<p>They give you the hardest test first and then the easiest test when you leave. The first time I took an SAT at the prep class, I got a 1640. They used SAT questions from the Barrons book... Barrons is known for creating extremely hard tests. Then on the final test, they made it really easy and I got a 2070. Except... they used questions from Kaplan (which are incredibly easy in case you don't know) and they used a PSAT writing section for the SAT writing section (WOW)</p>
<p>And I really don't think I improved that much. Usually I get 2100s on SATs but I want to get higher because I'm Asian. And today I took the official SAT on college board (I took the free test that they offered, the same SAT given for the 2009 school year) and got 2010 on it. I would have gotten in the mid to high 1900's but I gave myself a 12 on the essay, lol. </p>
<p>Sigh... word of advice: dont take SAT prep classes. period.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of that:/ I plan to try to self-study and then, only if I really need it, take classes. However, I’m hopeful that I can just study the material myself:)</p>
<p>daughter is enrolled in a PR course. She has taken 4 practices and her scores have all improved BUT she has yet to see improvement on the real thing. SOmeone recommended doing the CB test to see if she really has improved. You maybe could try that. Good luck!</p>
<p>Don’t make generalizations. Prep classes work for some people, and don’t work for others. It usually depends on how much you put into the class. I know 2-3 kids who took PR classes and stayed EXACTLY the same. I know people who have went down (IDK, fluke?). And I know people who went up, myself included. From my PSAT (and the first mock SAT they gave me, both were roughly the same) I went up about 200+ points. Just because it didn’t work for you, doesn’t mean it’s a scam.</p>
<p>YES, they are scams. The hard-to-easy SAT thing isnt the only thing they do. Some of the test centers around here have these college planning programs for seniors, so basically if you pay 1,000 dollars they spark your application/esaays so that youre ‘guaranteed’ to get into a UC; even more ridiculous, if you pay 10,000 dollars they guarantee that you get into an Ivy league. Its so messed up, all they want is money!</p>
<p>There are good test prep centers though. You just have to ask around.</p>
<p>Meh, I never took any prep courses, barely studied, and still did well. It all depends on the person. I felt that school already gave me the required skills to do well on the SAT.</p>
<p>Anyway, I wouldn’t really call them a “scam,” but you can get better by studying the stuff yourself. In fact, I think studying yourself is better.</p>
PR was good though.</p>