<p>
We seriously need one, lol. This is tons of valuable, but unorganized information! Oh well, I can just read through the pages here for now. :)</p>
<p>Xiggi,</p>
<p>I registered with CC just to tell you how much I have appreciated your recent posts on SAT prep. I'm really looking forward to your upcoming SAT vs. ACT post. Thanks for all the great advice.</p>
<p>Xiggi, can u recommend some books for SAT 2(math,physics, bio)?</p>
<p>wow. thank you SO much everyone for such great information! i am a community college student looking to take the SAT for the first time ever this October, and am trying to figure out the best way to go about the prepping process, which seems difficult with a math summer class ending right before fall classes start. (it took a year of studying for me to earn my A in my last math class... lining out the F i had gotten on it the first time around.) all this information will make the process much easier, i'm sure!</p>
<p>i am going to the 12th Grade after this summer, and i am taking the SAT and ACT (if required) for the first time and using this preparation method hopefully that would land me in great score and better college of my CHOICE.</p>
<p>What do u propose we do after we finish all the tests in the blue book? Will it be beneficial to take tests out of PR 11 tests or any other book??</p>
<p>If you register for the College Board's online course, you get access to three more tests. You should also be able to order a copy of the official March test, though it may take awhile to get to you (and assuming of course you didn't already take it for real in March). That's it though. So far there have been 13 released College Board tests: the first one that was downloadable (code ABCD123), the 8 in the blue book, the 3 in the online course, and the March test. </p>
<p>The Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc tests that are in their books are mostly fine for practice on fairly realistic problems, but I wouldn't trust the scaled scores that their tests predict.</p>
<p>I'm adding this from another</a> thread so that it will stay with the sticked thread.
<p>You are much better off using the OLD SAT/SATII tests than wasting your time with anything that caries the name PR, Kaplan, and other wannabe test writers.</p>
<p>PS Check the Take the SAT brochures and online tests of TCB.
</p>
<p>Some of the old "Taking the SAT" brochures are avaliable from CB. Though they're meant for the old SAT, large parts of them will still be useful in practicing for the new one - just ignore the analogies, QC's and whatever else the new test doesnt have. See this</a> old thread for links.</p>
<p>I kind of wonder how I should raise my SAT verbal since i seem to be getting a 550.... I tend to get distracted by my feelings about the CR passages instead of comprehending to the passage. Xiggi can u help me please?</p>
<p>Another source of practice test that I just thought of: old PSAT tests. I've never heard Xiggi's opinion on using these, they are written by ETS/CB so I think they would be decent practice material. They are avaliable for purchase from CB, but most school counseling departments probably have a few years worth of extra tests that you could borrow for free.</p>
<p>Tanman, thanks for digging up Xiggi's advice from an earlier post. I also recommend that people use the old 10 Real SATs if they need more math and critical reading practice. For the Writing sections, there's a lot less material out there...only one of the old SAT II Writing tests is available in the Real SAT II: Subject Tests book (Second edition, I think.)</p>
<p>Always use the real material unless you have no choice. Even though the old tests aren't exactly like the new tests, they're the most realistic and the most valuable.</p>
<p>There's also another free SAT I available for download from the CBs website.</p>
<p>I took none of CB's tests but 3 PR tests, two of them timed. The score range I received in the PR practice tests turned out to be pretty accurate after seeing the June score. Maybe PR books aren't that bad after all...</p>
<p>Or maybe I'd have fared better if I'd bought the CB book. I dunno.</p>
<p>hi.. i am an international student currently taking the british a level exam. SAT is thus, not taught in sch, neither is it of importance to my sch mates. I have just taken my first SAT.. and i was pretty disappointed.. </p>
<p>730Maths
560 CR
570 W (8 for essay)</p>
<p>Are there any advice for me to improve my score or am I just doom? High Sch senior this year. Thanks</p>
<p>On the CB site, they offer a Teacher's Guide for the "blue book" for the new SAT. Does anyone have any familiarity with it? Does it provide any additional information of value. </p>
<p>Many thanks to Xiggi and the other contributors. This is very helpful.</p>
<p>hey screwup, our situation is very similar...only our scores are different, this being my second take.
for me, i think i'm a good test-taker so a couple of PR practice tests and CR strategies from the PR book worked for me.
but u can't go wrong with practice...hard work is usually the key</p>
<p>vadad --- I was wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>vadad that's an excellent question that I'd like to know the answer of myself.</p>
<p>Wow, I've just started studying for PSATs (got a 190 in my sophomore year and want to bump it up) and was thinking about doing a national course, but I think I'll just stick with this and asking questions here now that I've read some of this. Thanks.</p>
<p>I do have one question, and this question is because of how review books don't nearly cover the advanced math concepts as well as they should (I'm very good at math, but it's always the ones where you can use a calculator for a very long route or a simple trick to get it right). I apologize if this has already been covered. I really just want to generally know about how you work out a certain type of problem, and I can only explain the type from an example, and I'll use this one from my PSAT (it was a grid-in):</p>
<p>x=the sum of all odd integers from 1 to 49, inclusive
y=the sum of all even integers from 2 to 50, inclusive
z=the sum of all integers from 1 to 48, inclusive</p>
<p>Based on the definitions of x, y, and z above, what is the value of
x+y-z?</p>
<p>These types of problems where they ask you to do things involving adding a range of consecutive, odd, or even integers always baffles me, and I just end up putting dozens of numbers into a calculator, inevitably making a mistake and getting the problem wrong, which I did. How do I go about doing this? Also, what about the types of problems where they ask you something like, "How many numbers between 1 and 200 satisfy the condition where exactly one of the digits is 9 (without going through every single number?"</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Waffle, as a rule of thumb, the problems that "seem" to use a lot of numbers HAVE a very simple answer. It is worth reminding everyone that leaving your calculator under your desk is one of the best things you can do. In this type of problems, the SAT writers HOPE that unprepared students will jump at the calculator or try to remember some arcane formula. </p>
<p>A well prepared student should spend a few seconds and analyze the QUESTION and try to find a short answer. </p>
<p>Let's look at your question:</p>
<p>x=the sum of all odd integers from 1 to 49, inclusive
y=the sum of all even integers from 2 to 50, inclusive
z=the sum of all integers from 1 to 48, inclusive</p>
<p>Based on the definitions of x, y, and z above, what is the value of x+y-z?</p>
<p>Let's start with a simple analysis: </p>
<p>What is x + y?
x=the sum of all odd integers from 1 to 49, inclusive
y=the sum of all even integers from 2 to 50, inclusive</p>
<p>Isn't that a tricky way to represent the sum of all integers from 1 to 50, inclusive?</p>
<p>Now try to solve the following problem:</p>
<p>What is the value for the sum of all integers from 1 to 50 MINUS the sum of all integers from 1 to 48? Imagine the two series with all the numbers lined up ... pretty easy to see that the first 48 numbers can be eliminated, leaving you with a simple addition. </p>
<p>Ten seconds reading the question and ten seconds answering is all you really needed. </p>
<p>Again, this is why practice is important. The first time (or two) you see such a problem, it WILL trip you. However, after having seen a couple of the same time sinks of ETS, you WILL know how to approach them with confidence.</p>
<p>I can personally vouch for Xiggi's advice on taking SAT IIs A.S.A.P. I took both of them sophomore year right after my classes were done, did really well and I need not worry about them in fall. Just the October SAT. =)</p>