Customer Reviews

Cracking the SAT, 1999 Edition

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The major problem I have with the princeton review is that they crack out books that have errors in them. This book is good in that respect, however I think there are better ways to prepare. Their discussion of Joe Bloggs isn't bad and it will help, but IT WON'T HELP AS MUCH AS THE MASTERY OF THE MATERIAL! I can not emphasize that enough. The Princeton review shows you all these 'tricks' and not enough time is spent on mastering the material. I hope that I catch many high schoolers and they see this review. If you have about a month before the test I urge you to get a few books. First is Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. The second is The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne. After you read Word Power you will rip through the Verbal section. The Memory book will help you in all aspects (especially memorizing words)and it will cut down study time by 75%. I am pretty good at math so I didn't get any math books. Now I got a 1230 on the PSAT. Then I read those two books and my score jumped to a 1440(750v, 690m). Remember techniques will help, but mastering the material will help a lot more.

Good luck on the test!

First of all, I must stress the point that many people say is bad about this book. People say that it doesn't teach the material on the SAT. It just helps you out by giving tips and such. While this is true, that is the point of the SAT. You cannot try to learn the SAT material in a book. The people who try to do this usually do not do well. You just need help on taking the test. If you don't know the material, then you wouldn't be scoring well on the SAT. I made a 1300 before this book, and then my score jumped to 1540. I knew most of the material but I fell for a lot of traps. So if you are making decent scores and know the material, this book will help you a lot.

This book is NOT for you if you are scoring higher than 1300 in your SATs. First, all the questions will be WAY too easy for you, especially the verbal section. I have this book and the Barrons, and the KAPLAN. I took practice tests from Barrons/Kaplan, and I scored about 1340. I did the practice tests from Princeton's Review and it's up by almost 80 points.(70 points coming from the verbal section!) Because it's easier, it will give you confidence about the SATs. But you must also realize that the REAL SATs are not THAT easy.(just a note: I scored 1350 in the REAL SATs, which is close to the BARRON/KAPLAN score but much lower than the Princeton Review) If you're buying this to build vocabulary, buy WORDSMART, or BARRONS SAT. They have much more words for you than this easy book. BUT!! I HAVE TO ADD that this WILL be helpful to those who score in the range of 1000's. I have seen people with those scores who got 100-point boost after studying this book, one aspect being self-confidence and some humorous material.

I've not read this year's edition, but I'm familiar with the editions of previous years. Without a doubt, this is the best test preparation book I have ever read, and I have read no small number of them. As others have pointed out, some of the strategies the authors describe border on the obvious, but these are sufficiently important, few, and entertainingly presented that this small lapse is quite acceptable. The book's practice tests are refreshingly indistinguishable from real SATs; they are certainly the best available, though those in Kaplan's SAT book are quite good as well.

Many reviewers have declared this book to be insufficient for those who seek high scores. I disagree strongly. Good advice is good advice, even if presented in a manner less than ceremonial. Pedantic word lists assembled without attention given to what words will likely appear on the SAT, though impressive and temptingly concrete, are not the best use of any preparer's time. Of greater importance than a presentation of all the math and English needed for the SAT is a thorough, insightful walking through of SAT questions, and that's where this book shines.

This book, the College Board's book of ten real SATs, and a functioning noggin are all anyone needs to succeed on the SAT. But if you've got money to spare, you might try the Kaplan book, too -- another look at strategy and a few more realistic practice tests can only help.

I have not yet taken the SAT. On practice tests, my scores started as low as 1440 but have since climbed well into the 1500's -- even to the point of a 1590 most recently. More than to any strategy, I attribute the improvement to increased familiarity with the test, and I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the contribution this book has made.

My scores went through the roof with this book, and I was able to add many points to my earliest SAT scores. The advantage of the Princeton Review book is that they understand that taking the SAT only tests how well you take the SAT. The practice tests were much more realistic than those in the Kaplan book--which are not really set up like SAT questions, and try to test knowledge rather than understanding of the College Board test. I have heard complaints about this book not testing enough actual skills, and while I understand the concern, the reality is that the SAT does not really test actual knowledge either. Being a human thesaurus or math genuis are not necessary to know how to take the SAT, and that is what other books, like Kaplan, don't seem to understand. This book really helped me understand how the SAT was set up, and what I needed to learn to be able to take it better. My only complaint is about their CD roms in some of the books--I got the SAT with the online, and was happy with the software, but later when I got their ACT CD and book I have to say I was dissapointed with the quality. If you get the book, get the cheaper one with the online stuff...it is well worth the 18 bucks, unlike some of its counterparts.

I am sorry, but I have serious objectionsto the Princeton Review manner of creating study guides. While some attention is given to actually reviewing the material that is on the test, much information is dismissed as unlikey to appear on the test and therefore unnecessary to remember. Princeton Review bets on statistics of what material is most often tested when deciding what it will teach you.

Likewise, and more importantly, the Princeton Review encourages students of its book to rely on chance and statistics in regards to guessing multiple choice answers. Princeton Review teaches the students the techniques that are most likely to help them and, on the side, teaches the material that is most likely to be essential. Well, that which is most likely is not the case 100% of the time. While some suggest that tests are so unlikely to have three questions in a row with the same answer that a student should be overly skeptical if he or she finds his or her self marking three questions in a row with "B", the fact is that I have taken many tests and many times have I had the same answer for four or even five questions in a row. I got these questions right because I did not doubt my answers based on some test-taking techniques I picked up in the Princeton review but because I had learned enough of the material to be confident.

Quite simply, this Princeton Review book is not an effective enough resource for helping its readers learn the material they are being tested on. The quality of the book is further decreased by its emphasis on tricks and statistical advantages that just do not prove useful enough in the real world.

The SAT is perhaps the most important test a high schooler will take, so don't jeapordize your performance by studying from this book unless you plan to supplement your studies with more material-oriented guides.

First and foremost, the CD-ROM that is included in this book was made poorly. It usually crashes or there is something wrong with it. The tips are good but Princeton Review does not give enough excercises to actually apply them to, only drills with 5 or so questions in them. I recommend looking into other test prep companies such as those of Kaplan and Arco. Don't get the version of this book with the CDROM. You can save about $5 and you won't risk having your computer destroyed.

Many people go for the most popular book on the market, for example the Princeton Review or Kaplan. However, this book solely explains how to take the SAT, using tips and tricks provided by the author. Although knowing about "Joe Bloggs" and traps to avoid, this is not a satisfactory replacement for other SAT books on the market. The "Hit Parade", which is a list of SAT words that frequently come up on the SAT is alright. The Verbal section explanations and tricks are satisfactory. They just suggest that you memorize vocabulary and in conjunction, use their strategies. Math (which is my difficulty) is not explained thoroughly in this book. Yes, knowing the strategies is very very helpful, but honestly, there is no way you can get a high score without knowing how to solve the problem. The Math section of this book is shallow and does not provide adequate practice to prepare you for the SAT.

For the Verbal Section of the SAT, I recommend you get:
1) Barron's Guide to the SAT (21st Edition)

For the Math Section of the SAT, I recommend you get:
1) Gruber's Complete SAT to SAT Preparation

Good luck.

This book emphasizes too much on teaching the tricks to get around questions, instead of getting you to learn the material. I don't agree with some of the concepts that this book is trying persuade, but the sample tests that came with it were very helpful. This book wasn't as good as it promises on the cover.. and it was short too - I read it through in less than 3 days.

"Cracking the SAT/PSAT" provided some really helpful vocabulary lists but the test taking strategies were non-helpful. The idea of the Joe Bloggs principle made me uncomfortable and the book focused too much on eliminating obvious answer choices and guessing instead of teaching how to solve the problems by knowing the right technique.