LynnG in Arizona Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I think we're going to have our rising junior take one of these next year. I know that both Kaplan and Princeton Review have an on-line SAT course for $399, and was wondering if anybody had experience with either of these? Any input would be most appreciated. :) Thanks! ps - we do already own the Chalkdust SAT review DVDs, which are excellent. My daughter will do one of the on-line review courses in addition to the Chalkdust math review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraL Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 No experience in Kaplan or Princeton, but we did recently enroll in a free online SAT prep course through Number2.com. http://number2.com/ It seems to be a great resource so far; the student receives regular emails prompting them what to study next, and you can also receive emails about what they are doing. It might be worth looking into for you and saving the $$$. From their website: About Number2 Number2.com is the only website that offers students access to comprehensive free online test preparation courses for the SAT, ACT, and GRE. How do we do it? Number2.com earns revenue from sponsorships and licensing. The company was founded by professors and graduate students who wanted to make high quality test preparation universally accessible. In 1999 Eric Loken and Josh Millet were graduate students studying for their PhDs at Harvard University when they began teaching free SAT prep classes in the Boston area. Seeking to expand their services to the Internet, they teamed up with Vincent Crespi, a professor of physics at Pennsylvania State University, who had created a test prep website called Number2.com in 1995. With the help of a great technologist, Filip Radlinski, they launched a new version of the site in September, 2000. Eric and Josh now also run an employee testing company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 My dd just completed the Kaplan online SAT Prep course. We purchased the program for $40 last summer through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. It's the same course that is offered for $399. I don't know if it is still available for that price. She really liked the way the online program worked. It constructed a doable schedule for her based on her testing date. Her final scores were almost exactly what her predicted final scores were on her last Kaplan assessment. She was able to add the SAT prep to her daily school schedule in reasonably small chunks of time. The online program enabled her to focus on her weak areas and built her confidence. We just got her SAT scores yesterday and were very pleased.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 My dd just completed the Kaplan online SAT Prep course. We purchased the program for $40 last summer through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. It's the same course that is offered for $399. I don't know if it is still available for that price. She really liked the way the online program worked. It constructed a doable schedule for her based on her testing date. Her final scores were almost exactly what her predicted final scores were on her last Kaplan assessment. She was able to add the SAT prep to her daily school schedule in reasonably small chunks of time. The online program enabled her to focus on her weak areas and built her confidence. We just got her SAT scores yesterday and were very pleased.:) Congrats to your daughter! Thank you for the feedback; this sounds like something very worthwhile. :) It's so nice to get a first hand report! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Leanna, one specific question: how far in advance did your daughter start the Kaplan on-line course? I ask because the Princeton Review course gives access for only 120 days. We would prefer to take the long and slow approach, so are probably looking for more like a 6-month time period for prep. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in NC Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I read the following article yesterday: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html?mod=googlenews_wsj It posits that test prep companies give tougher-than-actual SAT mock tests to boost their results. One student commented that he took a mock test and scored 2060....he didn't sign up for test-prep, but took the SAT anyway and got a perfect score, 2400. I have found Xiggi's test prep advice on CollegeConfidential to be very effective. Here is his thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html You can find all the math problems from the CollegeBoard's Official blue book worked out on http://www.khanacademy.org/sat.jsp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leanna Tomlinson Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Leanna, one specific question: how far in advance did your daughter start the Kaplan on-line course? She had access to the course for a calendar year, but she didn't start right away. She began in late October and completed her schedule for the May 2 SAT. HTH, Leanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I read the following article yesterday:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html?mod=googlenews_wsj It posits that test prep companies give tougher-than-actual SAT mock tests to boost their results. One student commented that he took a mock test and scored 2060....he didn't sign up for test-prep, but took the SAT anyway and got a perfect score, 2400. I have found Xiggi's test prep advice on CollegeConfidential to be very effective. Here is his thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html You can find all the math problems from the CollegeBoard's Official blue book worked out on http://www.khanacademy.org/sat.jsp. The Xiggi thread is fantastic! Thanks so very much!!!!! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I read the following article yesterday:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html?mod=googlenews_wsj It posits that test prep companies give tougher-than-actual SAT mock tests to boost their results. One student commented that he took a mock test and scored 2060....he didn't sign up for test-prep, but took the SAT anyway and got a perfect score, 2400. I have found Xiggi's test prep advice on CollegeConfidential to be very effective. Here is his thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html You can find all the math problems from the CollegeBoard's Official blue book worked out on http://www.khanacademy.org/sat.jsp. Thanks for the Xiggi link. Very good info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 We are using the SAT prep at collegboard.org. So far so good, but we just started this month.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 My son did the Kaplan course from Homeschool Buyers' Co op. For $40, it was a decent course. For over $300, not so much. He got much more out of doing the test prep with the prep book from the College Board a la Xiggi than from the Kaplan course. The course taught strategy, but it didn't actually improve skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 We took the expensive Kaplan course. I waited to post until I had the December data. Dh took the Kaplan MCAT many years ago and credits the score improvement with getting into medical school. Anyways here's dd's data- Took SAT as a junior in March. Took Kaplan course, then SAT in early fall of senior year. Score improvement was 70 points. Took additional Kaplan course and SAT in December. Score improvement was 210 points. So the total point improvement was 280. Breakdown Critical reading +120 Math +70 Writing +90 Dd enjoyed the Kaplan course itself. She thought the tutors kept things funny, light, and quick. There was a lot of extra help available to those who desired it. She didn't have time to do all of the extra homework, but did her best. I will definitely do this with my son, but we will be starting the process about a year earlier! HTH, Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Holly, I also took a Kaplan course for the LSAT back in the day and felt it prepared me extremely well for the LSAT. I scored in the top 5% and was not a bit nervous the day of the test. I credit the Kaplan course. I did all of the homework, attended all of the sessions and took all of the practice tests so I felt as ready as I could ever be on the day of the test. My own children have had mixed results. Ds1 had an online course (Princeton I think) and it was meh. His score did improve, and he mad the score he needed to, so he was satisfied. I don't think he put sufficient study time in to see a huge score jump. DD and Ds2 studied on their own and saw steady improvement. I would have loved for Ds2 to take a review course, but he was tested out and there was another factor (grief) that was affecting him. Again, they made the scores they needed to. :001_smile: I saw other factors improve my dc's scores -- additional college math classes, famliarity with the exam and questions, sleep. :tongue_smilie: Do you think, Holly, that there were other factors that led to the 210 score jump in addition to a second run at Kaplan? Thanks! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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