<p>So I'm going into junior year this fall, and I'm wondering if anyone can share with me the best time to take the SAT I? Is there a better curve at different points of the year? When did you guys take it?
And do you think that studying from a review book is going to be enough to get me a 2200+ score?
I'm generally a very good student/test taker and I've recieved 5's on two AP exams and a 750 on the World History SAT II (all studying on books alone rather than classes) if that makes any difference in what type of studying I should do. A lot of my friends are taking classes, but I don't know if they are necessary?</p>
<p>I took the SAT in January of my junior year, but I don't think that time of year affects the curve. Studying from a review book is, in my opinion, the best way to prepare. Classes and tutors are often over-priced and ineffective. Based on the scores you have already gotten, I think that with some practice you shouldn't have too much trouble cracking 2200.</p>
<p>Take all the online tests and quizzes at the collegeboard.com website and use a review book. It's an especially good idea to get the Board's "10 Real SATs" book. The one I use (I'm prepping in order to assist high school students, including my son) is a 2003 version which doesn't include the writing section and still has analogies, which have since been dropped. Nevertheless, these are actual SATs from previous dates, and the tone, format, and "dirty tricks" of the College Board product are evident. It's amazing how much more astute you become the more you're exposed to the sections and questions.</p>
<p>Haha gadad that shows some dedication. :)</p>
<p>You're going to hear on these boards a lot that some test dates have easier curves than others, the curve correlates with the amount of people taking it, etc. That is NOT true; the curve for each test is pre-determined and theoretically compensates for the difficulty of the test, so it doesn't matter when you take it, how many people take it, etc. Don't bother with SAT prep classes. Buy review books and do their practice tests - I recommend Barron's (it's a lot harder than the actual test lol). I'm not very fond of Kaplan, especially their CR sections. I actually never bothered with the informational sections of the prep books and just went to the tests section, but do whatever helps you. You do find that after enough tests, however, you'll get a pretty good idea of what kind of stuff they ask. You don't need to do this at first but TIME yourself, especially on the essay. A lot of people I know had major time issues that they didn't foresee. </p>
<p>I took the SAT June right after Sophomore year on a whim because I heard the curve was best then (lol, again, not true, don't listen to stuff like this). I had a month to prep and took ten bajillion practice tests. Did just fine. :)</p>
<p>Cool, thanks guys! And what books do you recommend?
I'm thinking of getting the Barron's SAT 2400 and pairing that with the official Collegeboard Sat Study Guide...</p>
<p>Oh, and which books have good full-length prep tests besides the massive official blue book?</p>
<p>SAT prep class, while expensive is better than a book. Simple as that. If you can afford it do it</p>
<p>I don't know, Bescraze. I haven't been involved in a prep course but you can get a lot of mileage out of prep books. A celebrated student poster named Xiggi has posted extensively on CC about his SAT prep method which involves going through the CollegeBoard prep tests, doing the same subject over and over and analyzing where you went wrong on the items you missed. You might want to search for his posts.</p>
<p>Actually, Xiggi's posts are in the "Important" lists at the top of the menu.</p>
<p>I don't know about Barron's 2400, but a lot of kids at my school seem to use it. I'd imagine it would cater more to good test takers like you. If your school offers this, take advantage of the official College Board online program. There's around 7 practice tests, I think, and you get essay practice that's actually graded, although don't get used to typing your essay because it will throw you off time-wise.</p>