<p>I am currently finishing my junior year in high school and will be a senior in September. I plan on taking the SATs for the first time in October. I have not done anything to study so far, but I am willing to devote a majority of my summer to prepare for the test. I already bought the Kaplan "12 Practice tests for the SATs", but have yet to purchase anything else. Which book(s) and studying strategies would you recommend for the best prep.? I want to avoid taking a class because I heard that you can do just as well from independent study without paying hundreds of dollars. I especially need A LOT of help in math so what would you recommend for that?</p>
<p>First thing’s first; take a practice test at your own pace. After you grade it, you’ll see where your weaknesses are/what you need to strengthen. Go through the test problem by problem, and correct each problem you got wrong. Say you missed a math problem dealing with angles of a triangle – find a tutorial video on YouTube (KhanAcademy, PatrickJMT), learn the concept, and drill problems. If you miss a certain type of problem on your practice test, chances are you will miss the same concept on the real SAT. The SAT is a rather repetitive test, and after you’ve gone through a few practice tests like this, you will find your score has dramatically improved.</p>
<p>Here’s my suggestion: If you have tomorrow or the day after that off, go through an entire practice test untimed. Grade it the next day, see where you are at, identify general weaknesses. For the next 4 weeks, do a practice test a week: CR sections on Monday, grade it Monday or Tuesday. Math sections on Wednesday. Writing sections on Friday. An essay over the weekend. The 4 weeks after that, do the same thing, but time it. 2 weekends before the SAT, go through a full practice test timed. By this point, you should be totally solid on this stuff, but if you have any sticking points, review that. The day before the test, don’t do anything SAT related. Just relax and go to bed early.</p>
<p>Buying extra prep books/taking classes/etc is unnecessary. 12 practice tests and good old YouTube will be sufficient. Go through a test, and make sure any mistake you made on it, you won’t make again. After you’ve done this 12 times, you will be GOLDEN.</p>
<p>Another thing: HURRY. The majority of high-achieving students at my school have already taken the SATs multiple times.</p>
<p>Get the Blue Book.</p>