What are the advantages of taking a prep plass? Which company's?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>I have been self studying by taking practice tests and doing exercises, but my mom has recently been pressuring me to sign up for an SAT class. I figured that I should ask you guys for some assistance. I've been looking into Kaplan and Princeton Review, and both companies seem decent to me. However, I'm already scoring in the 2100+ range on practice tests (sophomore year PSAT score of 197 but lots of stupid mistakes made then), so I want to know which company I should go with. I did call both companies and they gave me a rough idea of their training style. I'm a little bit ambivalent as to which one is better, considering that Kaplan's representative told me that their instructors go through "rigorous training and have to score above the 95th percentile on an exam which (if I recall correctly) is administered by the company." Officially, I googled Kaplan's job openings and found that a Texas job asked only for the 90th percentile. Princeton Review didn't do much better by saying that they also send instructors through rigorous training and required scores on each section to be above the 650 points mark. </p>

<p>My weakest section for some odd reason right now is critical reading; I have absolutely no problem speed reading because I've been an avid reader since I was little, but I get tripped up on a few questions here and there. I'm looking for some opinions as to which company offers a better course on that section. In addition, I'm also hoping for a class that does more practice essays and scores them. </p>

<p>As far as pricing goes, Princeton Review is $100 more expensive for me than Kaplan's, but it is much closer to my house (10 minute walk vs 10 minute drive) although it does have some classes on school nights. I have no problem paying for either one of them, but I just want to make sure that the money my mom forks over and the time I spend sitting in the class is worth it, especially since my schedule will be tight with the addition of a class. Thanks for checking out my thread and I look forward your input!</p>

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<p>If you’re already 2100+ you don’t need a prep class. Those are aimed at uninformed high scorers and people in the 1500s-1600s range. Blue Book practice and hanging out on this site will be your best bet on improving.</p>

3

<p>Don’t go into a prep class since you are scoring a 2100+!
Prep classes usually are for people for are scoring less than 1800s or just aren’t motivated to learn by themselves. </p>

<p>I suggest buying workbooks to raise the score(:</p>

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<p>lol thanks guys. I tried to tell my mom what you guys said but since a family friend told my mom that her daughter scored approximately 200 points higher after taking Princeton Review’s online thing (she got something like a 2350 after taking it), my mom is convinced that I must take a prep course. I dislike online courses because I get distracted by other websites (like CC :D) and I’m not close to a computer 24/7. I have enough workbooks to last me 2 years without taking the same practice test again (an aggregation of purchased and hand-me-downs from other Asians)…but as I said before, my mom insists that I sign up for a class ASAP.</p>

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<p>^ Tell your mom she’s stupid about this lol.
Those 200-point increase claims the companies make are, at best, hearsay, and more likely fabricated. A lot of the time those claims are made based on the scores of the company’s own unofficial tests, and there’s easy ways to artificially deflate scores when students take the first test.</p>

<p>Remember, the test prep industry is completely unregulated. They literally have no backup for those claims at all. Like someone else said, prep classes are for low scorers and/or unmotivated people, and you sound like neither.</p>