<p>I am a sophomore that's starting to get paranoid about studying for the SATs this summer. In terms of books from the knowledge I have gained through going through CC, I will be buying/trying to find (for sure):</p>
<p>Collegeboard's Blue Book
Rocketreview Revolution
PR's 11 tests
Barron's 2400
Direct Hits/Barron's Hot Words</p>
<p>Along with these books, do I need to buy Princeton's Cracking the SAT and Barron's regular SAT book/section specific workbooks as basic books to start, or will I be good enough with these 4 above? I've heard Kaplan is terrible when it comes to SATs and I personally prefer Barron's and PR. Which book is better for vocab, DR or Hot Words?</p>
<p>My PSAT score this year was a 188 (80M, 55W, 53CR). I just need to improve passage based reading and essay writing in order to do really well because I now have learned all of the grammar rules and vocab. My goal is to get 2300+ and hopefully get in ED to Stanford or EA to Harvard.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your recommendations.</p>
<p>Also, has anyone ever heard of the book Increase your Score in 3 minutes a Day: SAT Essay?</p>
<p>I would buy the PR Cracking the SAT. The questions were a near carbon copy of the questions I saw on the March SAT. I got a 185 on the PSAT (70M, 57CR, 58W) last fall, and it was pretty discouraging. I got the Princeton Review a month later, took the first practice test and got a 1340/2000. I took another a week before the SAT and got a 1410/2110. NOw I’m waiting for the results, and because of PR I’m a lot less nervous about how I did and a lot more anxious to see my score.</p>
<p>^ Agreed, a friend of mine has sworn by Cracking the SAT. I personally have never used it, but it raised her score considerably.</p>
<p>I haven’t read Gruber’s 2400 all the way through, and I don’t really intend to as I’ll be preparing for my next SAT by working my way through the last 5 or so tests in my blue book and then some, but from what I’ve read so far, the reading section is pretty. I didn’t like Barron’s 2400 at all. The constant use of “2400 Club” and the weird acronyms were just…no. The math was very useful, but the reading actually made me do worse on the PSAT. Then again, to each one’s own.</p>
<p>I used a Barron’s book and it was the only one I could get through. It wasn’t the 2400 version, though; it might have been [this</a> one](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-SAT-Sat-Book-Only/dp/0764144367/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_1_0]this”>http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-SAT-Sat-Book-Only/dp/0764144367/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_1_0) but I can’t really remember … depressing as I took the SAT a few weeks ago :|. Maybe I just liked it because I got it from the library brand new, and because their vocabulary section is by far the most comprehensive, but I like the font, the feel, the layout, etc. I didn’t like the annoyingly long list of useless crap I already knew inside, but I guess they don’t exactly tailor to people who don’t need to read those books :P. The only part that really helped me was the essay section, although PR’s rivaled that.</p>
<p>The Princeton Review book isn’t bad either; it seems a bit formal to me, but the material is all very solid. The official Collegeboard one is decent, but less comprehensive, IMO. They can’t exactly give away all the secrets :)</p>
<p>Never used Gruber’s, never want to. Dunno why, I just don’t like the format. Don’t use the Kaplan (utterly useless) and McGraw-Hill (horrid organization, less informative than most) books, either.</p>
<p>Cracking the SAT is solid. If you want to focus extra on the reading, I would recommend 5 SAT Critical Reading Practice Tests. It’s the book that kicked my butt the most and helped my reading score the most. Good luck!</p>