<p>I believe that practice papers are the way to go if you do not have much money to spare because the advice and strategies given in most main stream SAT prep books are hackneyed and rather obvious. Those strategies and advices could be found throughout the college confidential forums and google with some patience. So if you have Barrons, Princeton Review, Kaplan, Gruber’s, Mc Graw hill on your book list, cross them out. </p>
<p>Now, for practice papers, I strongly recommend you stick to collegeboard practice papers because the other test-prep books differ from those of the collegeboard’s in one way or another. For example, Barrons is notorious for having super long reading passages… (For the Critical Reading Workbook at least) and though this may seem to be helpful for training your reading speed, I feel that it is unnecessary especially since you are on a budget.</p>
<p>Now you are probably asking where to get the Collegeboard practice questions. Here are a few suggestions I have:
- Get the blue book 2nd edition (with 10 practice papers) if you have not yet. It costs about $21 USD and i’m sure you can get a discount on Amazon. This book provides all the practice you need for a 2300 if you diligently do the practices and of course check the correct answer explanations provided on the free book owner’s area ([Welcome</a> to the Official SAT Study Guide Book Owner’s Area](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>SAT Study Guide – SAT Suite | College Board))</p>
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<li><p>Get the The Official SAT Study Guide (text only) 1st (First) edition by The College Board. This provides another 8 practice papers and the amazing thing is that you can get it from Amazon for $2.50++ (for a used book). If however, you want to go for a new book, you can spend about $31 for one. Here’s the link to the amazon page for the book.[The</a> Official SAT Study Guide (text only) 1st (First) edition by The College Board: The College Board: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Official-Study-Guide-First-College/dp/B004P8930G]The”>http://www.amazon.com/Official-Study-Guide-First-College/dp/B004P8930G)</p></li>
<li><p>[SAT</a> Practice Tests](<a href=“http://www.ivyglobal.ca/sat/sat_practice_tests.asp]SAT”>http://www.ivyglobal.ca/sat/sat_practice_tests.asp) This website provides links to some previously tested SAT tests from the past and is free :). </p></li>
<li><p>SAT online course; since you are on a budget I don’t think you will want to spend $59 (inclusive of $10 discount for blue book owners). It provides 10 more practice tests. </p></li>
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<p>Although collegeboard practice tests are the way to go; I do acknowledge that some less well known prep books can give you the information you need to trash the SAT.</p>
<p>Here are my favorites based on first impression:
SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps: Perfect-Score Student Reveals How to Ace the Test
$12.51
- A decent book if you don’t want to search the web for information and strategies. </p>
<p>If you are running out of time to revise, I suggest you do the improve your weakest area approach. In this case I would recommend the following books for areas of weakness:</p>
<p>CR:
The Insider’s Essential Guide to SAT Critical Reading and Vocabulary
- This book is epic and I highly recommend you get it if CR is your weakest link. It is the most comprehensive and interesting CR book I’ve seen (from first impressions).
- However, do note that you can still get a 800 in CR without this book if you practice and review your answers for the official practice tests.</p>
<p>Writing:
Ehhh… don’t waste your money on a writing book. There aren’t many good ones out there but if you specifically want grammar review, then Grammar Smart by Princeton Review would do you good. Otherwise don’t bother with the writing books because almost all the grammar points can be learnt from diligent practice from the collegeboard practice tests and online. </p>
<p>Math:
Again, practice makes perfect and I don’t think any prep book can substitute that. Stick to studying the math sections of practice tests and reviewing the questions you get wrong.</p>
<p>In conclusion I strongly recommend the collegeboard practice tests but if you want additional prep, the other books I recommend will also be useful for you.</p>