Customer Reviews

Parent's Guide to College Entrance Exam

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1 star:		(7)

 

 

I found the book to be a slim in help--the examples are routine, the strategies simplistic. There are many other books anbd websites devoted to the taking of SAT's that are more laden with clearer advice and stronger mock tests. In fact, the whole book seems a rushed job, sort of a self help for the COMPLETE beginner. But if you have kids and they have counselors or if you visit the websites of the Test Maker. The advice here seems pointless--increase your logic, be calm. What is misdsing is clear comparisons between SATs and ACTs, clear definitions of what other extra curriculAR acxtivites look good on college resumes, what the scorews mean to college recriuters. This book is so matter of fact that it misses the chaos of the Junior year of most kids--I have had three now--and the best times and procedures to take this test. I have three bvooks on the recruiting process and three books on SATs and this book clearly is the least substantial. Only for people who are completely clueless, like the auhors themselves.

Too general to instruct, too bland to entertain, this soporific release from a husband and wife--or corpse and corpse--induces ennui, not edificxation. All books on the subject are more helpful: those books will have more sample test-taking strategies, will illustate more re colleges' relationship to score, and will break down exactly what a 1200 on a SAT means: the number wrong, the weaknesses inherent in such a score, the levels of Un iversities that will either laugh or accept. There should be something on the new SAT's (in 18 months) and the supposed racism that is built inside these questions. A history of ETSA, an overview of ACT's, and any reference to the MANY contreoversies that thse tests evoke would also flesh this slim and stupid volume out. This book would fit comfortably at the bottom of a parrot's cage, but be warned: animal may lkaern to speak like a smug lawyer who never had one original thought.

I bought this book as a jumior in High School and now that I am a college freshman I think that I can honestly say that the book did not help at all. Much better info was to be had at College Board's website and in the Barron's series. The book is boring and unhelpful concerning types of tests, dates of tests, and strategies taking the tests. It seems like a rush job, and a waste of money. Better you save 20 bucks and buy 10 real SAT's and simply take the practice exams. In this book the advice is so general and so banal that you will sleep your way--something thre authors seemed to do--after the first five pages. Go somewhere else and and pwork your way through the problems. The self help section at stores is so filled with this type of garbage that I expoect to see a book soon called Self Help Writers in Need of Self Help.

I found the book's smug calmness irritating. Where examples should abound quasi-mystical nonsense is offered. Not at all balanced towards SAT Subject tests or the ACT the book has tiny chapters with tiny advice: Larry King's prose sings compared to the snivelling academic prose of blandness.
A "self-help" book co-written by husband and wife. I'll leave the jokes about saleeping where you worked to you guys, but the fact that TWO people were required to writes makes me thing that an army of college graduates wrote Hemingway. Do we need to buy a book that tells us to sleep well before your exam and that--hint, hint--the test is a test of reasoning. Wow! And I thougfht the Kennedy conspiracy theory was ordinary.

A silly and skimpy book by 2 "experts"--just like I am an "expert" at sitting on a couch or driving around lost in New Jersey--that does not get into anything in depth or with elan or with brevity. The long winded generalizations make this book apparently palatable to everyone, but in essense, thanks top its lukewarm advice, banal hints, and skimpy overview of test and its history, make the book come off as no help to anyone at anytime. A chapter on minorities taking the sest and racial bias, a chapterr on genderr issues, a chapter on reading strategies for the individual passages of Critical Reading, would make this book at least worthwhile opening, if not actually buying. Study vocab, take some sample tests, and buy a book on Geometry. And then, savor the opportunity to test your logic and relax. You are just a kid once.

A bunch of nonsense from "experts" who claim to be in the "business" for years, which probably means they went to ETS.ORG and read about SAT's and SAT II's and then went to a few colleges' websites to learn about admission dates and guidelines. The book is a real snoozer, empty of vividness, insight, or help. If my parent read this and then tried to relay this drivel to me I would sue for Child Abuse. Pay attention in class, go to a few websites, consult the trained help who have expertise at your school, study vocab, and leave this where it belongs: in the No Sale area in your Shopping Cart.

I must admit, I never read this book, as the book was published after my sons had already finished high school. Although I can't comment on the book, I take exception with those reviewers on this blog that belittled the authors in a personal way. The authors were incredible S.A.T. tutors. They lived (may still do) in the next town and had the best and well-deserved reputations in the business. Their expertise in "test taking" was remarkable. And they were nice people too! Kids liked them and parents liked them. I recommended them to all of my friends and those that used them were very very happy. My sons used them for the verbal section and the writing sample. One got 800 on the writing sample and 720 on the verbal. The other got a 750 on the writing and a 720 on the verbal. Thank you Andrea and Jay Blumenthal.
By the way, it's been 10 years since we used them and I want to recommend them to a younger friend. I just googled their names to see if they were still in business and came across their book on Amazon.

like most married couples this book is a trifling idiots' paradise: peruse this tiny nugget of rotten wisdom and come back duller and dumber than before. Theu should pay you to take it off their hands; the unsold copies must be filling up the garage.

What a relief to finally understand the college entrance process. The competition to get into good schools seems so fierce, and guidance counselors don't always have the time to give personal advice to every student and parent. This book helped me to understand the testing process and to determine what type of preparation would best suit my daughter's needs. The authors also provide terrific advice regarding vocabulary, and they provide a comprehensive list of other helpful sources. Bravo, Blumenthals!

I found this guide so helpful; it has all the information a parent needs to work his/her way through the incredibly confusing maze of PSATs, SATs, SAT 2s, etc. The tests have changed so much since I was in school, and this book provides clear charts, graphs and tables explaining those changes, what students need to know, when they need to begin preparation, and when they should take which tests. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to all parents of high schoolers.