SAT Direct Hits?

Test Preparation
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<p>I've heard many people on these forums commend Direct Hits for its substantial list of frequently appearing SAT words, but I'm a little skeptical. I score in the high 2100s total, but only about 620-660 in CR, usually missing about 6-8 line completion vocab questions in total (the difficult ones). I'm just wondering if Direct Hits is worth the hype; do people really notice substantial improvements? (especially those who only need help for the difficult vocab questions) I've read from the official site that people improve up to 200 points, but that seems exaggerated, unless you started with a toddler's vocabulary.</p>

<p>Also, to me, it seems that the book is pretty much useless in the reading passages, but do other people improve in these areas as well with the help of the book?</p>

<p>I'm about to buy the book, but just wanna know others' opinions. Thanks for the help.</p>

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<p>The value in Direct Hits, for me at least, was the quality of the words. It actually does help. Also, if you memorized word roots, suffixes, & prefixes, that would be extremely good as well.</p>

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<p>I saw a MAJOR improvement in my sentence completion (and to a lesser extent, essay) scores after going through DH.</p>

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<p>read my thread:<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1179979-direct-hits-scam.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1179979-direct-hits-scam.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>it seems like a good book based on other people’s opinions</p>

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<p>OP, despite the controversy surrounding its marketing, I bought an e-version (cheaper) for ds2, a rising junior. It’ll be awhile before he really knows if his score has been raised (he’ll be taking a practice SAT next month), but I will say that he’s actually studying with it, so that counts for something. Flashcards that someone gave me were boring to him so they sat on the shelf. I guess the pop culture references in DH were enough to keep him interested, and the mini-tests aren’t arduous.</p>

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<p>Ok, I think I’ll buy it then. Question tho, is the Volume 2 “Toughest Vocabulary of the SAT” better in providing vocab in the harder sentence completion questions? I’m not sure what the difference is between volume 1 and 2. Can someone give me 5-10 words from each if possible?</p>

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<p>I looked through the Direct Hits series. I think it’s overrated … </p>

<p>I don’t know a good number of the words in there, such as “redolent” or “chagrin,” but I only miss like 1 sentence completion question for every 2 SATs I take :). In fact, I sometimes manage to ace entire CR sections. </p>

<p>It doesn’t matter who wrote the SAT - College Board, Barron’s, Kaplan, or Gruber’s - it’s all elementary to me.</p>

<p>And there isn’t much of a difference b/w Volume 1 and 2. I’ll leave you with this Amazon review. Note that the reviewer actually purchased the book - hence “Amazon Verified Purchase.”</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Direct-Hits-Toughest-Vocabulary-SAT/product-reviews/0981818463/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Direct-Hits-Toughest-Vocabulary-SAT/product-reviews/0981818463/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Except that each volume contains completely different words and examples.</p>

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<p>You probably don’t need DH then. :P</p>

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<p>Redolent definitely showed up sometime last year. I remember reading about it on a CC discussion thread.</p>

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<p>What do you suggest? Should I memorize word roots instead? </p>

<p>I’m at the point of diminishing returns :stuck_out_tongue: - should I memorize 3500 words? Or should I be satisfied with my vocabulary and focus on … say … math? </p>

<p>I’m aiming for a 2400 … just like you :D. </p>

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<p>This. If you’re averaging -0 on SC, you should stop focusing on vocabulary. Work on your weaker sections, whatever they may be.</p>

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<p>I have a really good memory, but I don’t know if I should spend SO much time on completely memorizing barron’s 3500. I completely memorized DH 1 and 2 in about 10 hours. It’s not that I can memorize things quickly, but when I do memorize thing I can retain ALL of it after i do know it… I want to miss 1-2 SC MAX, do you think DH is enough for me?</p>

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<p>jd989898:
There’s no replacement for actually being an avid reader and naturally picking up vocabulary words, but if you really think that you need to cram, I supposed DH is good enough. Go through a few sections in the Blue Book or PR’s 11 Tests and see how well you’re doing. If you don’t score well, there’s obviously an issue.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard it helps a lot, mine should arrive in a week or two.</p>

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<p>I Pm’ed you. For anybody who wants them…</p>

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<p>Anybody who has a link to the Volume 1 ?</p>

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<p>seems helpful. I have read some of its articles.</p>

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<p>The Direct Hits Core and Toughest Vocabulary books helped me to improve my Reading and Writing score. But you should start early with these books and not wait until the end to start your SAT preparation.</p>