I scored a decent score of 2020 (640 CR, 670 M, 710 W) on my first no-prep practice yesterday, and so far I’ve ordered the blue book. I was looking at this book called The Insider’s Essential Guide to SAT Critical Reading and Vocabulary.
It has great reviews, it includes the words from the 500 Essential Words book (why would someone buy that book when there’s this), and it has guides on sat critical reading. Should I purchase this book for critical reading (it’s where I’m scoring the worst on)? Are there any other books you guys recommend?
As for math, I’m completely clueless as to what book I should get. There are so many options, and I keep hearing “Gruber’s” or “Barron’s” or some other book. Can someone please tell me what book they recommend for math?
And as for writing, do you really need a comprehensive book or can you just find grammar guides on the internet to help you?
My goal is a 2100 for either the October or November test, and what I’m really hoping for is a 1400+ score for critical reading and math. I’m an upcoming junior, so I really want to ace this old SAT before the new one.
@AmitL1999 and @neoking - there are a lot of good suggestions in this thread; why don’t you check it out
@CHD2013 I’ve read throughout most of this thread, and the amount of suggestions is seriously overwhelming. I was wondering what people thought the absolute best critical reading and math books were. I don’t want to waste money haha :))
Well here’s one opinion (which has previously been stated on this thread):
CR- The Critical Reader by Erica Meltzer
Math - either PWN the SAT, The New Math SAT Game Plan or one or more books by Dr. Steve Warner
Grammar - The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammer by Erica Meltzer
Awesome man! I’ll definitely look into those math books. Do you consider the Black Book to be useful?
Yeah the black book’s pretty useful
@michelle426 did u use gruber’s complete sat book or just gruber’s sat math book?
@AmitL1999 I used math tests from Gruber’s SAT prep.
Don’t want to waste money? Spend the $200+ and get whatever books you need. If you consider that a lot of money, then you really need to find out what the typical 4yr college costs to attend. Just add three zeroes to the money you’ll spend on books. Those “expensive” books could get you a scholarship and save you a fortune 
I think the black book is helpful and worthwhile in addition to the other books I suggested
Use vividvocab.com
I LOVE that website. It’s a lot better than reading the word and the definition. And also, if you want, I would go with an SAT program called Green Test Prep. Check out their website and see if you want to try it. It might seem pricey, but its just a suggestion
Khan academy has a really nice program that is FREE for math. It adjusts to your personal needs and weaknesses and has tutorial videos. I’ve found it to be useful in my studying.
How accurate are the McGraw Hills practice tests? And is the Kaplan vocab list good?
@hardwork213 It is great when it is your first time taking an SAT practice test.
for getting around 2 wrong max on vocab, will memorizing direct hits suffice? if so, which editions of direct hits? (amazon link please)
Im getting 540’s in each of my sections. My essay scores have been 10 and 11.
I’m looking around on this thread and there are a lot of books. Which books should I get for each section that will give me the most “bang for my buck”?
Update: Alright so I just bought these books off of Amazon
The SAT Blue Book
Word Smart 5th Edition
The Critical Reader
SAT Sentence Completion Workbook
2nd Edition, The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar
PWN the SAT: Math Guide
Hope I made good purchases.
@BlueJellyfish I can vouch for The Critical Reader, The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, Bluebook and PWN the SAT Math Guide.
Hi!! Sorry I made my own discussion but I did not see this!!!
Basically, my math score isn’t that good. I’m in the low-mid 600’s (my highest is 680)
I got the barrons SAT math workbook to help (I also have the blue book. But I’m using that for tests)
http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-SAT-Math-Workbook-Edition/dp/1438000286
Is this book reliable? I’m trying to get above 750. I already bought the book FYI… I’ve been using it but I’ve seen many posts talking about how barrons is not very reliable when it comes to SAT prep.
Thanks!