52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent review of needed material, but with a few warts, July 14, 2008
This review is from: Cracking the SAT, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
When I prepared to take my first SAT, I relied on this book to prepare. Let me first talk about the good aspects of the book:
It demystifies the SAT and takes a "student friendly" approach. That is, it helps convince the reader that the SAT doesn't measure intelligence, self-worth, etc. While this may or may not be true, it relieves one of a significant burden by believing that the test doesn't test anything innate, which prevents the formation of artificial mental barriers or blocks.
The vocabulary list is quite good, as it consists of a short, but sweet list of 200 words that are likely to show up on the SAT (either in passages or in the sentence completions). For such a short list, it sure does get a good number of "hits" on the real thing.
The math refresher is good -- it's not a math textbook in the sense that it will, in vivid detail, teach you the fundamentals of mathematics beginning with "2 + 2 = 4", but it does give you a great refresher of all the topics you (should) have learned. If you're shaky about performing basic algebra, then you don't need an SAT prep book -- you need a basic mathematics book. It also shows how these basic math tools can be applied to the SAT, by showing how to solve several "famous" or "representative" problems to give you a feel of the kinds of problems you'll likely encounter.
The grammar/essay sections are good, too. It goes over the fundamental errror that you'll likely encounter without attempting to write the next great treatise in English grammar. So with the rules in here, you'll feel comfortable answering the questions on the real test.
The best part, by far, of this book is the set of three very accurate, very SAT-ish practice tests. They're slightly more difficult than what you'll encounter on the SAT, but not by any significant margin. The math questions are sufficiently convoluted in wording and the content is great. The passages are of SAT level and the questions are very much in the flavor of the test. The writing/grammar questions are also superb -- any error that you can find on the real test, you'll find in this book on these practice tests. So, all in all, good practice that will demystify the content/format/questions on the test.
Now, for the bad:
Firstly, the reading comprehensions "tips and strategies" are just god-awful. This book explicitly states to "not read the passage and just skim it for the gist". Are you kidding me? That's how you miss out on big points on the reading comprehensions, especially the tone/overall meaning/theme questions. In fact, I was so naive as to follow their advice and got a lower score than I'd deserved (the first time I tried their method and scored 680CR, but when I retook and read through the passages without skimming, I scored a 760.) It's for this that I dock a star -- the section's called "critical reading", not "skim through and hunt for factoids which will invariably be out of context".
The book also doesn't have enough practice tests. The SAT is very much like any intellectual or artistic pursuit -- one's skill is directly proportional to the amount of practice that one has. And if you're using this book as your sole source of preparation, the three tests, while well designed, will run out quickly, and you'll very soon need to buy some more. For this, you can either buy PR's 11 practice tests or the Official SAT Study Guide which has 8 tests created by the ETS (guys who write the SAT). In this case, I'd go with the Official Guide -- no test can be as accurate as one written by the guys at the ETS. Not a huge downfall, especially since most people won't take that many tests, but it's nonetheless a caveat for those aiming for relatively high scores.
All in all, a very light and fairly entertaining read that will get you familiar with the SAT and help you raise your score. But if you're really serious, you're going to need to pair this with another book to provide an alternate perspective (I'd reccomend Barron's), as well as with the Official Guide for practice tests.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
math score from 610 to 730!, May 10, 2009
This review is from: Cracking the SAT, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
The Princeton Review gets inside the heads of the test writers and teaches you how to succeed on the SAT, not how to be a math or English wizard. At first, this seemed like a dishonest approach to me, but then I considered that the test writers deliberately mess with your mind to make you screw up, and I decided that turnabout is fair play. I'm definitely not fantastic at math, but this book helped me raise my score 120 points! Unless you know you're going to score straight 800s, I would highly recommend this book and others in the Princeton Review series, like the math drill and the vocabulary review. I tried a bunch of other study aids, and this one was really the best. Thanks, Princeton Review!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Really Spectacular Test Prep Book, January 11, 2009
This review is from: Cracking the SAT, 2009 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
Initially, I purchased some of the Kaplan issued SAT prep books and borrowed my boyfriend's 2 or 3 year old study books to get down and study for this test. When I got down to them, I had scarce interest in the material, so I turned to a close relative (who happens to get paid hundreds of dollars an hour to tutor) for help, and she turned me over to the Princeton Review books.
With this one, and the Practice Test book, I found that the language was stress-friendly, the concepts were, though sometimes controversial or unorthodox, very on target, and the book was less a book, and more a guide. I love reading, but under so much stress, I was very pleased with the lack of wordiness I got from this book, while maintaining language that doesn't have me bolting for the dictionary every passage.
In reference to the discontent from the Reading Comprehension section of the guide referenced by another reviewer, I'd have to disagree. Standardized tests are better viewed as how well you can take the test, not how well you understand the context. With the reading comprehension passages, reading the entire passage is completely unnecessary...it's more important to get from the blurb, straight to the questions, without skimming or reading the material. The test is about the questions, not the material.
I also enjoyed the fact that this book branched out into a DVD segment, the included written tests, and some online material. It helped me get familiar with concepts and strategies, and completely altered my test taking for the better. It was a fun and interesting read that didn't assume you understood, but instead motivated you to get down to the core of the problem at hand. In short, this is a great book, highly recommended to anyone going through the SATs in hope of a more enjoyable, yet highly intellectual, experience.
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