, because I have no trouble with that. But when there are annoying variables (If x tickets are purchased at y dollars each for n people, but s people don't show up, what is the average price of the tickets, in terms of x, y, n, and s), it can be better to make up numbers for x,y,n, and s. Then again, if you make up the numbers, you might get the same number for two answer choices, and then you'd have to make up another set of numbers to see which answer is correct. </p>
<p>You have to use your own judgment on the problems. I can say this: you can use most of Princeton Review's strategies, and more likely than not, it will help.</p>
<p>But often, Princeton Review's strategies help to ELIMINATE wrong answers, not FIND the correct answer. And that's what's so annoying. They advocate the process of elimination, when using the process of elimination can take much longer than just finding the right answer.</p>
<p>Some of their strategies are decent but i don't like that its geared toward getting like a 600-650 in each category. They say to skip the hard problems, etc.</p>
<p>If I get a 600-650 on the CR, I'll be thrilled. I already have 670 on math, but a very poor 510 on CR.My goal is 1270/1600, as that will give me a 100% scholarship under Florida's Scholar Program (Bright Futures).</p>
<p>Oh, so you only need to improve by 90 points? Then Princeton Review will certainly help. Yeah, I think Princeton Review and a few practice tests will be enough.</p>
<p>For many people taking the test, 600-650 is a very good score. About half of those taking the SAT score between 440 and 600 on math, and between 430 and 580 on CR or writing. Details are in the link below.</p>
<p>So, for many people, strategies that do take time (e.g., plugging in the multiple choice answers) can nonetheless be very useful; these people are unlikely to benefit from spending a lot of time if any on the last few (hard) problems.</p>
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Oh, so you only need to improve by 90 points? Then Princeton Review will certainly help. Yeah, I think Princeton Review and a few practice tests will be enough.
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<p>I'd really like an even 1300... 700 math and 600 CR (I'll probably have no problem getting into Florida then), but I'll be satisfied with 1270.</p>
<p>The College Board always says you can't "beat" the test. I swear, they want people to do badly on it. They say strategies don't work, but yeah, they do. Don't listen to anything CB says about strategy.</p>
<p>The PR strategies are great for the shortcuts...they definitely work if the problem's taking too long or if you're not sure how to do it. Sometimes you have to guess and they definitely help with that. Although I personally don't like reading the CR passages, and their strategies get me out of that altogether! I only skim, and it works.</p>
<p>I think most of the commercial test prep companies offer an "everyone gets a 600" promise, which they may or may not be able to deliver on. But I think following the College Board's free advice could also get you a 600, and there are students who still think self-study mostly by reading a lot and not specifically doing test-prep-as-such is still the best way to get above 700.</p>
<p>I have never heard of the "everyone gets a 600" promise! If that's the most they could do, no one would ever take a class or do test prep. I don't think just reading will get you a high score...you have to know how to take the SAT and practice specifically for it, unless you're one of the lucky few who is just naturally good at these tests. The SATs aren't like any other test I've taken. That's why the ACT is so much better...it's not full of the same stupid traps as the SAT. You don't have to learn how to take the ACT, just really work on timing. Can't say that for SAT.</p>
<p>Yeah, I don't mean that's explicitly what they promise, but that seems to be the target market: the people who are hoping to get about 600 on each section. See </p>
<p>You know, I saw that thread, but I didn't think it was a fair discussion. As a moderator, don't you think you have an obligation to present a topic without completely biasing it in one direction? If you want a true debate, you shouldn't color it with your own judgments. The way you wrote both the title and your initial post, you pretty much challenged people to have the nerve to disagree with you. </p>
<p>I would have participated in that discussion if it had been more open to opinions that didn't conflict with yours. Several of the posts from other members were so ignorant and based on hearsay rather than actual experience, that in the end, I didn't get anything useful out of it. One person in particular just blew my mind with her cluelessness, but the forum rules prevent me from saying anything about that!!</p>
<p>Here's an interesting tidbit on the Princeton Review: last year when my son was a freshman in college, he was contacted by the Princeton Review with an offer to teach future students based on the fact that he was a former Princeton Review student and that his SAT scores SOLID and that he had a good personality. He was again contacted the other day as a sophomore with the same offer. We think this is funny. He has no interest in teaching for the Princeton Review. His SAT scores: 600M, 620V, 650W. All good. Should he teach for the Princeton Review? Should you pay $1,000+ for a 20 year old to "teach" your high school student how score well on the SAT'S?</p>
<p>Congratulations to him and best wishes for his college studies. I would have thought that "solid" SAT scores for being an SAT tutor would be scores nearer to 800 in each section, which I suppose is your point. Of course a good personality is important too, in any teaching job.</p>
<p>Yes, that is my point. Why would the Princeton Review be offering him this opportunity to become an SAT tutor? I'm trying to say that it's not worth the money. It's not worth spending over $1,000 on the Princeton Review prep course! It could be potentially taught by a wild-and-crazy college kid! And thanks, my son is having a great time while hopefully getting a good education!</p>
<p>Tutus: I am in no way disparaging your son's scores (which are good), but, to be frank, he would not meet my minimum score standards for hiring. (My tutors generally need to have scored a 720+ on each section when they first apply, and they must score a 770+ on each section on a real, official SAT after the training.) This nicely illustrates the quality of the instructors and instruction one gets at companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review. I can understand Princeton Review's desperation, since it can be quite difficult to find high scorers who are suitable for such jobs in certain areas (such as mine), but an aggressive and thorough search (which usually means placing paid ads on job sites, something Princeton Review seems loath to do) can net some great candidates. That the company is unwilling to spend $100-$200 on a job ad for a month or two to find some truly great people when they have good revenues and enjoy very healthy profit margins with their courses is shameful!</p>
<p>I agree. My third child (a 9th grader) will get a private tutor for the SAT review. I was posting this information on my son's experience with the Princeton Review specifically for the purpose of alerting people to their hiring practice and because he asked me to "spread the word".</p>
<p>I don't see the point in paying 1000 dollars for a Princeton Review Class. Just pay 35 for the book; it has all the information and strategy. I'll post a topic with my next SAT scores, and that may help people looking for the right study program. (though I'm taking the one in the Summer, not May)</p>