Best UG exam prep guides? (SAT, ACT) Forum

[General Tso]

Not for me, but a friend back home. Most of the Barrons/Princeton Review/Kaplan LSAT books that you see people reading at Borders are total crap. I assume the same is true for SAT and ACT.

So what is the "Powerscore" of undergrad test books?

[D-ROCCA]

From what I remember regarding SAT prep, it's the opposite of LSAT prep. The actual courses are much better than just the books, mainly because of the math section (they tell you exactly which questions will appear and how to approach them without even thinking). Reading comp and writing are skills you pretty much either have or don't, but they offer some helpful pointers about these sections of the test as well. So, taking a Kaplan or Princeton Review prep course is the way to go IMO. The structured environment of the classroom setting helps at that age, and the instructors are able to explain why the right answer is right and the wrong answers are wrong pretty well, due to more simplistic nature of the material.

[captainculpepper]

Prep Courses are a waste of time in terms of SAT/ACT. Private tutoring is much better option IMO. If you are not willing to spend money on tutoring (or the cost of prep course) I would recommend "Up Your Score". Also it is worth noting that the ACT is a more learnable test than the SAT as it is almost all knowledge based. The SAT focuses more on tricking you.

[Precessional]

Kaplan's verbal book helped me a lot for the GRE. Given the kinship between SAT and GRE, I assume Kaplan is similarily good for the former test.

There was an SAT torrent floating around a couple years back-- something like ten real SAT I tests. Likely dead by now, though.