<p>how would you guys rank some of the SAT prep books?
thanks!</p>
<p>Blue book.</p>
<p>For self-study, I think that the “blue book” (i.e. the Official Study Guide, by the College Board) is the most important resource. However, I don’t really consider it a prep book in the strict sense of the phrase. The value of the blue book lies in its practice exams; because the book was written by the College Board, these practice exams are as close as you can get to “real” SAT exams. While the blue book does come with some purported prep advice / content, I didn’t think this stuff was very useful; my opinion is that you can pretty much just tear out the first 400 pages or so. The exams are what you want.</p>
<p>As for actual prep books, there are different kinds. The Princeton Review, Barron’s, and Kaplan all produce “general” SAT prep books, by which I mean books that focus on the whole of the SAT, rather than a specific section (e.g. Critical Reading). I think that PR’s is the best, followed by Barron’s – but this is just an opinion. Each book is different, and I imagine that different people will prefer different books. </p>
<p>In addition to these “general” books, there are a slew of resourced aimed at different aspects of self-studying for the SAT. Vocab. Mathematics. Essay writing. You name it. I can’t rank these, but if you pick a particular item to focus upon (e.g. vocabulary), and search college confidential for advice on that item, you’ll be able to see some opinions on the relative merits of different resources.</p>
<p>I hope that helps!</p>
<p>Partly, it depends on what you need help with. My S enjoyed the book, “Tooth & Nail,” which is a narrative that has SAT words & some study tips. He read it while in 7th grade before the 1st time he ever took the SAT & has an excellent vocabulary but found it a quick read. There are now several competing books with other SAT words as well, if vocabulary is your weakness.</p>
<p>If math is your weakness, it might be worthwhile having a tutor teach/review it. For D, this was very helpful because she had not yet covered some of the math that was on the SAT (pre-calc) and it was good for her to learn it in any case. She learned it for the 1st time in a SAT ‘review’ course.</p>
<p>If you need help in anything else, agree with the above post about “The REAL SAT Book” from College Board, which is the one that our HS uses in their college prep course.</p>
<p>By far, I think the Gruber Complete SAT Guide 2012 is the best. I’ve increased my score by 320 points using it. I am going to take the test again to try to get a perfect score again using the book.</p>
<p>Get the Princeton Review. I currently bought one. It gives you these good strategies and techniques for the SAT</p>
<p>“For self-study, I think that the “blue book” (i.e. the Official Study Guide, by the College Board) is the most important resource. However, I don’t really consider it a prep book in the strict sense of the phrase. The value of the blue book lies in its practice exams; because the book was written by the College Board, these practice exams are as close as you can get to “real” SAT exams.” - SATSSB</p>
<p>Yes! Yes! Yes!</p>
<p>Barron’s SAT 2400 helped me especially with critical reading and writing</p>
<p>Professor dave’s owner’s manual for the sat is the best in my opinion. It teaches how to do sat questions and how to pace yourself on the test. My daughter used this book and swears by it. She went up over 300 points from one test to the next. We have also recommended this book to many of her friends, and they all love it. The book is different than most sat books in that it is written in a casual, accessible style. It’s really a great book for prepping for the sat. The author also recommends the “blue book” as a source of practice questions after you learn the techniques in the book. We got both of them on Amazon. Good luck!</p>
<p>Blue Book, Direct Hits Volumes 1 and 2, Dr. Chung’s SAT Math guide, Silverturtle’s Grammar Guide. I used these to increase my SAT score. I got a 183 on PSAT’s and kept on getting around 1800 on practice SAT tests, but after buying these books and studying for a the past couple months, my scores have risen to 2040-2110.</p>
<p>How about online test preps? Anyone recommends any particular one?</p>
<p>I exclusively self-studied and got a 2320 on my only take using the “Blue Book” and standard Princeton Review book. Go through the explanations very carefully on the Blue Book and make sure you understand the logic behind every answer, and it will be an incredible aid for you. Practice essay writing too, I got an 8 essay and 79 MC so my writing dropped to a 750.</p>
<p>I got the Blue Book and its practice tests really give you an idea of how you’re going to do. But the Princeton Review book isn’t too shabby either, so you should give that one a try as well.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I hadn’t exactly read through these two books my first time around and took the test without studying. So I only got a 1850. But hopefully these will raise my scores!</p>
<p>You need nothing but the BB and CC/internet to get over a 2300…</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC</p>
<p>Is there another book with lots of practice tests? My son has done most of the ones in the blue book but is looking for more practice tests, not so much another book with explanations or tips.</p>
<p>D used the Blue Book, and the Kaplan’s. Also borrowed a friends Princeton Review…</p>
<p>The College Board has an online course for around $70 that has 10 additional full tests. Also most tutors hoard past QAS copies of previously-given SAT tests so that might be a good source as well.</p>
The Best SAT Prep Books In 2015 is The Official SAT Study Guide ( the Blue Book).
Source(s):
http://amzn.to/1G4VuBZ