the pros and cons of different test prep books

<p>There are so many SAT prep books avaliable, and they all seem to say about the same thing: "this book will raise your score". They aren't all that similar though. Why don't we post here what we think of the books we've used, to get a better idea of what they are like and what people think of them?</p>

<p>Here are the ones I've used so far:</p>

<p>"Fiske New SAT Insider's Guide"
pros:
- gives many different strategies to choose from
- many excersises with good explanations for the answers
- consise!
- fairly neutral towards the test (no "the SAT is evil!" or "the SAT rocks!")
- advice from students who have taken the test
- good, easy to navigate layout</p>

<p>cons:
- too much emphasis on that test prep courses don't work
- no full-lenght practice tests
- the math section was slightly confusing (could be that I'm just bad at math...)</p>

<p>Princeton Review's "Cracking the NEW SAT, 2006"
pros:
- 3 full-lenght practice tests with detailed answers</p>

<p>cons:
- very negative towards the test (ok, the test isn't that good, but that doens't mean I want my prep book to try to be my sympathetic little buddy. Anyway, I highly doubt that PR truly wants it taken away since they make so much money off it)
- tells you exactly what to do, without taking into consideration that their strategies might not work for everyone.
- confusing layout
- takes too much time getting to the point</p>