<p>Hey everyone. I am going to write the SAT in May, and am self-prepping a lot. However, I will go to a prep course go get additional help and boost my score. Here's the crazy part.</p>
<p>I found this company called TEST MASTERS. I believe that they are reputable and established company. Now, they GUARANTEE a 300 POINT SCORE INCREASE if you attend all the 12 classes (5 week period) and do the minimal homework assigned (says around 2 hrs. per week.) The course costs $1000, but my parents are more than willing to spend for such an improvement. PLUS, they will let you take the next course for FREE, if you don't improve by 300 POINTS!</p>
<p>So, is this legit? I got 1930 on my very first diagnostic SAT practice test, so will I actually be able to get to over 2200 with this course? Have any of you taken this course?</p>
<p>Plus, should I take this 5 week course ASAP or take it 5 weeks before I take the SAT to keep it fresh in my mind? Does it matter when I take it to optimize the advantages?</p>
<p>If it doesn’t work the first time, would a second time (even though it is free) do anything?</p>
<p>Just food for thought.</p>
<p>Oh, and I’m curious: does the free courses stack? like if you fail multiple times to get a 300 point increase, can you go to the place multiple times for free?</p>
<p>it just says “If you don’t improve by at least 300 points, then you can repeat the next available course free of charge”. </p>
<p>but, i mean if they guarantee this 300 point increase, that means a significant amount of people, definitely over 80% probably, increase their scores to over 300, or else they’d be handing out free courses like candy, right? Idk, it just seems too good to be true. </p>
<p>have you taken a course like this? And has anyone else been to this course or taken courses with such guarantees? Advice pls! lol</p>
<p>Yes, but take into consideration the kids that have taken this course. These kids may be around the 1500 or 1600 range and they are taking this course just to get into a state school. A 300 pt. increase from those ranges is more doable than a 300 pt. increase from your level. Just something to keep in mind…</p>
<p>yea, that’s true. I have barely studied (finally getting down to it now lol) so I think I can get to a bit below 2100 on my own (only have a 610 in CR). But, I thought going to this course would make me basically kick back and relax a little while they boost my mark lol. </p>
<p>But, does anyone know if they can raise scores from say 2000 range to 2300?
Also, does it matter when you take any of these courses in general? Like, is is better just before you write the SAT? or does it even matter when? </p>
<p>The thing is my parents would make me go to a prep course regardless, so would you guys say this TEST MASTERS one would be the most worth it? Are they legit, even if they raise my mark by only 200 or a tiny bit more than that?</p>
<p>i got a 290 pt. increase. over ten kids in my school took testmasters, and each of them did amazingly well. lots of 2000’s and above. highest i heard was 2310.</p>
<p>because i live overseas, i took the online course. i thought it wouldn’t help, compared to the classroom experience, but it helped like crazy. </p>
<p>the girl who got 2310 took the classroom course. ofcourse, i personally cant guarantee a score increase, she convinced me to take the course. she absolutely loved it, and found the teachers to be excellent [and still keep the classes upbeat. she actually LOOKED forward to taking the class, and became best friends with the teachers] </p>
<p>i say take it. it is expensive, but i think its worth it. they really do teach u exactly what you need to know… and HOW to take the test.</p>
<p>ive heard so many good things about this company compared to princeton review or kaplan. i convinced atleast three people this year to take the course [online though =[ and two of them thanked me =P haha, the third girl is currently taking the course, which reminds me i have to ask her how she likes it.</p>
<p>anyways good luck with the SAT! hope this is useful…</p>
<p>With any test prep service you need to verify the basis for any guarantee that they make.</p>
<p>One charge directed as some test-prep companies is that they base their guarantee on your actual results on a real SAT versus their diagnostic SAT, which is loaded with really hard questions. In other words, some of the “improvement” is simply taking the real SAT which is easier than their practice test.</p>
<p>In the case of the company at hand, their guarantee is to let you take the course again. In other words, they have your money - once you have paid the actual cost to them for the test materials is puny. Some kids who pay won’t bother to take the test again, which further reduces the cost. </p>
<p>Consider this - anyone here, you pay me $50 and I will tell you if it will snow at your house tomorrow. If I am right, I keep the money, if I’m wrong, I will continue giving you daily predictions until I am correct.</p>
<p>Now, if they simply offered to give your money back - well - that would be a guarantee.</p>
<p>(Come to think of it, I’ll make the same deal on the weather. If I’m wrong, I’ll give the money back. If I’m right, I’ll keep the money. Offer not valid for residents of Florida or any other state where I decide it probably won’t snow. Offer expires January 31)</p>
<p>@bumble, what was your score before you took test masters? and then after what was your score? Do you think the classroom version is greatly better than the online version?</p>
<p>And i realize that going from low scores to higher ones is much easier, but do you think it would be possible to go from…let’s say 2000 to 2250 or 2300 in this course? Or are the things they teach only helpful to go from like 1700 to 2000, and beyond that is hard?</p>
<p>@Connecticutyank, they state that they only use official Collegeboard SAT tests, so i assume that they do the the same for their diagnostic tests too. but, i’m not 100% sure, i’ll probably call them up</p>
<p>The 300 points increase applies to people who are at the 1500-1600 level. Once you are in the 1900s no one can promise you a 300 points increase. Just my two cents</p>
<p>I personally think classes like these are basically scams… what is it that makes it worth 1000$? All the tips that they give you can probably be found in any regular SAT prep book, and practice tests are available in the Official SAT Book which can be purchased for 20 dollars. </p>
<p>I made a 44 point improvement on the PSAT (175-219) with self prep. I used the Official Guide to the SAT (second edition), some Kaplan books and Direct Hits. All of that was definitely less than 60$… I couldn’t even imagine paying a 1000$ for a course.</p>
<p>Oh god! All the advertising! Don’t pollute the forums!
If you use the search function, you could probably get enough opinions on what people think of test prep companies. You’ll get the same reults if you use the blue book and push yourself at home. It won’t matter if the company guarantees a 1000 point increase, if you don’t Wouk hard and put your all onto it, you won’t get those results. All I did was the practice tests from the college board book and went from a 1900 to a 2100. I might as well set $1000 on fire.</p>
<p>@bumble, got ur msg, I posted on your profile because it said you can’t receive PM’s.</p>
<p>for the Writing Section, do you just need to get a grammar book and know it inside out? I got 650 in the writing section in my first practice test, but I really don’t know anything about grammar, I just picked the answers that seemed right. </p>
<p>I hear Grammar Smart is a good book,what are other books that are helpful as well. Sorry that I ask these q’s I’ve read other threads, but some of these books aren’t available in Canada (like Direct Hits for example) and I have to order online, so I want to make sure I’m getting the best book</p>
<p>ive taken testmasters but in texas. they’re pretty helpful. i go to their exam club, which has all the released sats, which i think is the best part. i have a referral code for 25 dollar off if you’re interested. let me know.</p>
<p>It’s def. possible to get from 2000 to 2300, especially if you are bad at CR like I am :)</p>
<p>The best thing to do is to do lots and lots and lots of practice problems. For Writing, this will basically just make it easier to see some of the more obscure mistakes. For Math, it will help you do addition faster (I’m not joking.) For CR, it’ll help you see how the test-makers think. That’s the only way to improve your score–I can argue for my answer on any CR question, but that does me no good if the test maker disagrees with me.</p>
<p>Only take the course if you need someone on your back to keep you doing the test problems, or if you don’t know the material.</p>
<p>hey, thanks for the replies. i’m the kind of person that definitely WILL put in a 100% effort for this SAT. So, do you think i’d benefit more if I just signed up for the online CB program? I hear that it gives you the answers and explanations for all the problems. So, would this benefit me more, if I put in all the effort?</p>
<p>I mean, will my scores increase just as much as if i went to TestMasters? (or do they teach methods/tips that make scoring higher that much easier?) </p>
<p>Anyone who has a high score in the SAT and has improved a lot to get there without going to a prep class please post. i want to hear your opinions too. :)</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I raised my initial PSAT score from 164 to 203 with mere self-prep…it does require a lot of work on your part, but you seem like the type of student who will be dedicated enough to the task that that won’t be a problem. I’m receiving my second SAT I scores in less than ten hours, so I can let you know what they are…everything has been accomplished through self-study though. Just nail the basics in math, get a feel for idioms and agreement in writing, and practice, practice, practice the test makers critical reading sections…and love vocab with a fiery passion. You’ll do quite well. Where do you want to go to school?</p>
<p>Note that they will give you their own diagnostic test on your first day. They will probably give you a REALLY hard diag and reduce your score to a 1700-1800 and then at the end of the course they will give you a really easy test and you will score in the mid 2100s or higher. In reality while you think that you just had a 300-400 point increase you only improve by a bit less than a hundred or so. Dont get me wrong I am sure that if you concentrate and fulfill the requirements you can improve 300 points I am just saying that it isnt that hard for a company to project a “300 point increase”.</p>