Updated to reflect the most recent SATs, this manual offers college-bound students an explanation of all the important tactics and strategies for taking the SAT, as well as a detailed review of all test topics, a diagnostic test, and five full-length SAT practice tests with all questions answered and explained. Subject reviews cover critical reading, grammar and usage, and math, as well as detailed instruction in preparing and writing the required SAT essay. The book’s additional features include an overview of the SAT, an explanation of its scoring method, and general study advice.
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Price: $ 3.20
MOST PRACTICE FOR THE BUCK,
As an SAT Verbal tutor for over 20 years, my book of choice is Barrons for several reasons. #1- More practice tests than any other book #2- harder than the real test, at least in verbal #3- excellent vocab cards in the back which also serve as a great core vocab for college #4- avoids the weird questions found in ARCO #5- maybe not as much explaining as Princeton or Kaplan, but TRIPLE the practice — If you need the explanations, get a combo of the books #6- Follow this book up with the 10 REAL SAT’S and you will see that they are now a piece of cake!! #7- when the students that I coach use this book, they are assured of a verbal point gain anywhere from 100 to 210 points, depending on how much they put into it. There are other reasons for this book to be a master tutor’s book of choice, but in the interest of not being too verbose, let me just say “TRY IT!!”
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|The best of the SAT-prep book crop,
I looked at the Princeton Review and Kaplan books, but ended up using this one instead. It doesn’t appear any larger on the outside, in terms of book size and paper weight, but there’s about three times as much material here as in the Kaplan book. With more practice tests, more extensive discussion and review of math concepts and more vocabulary words and flashcards, this book gives you far and away the most value for your money. After taking the practice tests in this book, and in 10 Real SATs, I got a 1520 on the actual test (V: 800, M: 720). I’m taking the test again this fall, and I’m going to try for that 800 on the math section. This book will certainly be the cornerstone of my continued studies for the test.
The only circumstance under which I would recommend primarily using the Kaplan book instead is if you are scoring below 1100 on your initial practice tests… In this case, the Kaplan book will probably help you more, as it covers some general strategies that will help you get your score up into the 1300 range, strategies which this book neglects in favor of more sophisticated material.
As always, you’ll only get as much out of it as you put in: so use the book regularly, supplement it with outside reading if you have trouble with the verbal section and with extensive problem solving if you have trouble with the math section. But that said, this book provides an excellent foundation for your studies and I highly recommend it.
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|Helpful but has a few weaknesses,
Barron’s HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE SAT I is a fairly decent all-in-one guide for tackling the USA’s standard college-entrance examination. It discusses what the SAT I is and how best to study for it, gives test-taking strategies to exploit the test’s grading system, and spends several hundred pages giving the student the verbal and mathematical skills necessary to face the test. At the end are seven full-length model exams. I used this guide to take the SAT I and scored 600 on the math section and 780 on the verbal, for a combined score of 1380.
I’ve always been pretty good at verbal concepts so I didn’t make use of that section of the book, but as math has always been difficult for me, I spend several weeks on the mathematics section. The Barron’s guide breaks down the SAT I’s math expectations into 12 units, each concentrating on a different mathematical concept. Each section of each unit is followed by a short test involving the concept. I am happy this guide gave me the refresher on mathematics necessary to succeed in the test, but I do have my complaints. One is that the mini-tests at the end of the section are too short and don’t give adequate practice. Another complaint is that for a person like myself who had been out of high school for a couple of years when he took the SAT I and had already forgotten most of high school math, the Barron’s guide makes assumptions on what you already know, as I suppose most purchaser of this guide are in high school. I would have been much happier if the guide had truly started from the basics in the math section.
I was dissatisfied with the model exams. Although they are very close to the actual test, Barron’s uses a different grading system, meaning that with a score for the model exams there’s still no ballpark figure for how one will do on the SAT I. I would like to see the next edition of this guide use the same grading system as the actual test. If a student is shooting for, let’s say, 1250, he should know how close he is to his goal.
In spite of its flaws, this is still one of the best SAT I preparation guides out there. It certainly saved this adult student who had forgotten quite a bit, and I believe that it can be trusted to raise one’s score, as long as one puts in the necessary time and effort into using the guide.
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