SAT prep.

[Susan C.]

Are there favorites for SAT prep?

 

Has anyone used the one that HSLDA has?

 

Thanks!

[rlugbill]

Hi,

 

You can sign up for one of the courses at Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc. They are fine. But, they are no better than getting the review books and doing the problems and checking the answers yourself. Unless it will be more enjoyable for your child to take a class and you have the extra money.

 

Do some practice tests, in any case. There are lots of old tests available. Just take them and then go over the answers. After you have done a few practice tests, do one timed, like the real thing.

 

But, doing lots of practice questions is the best practice. The courses will tell you that there are lots of "tricks" and it's really important to learn the "tricks". They don't really teach you many tricks that you couldn't figure out on your own. And I think it's misleading to teach kids that it's all about the "tricks", when it's really about practicing the questions.

 

Practicing on lots of practice questions really does help your score. You can even make SAT prep into a "class" for homeschooling high school. There are lots of practice books out there- the College Board has one that I recommend and there is another one- Grabers (sp?) that is good, but the others are fine also- Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc. I'm not familiar with BJU on the SAT prep.

[AngieW in Texas]

My oldest did the Kaplan test prep course online and scored that same at the end of the course that she did at the beginning. I tried working with her using the 10 real sats book put out by the college board, but that had no effect on her score either.

 

Then I enrolled her in an sat prep class for the month before she took it again. This made a huge difference in her score (170 points difference).

 

I plan to have all my kids take an sat prep class.

[Julie in MN]

My oldest did the Kaplan test prep course online and scored that same at the end of the course that she did at the beginning. I tried working with her using the 10 real sats book put out by the college board, but that had no effect on her score either.

 

Then I enrolled her in an sat prep class for the month before she took it again. This made a huge difference in her score (170 points difference).

 

I plan to have all my kids take an sat prep class.

 

Angie,

Curious what you feel the difference was? I always think that homeschoolers do the same thing as classes, only better because it's one-on-one.

 

Did you think she benefited from the peer pressure, a more test-like setting, some specific techniques they used, or a special test prep program you like?

 

Julie

[Michelle in AL]

Gruber's Complete SAT prep: http://www.amazon.com/Grubers-Complete-SAT-Guide-2011/dp/1402237774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300239168&sr=8-1

 

It's frequently recommended on the College Confidential board.

 

Dd did really well on the ACT and pretty poorly on the 1st PSAT and just OK on the 2nd PSAT. She used Grubers for mostly math and vocab review. She only missed 2 on the math portion of the SAT after using Grubers.

[Susan C.]

Thanks all!

 

Ok, Michelle, I have Grubers on hold at Barnes & Noble..... that is one very large book. How long did you take to go through it? I'm thinking about shuffling classes a little, and working through the sections all at once (do math, writing, reading) as three "classes," do you have better ideas? Dd is taking the June test, and we finish school beginning-mid May, so we will have at least a few weeks to devote all day to it. I just don't think that will be enough, so I want to start now.

[Michelle in AL]

It is a HUGE book and not very user friendly IMO, but it was effective for us. There are 2 study plans in it (look at the table of contents for these so you don't have to thumb through 100s of pages to find them). One plan for if you have a lot of time to study and one for a shorter time period.

 

I didn't do either. Even though math is dd's strong suit on the ACT, she hasn't taken algebra or geometry in yrs, so I had her do all the math review. I also had her do a good chunk of the vocabulary since that is not her strong suit. Reading is her WORST subject on both tests. The Gruber fell short in this area IMO, there wasn't much to study for if I remember right.

 

I did schedule a section of math and vocab each day and added in some occasional writing. I think she only prepped for a month and only worked about 20 min on math and 20 min on an additional section per day.

 

We also covered how to write an SAT essay a couple times in lit class (I teach a group class).

 

I would go by their plan if you have enough time or just pick and choose if you'd rather do that.

 

We did not get nearly though the whole book at all.

[Susan C.]

Thanks again Michelle, I'll definitely preview it to make sure its what we want. Amazon has great reviews about Grubers. I also like Princeton a lot. But, dd is Miss "I want to watch it or do it on the computer"...... I do not want to pay $100 for a computer program. And as far as I know, there are no classes she can take. I do have Standard Deviants, but I don't think it has everything..... I'll check. I have to buy practice tests (Std. Deviants only has one) so that is why I want a book.

 

Anyone else, and especially anyone who used the program that HSLDA promotes??

[AngieW in Texas]

In my dd's case, I think it was being in an actual class that made the difference. She had gotten to the point that she just didn't want to perform for me anymore. She did the least she thought she could possibly get away with. This wasn't always the case, but by 11th grade, she was burnt out on having me as a teacher. It's been nice having her take a full load of cc classes this year. She really does try a lot harder for the teachers there. She got an 85 on her first literary analysis paper (and that was incredibly hard-won), but it was absolutely stellar compared to anything that she did for me. I honestly didn't think she was capable of what she did in that paper. She just wasn't willing to try that hard for me anymore and didn't care enough to try that hard for herself.

 

I'm teaching physics as a class for my 10th grader this year and teaching it as a class with another student has made a huge difference for my dd.

[Janice in NJ]

First sign up for the question of the day. And then encourage your dd to actually do it. Every day. :001_smile:

 

http://sat.collegeboard.com/practice/

 

We have found the actual College Board Prep book to be the best. You can find it on the same web page. We ordered ours from Amazon for less. If she really wants to do her prep on the computer (Meaning: She won't actually touch the book. Ask me how I know this? ;)) , I would spring for the CB course. It's under $70 and can be done online. Caution: I would take the time to print and do a couple of "on paper" tests to mimic the actual test conditions.

 

After working through the CB stuff, I like Gruber's book.

 

I also own the Chalkdust SAT Prep DVD's. Worked well for my oldest for review. Will use it with the next two kids and then plan to sell it. The resale is quite high on this set so in the end, I won't have much for out-of-pocket expense on that one.

 

Have fun! College acceptance with merit awards coming in for the oldest; we still haven't made a final decision. BUT let me just say that the tests matter. A lot! Dd (10th grader) just took the SAT for the first time last Saturday. I have another little guy coming up two years behind her. We will be in non-stop test mode around here for a while. My arsenal of materials is waiting. :001_smile:

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[Susan C.]

Thanks Janice, I'll check on the college board online one. It is worth it to spring for the arsenal to get a higher score. I may need to take back the no to $100!! Ds got many offers from his great SAT score, and almost a full ride! If dd can get 1200, she can get the same, I found out this week..... no pressure, right?? I have VHS of Chalkdust SAT math prep, ds went from not being able to do the math portion on a practice test, to getting 590 (a great score for him). He got much higher on reading and writing with almost no effort, and that explains why he is an English major.

 

This one..... we are having trouble finding her place. We are supposed to be visiting colleges this year..... she can go to the four year ds goes to for general ed. requirements, but it doesn't have many majors, oh, small town living and a very limited budget.

 

Ds did Sparks Notes SAT prep and really liked it.... dd is quite a different student. I dug out his prep books last night, and lo and behold, several blank unused practice tests!

 

The test hasn't changed since it became new SAT has it? These prep books are from 4 years ago. AND, I have the CB book from then too, is it still good?

[Susan C.]

Yeah, Angie, I definitely get what you are saying. We are debating her doing her senior year at CC.... but she does good work at home. There is a lot of "rub" though and my middle aged person is a little tired of it...

[Janice in NJ]

CB Official SAT Study Guide: We have the 2009 edition and an overly scribbled up version of the 2005 edition. Can't see much difference in the content. Maybe someone else knows?

 

Hope that helps. I suspect your prep books are fine. :001_smile: Good luck motivating your dd to use them. We found that was the hardest part. (Waiting for the child to mature enough to get his hind end in gear. Momma was NOT going to drag the bus on this one!!! Almost had heart-failure waiting.... but eventually the lad started to care enough to DO SOMETHING! ;))

 

Peace,

Janice

[Susan C.]

We looked at Grubers, Barrons, and Princeton Review. We decided to get Princeton Review. It had a more conversational style that we hope will make it at least a little fun (if SAT prep can be...).

 

The College Board book we have from four years ago does NOT have answer explanations, Barrons and Grubers have some explanation, but Princeton had the most.