<p>Does EVERYone take a prep course or get tutoring before the SAT? I didn't do anything to prepare and got 1900.
I want to go to Columbia and now my parents want me to get tutored and take the SAT again in December.
WTH?</p>
<p>No, not everyone gets tutored. Its possible to teach yourself how to do well on the SAT by using the blue book and the threads posted on this site by xiggi and silverturtle. They’re really helpful! But if you feel like you need a traditional tutor/SAT class, you should take the class. A lot of people do that as well.</p>
<p>Thanks, I guess I should read the blue book, at least. My parents expect at least a 2100 since I didn’t do any prep the first SAT</p>
<p>A prep course doesn’t really help you much; most of the time a prep course will go through basic strategies that don’t work for everyone. I recommend trying out several different strategies listed on this website as the Blue Book’s strategies aren’t too helpful. It is better to just practice using tests from the Blue Book as all that a prep course really offers are practice tests.</p>
<p>If you need some CR help, there are several great guides online. I’ve recently written a guide to it (the link is below).</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1024138-how-i-got-800-sat-critical-reading-story-guide.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1024138-how-i-got-800-sat-critical-reading-story-guide.html</a></p>