Help! SAT question?!

Question

im a junior this year and im taking the SAT in the fall and i didn't take any SAT prep courses. im starting to worry because alot of people have taken those courses and i feel that i might do poorly without it. ive heard there are books and cds you can purchase to study from. if i didnt take a course is there a greater chance that i will do worse?? and how do the books and cd roms compare to the course?

Answer 1

I didn't take any courses or really study for the SAT. I got a decent score---1649. But I could have done better probably. You're a junior. Go ahead and take the test in the fall. This will give you an opportunity to see what the test is like so that you know what you need to study. Then you can study for the rest of the year and take it again the following fall as a senior. chances are you'll do better the second time around.

Answer 2

If I were you I wouldn't ready . SAT prep classes don't introduce any new subjects that you don't already know (speculating you've at least taken trig). All it really does is help get you use to the test language which can be very helpful becuase many of the questions are going to ask you something simple but in a complex way. But you can buy many books for test prep which should do the samething for you. But if your really good at interpretting things correctly then you should do fine.

Answer 3

It doesn't matter if you take a prep course or not, it just matters that you study. I took the ACT in the fall of my junior year. To study for it I bought a princeton review ACT prep book and skimmed the sections and took the practice tests. I didn't take any prep classes. I ended up getting the highest score out of all of my friends, even the ones that did take prep classes. (I know you asked about the SAT, but the point remains the same)

My advice: Get yourself a good review book, read through the entire thing, and take the practice tests. If you score poorly on the practice test, then you should consider tutoring. Most students don't take the SAT/ACT until spring of their junior year, so you will have plenty of time to increase your score if you don't do well in the fall

Good Luck!!  

Answer 4

Although a lot of students tend to take those 'prep' courses, that doesn't mean they are becoming more prepared.  Yes, one would think so, but sometimes those prep courses just confuse the knowledge you already possess :-(.  

Case in point:  

My daughter, raised in a single family home, with NOT a lot of $$, and no $$ to spend on a 'prep' course.  She studied hard in school, got pretty good grades, and studied a little extra prior to her SATS, those subject areas she knew she was weak in.  She scored almost a 1600.

My daughters friend, raised in a two-parent family home, with $$ coming out of their ears.  She studied hard in school, and got pretty good grades too.  Her initial SAT score with NO prep class, 1480, after the prep class, 1360, and after yet another prep class, a whopping 1250 :-(.  

What I would suggest is to identify your weak subject areas, determine what in that / those subject areas give you problems, purchase a reasonably recent review book with CD rom at your local half-price book store, study, and just trust yourself :-).  If you've done fairly well in high school, you shouldn't have much trouble recalling the information.

Good luck!!