Customer Reviews

Gruber's Complete Preparation for the SAT (9th Edition)

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

 

 

With my SAT score using this book, I have gotten into schools I didn't think I had a chance of getting into. I have learned more from this book than I have learned in all my high school years. And I find I am even able to use the strategies and techniques in my coursework. I was grabbed by how exciting and interesting Gruber makes the material for the reader. And when you take the practice tests you can easily learn from any mistakes because the tests are all keyed to some great learning material. But don't take my word for this--all you have to do is pick up the book and see how studying for this SAT test can be so enjoyable and give you results you never dreamed of. Thank you, Dr. Gruber for such a great book--Your work should be required reading for everybody!

Before I took the SAT I was so discouraged--I looked at many other books used them and had not done well on the SAT--then I saw this book- Gruber's Complete Prep for the SAT- and was amazed at how the strategies and methods worked so well-I increased my score by 130 points in the verbal and 170 points in the math! In fact, the other books actually decreased my score. The beautiful thing about this book is that the tests are keyed to very important thinking skills and strategies and also basic skills and it is so complete and you can customize the book to your own level--I haven't even seen a computer program which does as good a job.You can even follow the advice with a four hour study program or a longer one--I chose the longer one. I was also excited about learning the methods in this book--some were "eye openers." By the way I had suggested this book to a friend of mine and he got a 270 point increase using it. Thanks again--I just wish I didn't spend the money and time on the other books I used before using this one.

I am a teacher and this is by far the best work I 've ever used in test preparation. I teach SAT classes as well as other classes and my SAT students are thrilled with the book. Many of my students have been admitted to schools they didn't dream of getting into and they claim it was because of this book.Incidentally,I noticed a review from Olympia, Washington about this book--there must have been a mistake. Their description must have been associated with a different book!

A Real Decoding of the SAT

I was amazed at how many examples on my actual SAT looked like the ones in this book. But what was more fascinating is that I found that I could use so many of the book's strategies on the actual test-it was like this book decoded the whole SAT test. And the methods and examples are so easy to understand. I wish I read this book when I entered high school. I think if I had, all my courses would have been so much easier to understand and appreciate. I sure could have used all the methods in all my classes. Anyway better late than ever. This is sure a book where you can get so much out of even if just a few pages are read.

Having tested many books that deal with the SAT I was positively surprised by the depth this book provided. The problem is the fact that the sample questions in it do not really reflect the real SAT-test and can only be used to study the math or the critical thinking skills.
Also, dont plan to use this book to brush up your vocabulary - the included word-list provides you with only the meanings of the words and not with a sample sentence.
This book might be suitable for usage in combination with 10 Real SATs or some other book that features more realistic SAT questions.

I've gone through almost all the SAT books that I can get a hold of, and so far the best is the Gruber's SAT book. I wish I could have found it earlier. It has many shortcut strategies that many other books don't have. It has a lot of practice questions and is very comprehensive. The only other book that comes close is the REAL SATS, and explanations don't even come with the answers in that book and the strategies there are somewhat general.

Of the major, fat, well known SAT prep books (Barron's, Princeton Review, Kaplan) this one is by FAR the best. What makes this book stand out is it shows you the easiest and fastest way to answer a given question. For example, on a math question, there will be about four ways to go about solving that particular problem. The book will outline the four ways, show you which one was the best, and even show you shortcuts you never would have realized. Thanks to Dr. Gruber, multiple variable factoring used to be a process I saved for my TI-89. Not anymore. THe book showed me how to do it MUCH quicker in my head using simple math shortcuts and common sense. The best part is, it shows you tips, shortcuts, and strategies for virtually every time of problem one will encounter on the SAT. Much better than other prep books of its size, and also a little cheaper. How could you possibly go wrong?

This is one of the best SAT review books on the market. I learned over 2000 new words with the help of this book. I also went through many of the math problems and realized that I had no mathematical abilities whatsoever. I studied the strategies and explanations and got better. I didn't get a chance to go through much of the book so I wasn't expecting great scores. I took the PSATs hoping for a 1350. Instead, I got a 1440. I have also taken the SATs twice. My highest combined is a 1490. Not Ivy League material but much more than I had hoped for. I will study the Gruber book in depth over the summer and take the SATs for a third time in the fall. I recommend this book to everyone. Give yourself at least two to three months to study though. It is a very thick book.

This is a solid book, by far the best complete package for the SAT I.

It is common knowledge in the test prep industry that SAT prep courses keep their best material for their own publications; many people actually sign up for courses so that they can get the materials!

This book, however, gives you much of the same information that a good test prep course would give you. This book is especially good in the math section, with a comprehensive review, but I would like to see more strategies and practice in the verbal section.

You will also find lots of vocab tests, but these are the simple kind, in which you are given a word and you have to choose the best synonym; a bit tedious and old-fashioned, but still necessary.

In a word, this is the best book you can buy. And you can't beat the price!!

The first time I took SAT (After the Kaplan course) I got a 1290. Then I got the Gruber book, and REALLY REALLY REALLY studied it. Do all the tests at least 2 times. I found that out of all the SAT Prep books out there, Gruber's questions most closely resemble the real test. On my second SAT attempt I got a 1400. Also, I highly recommed getting the '10 Real SATs' as a companion to this book, and doing all the tests there couple of times as well. Overall, I studied for the second test for four months with these two books and was very impressed with the results. I am starting to study for the GRE now, and I think I will start with Gruber for this test also.

Also recommended: 10 Real SATs by Cathy Claman (Editor), College Board