College Board
1 The College Board Scamming You Again
I think anyone can see that their is a huge market for SAT studying, courses, etc... The college board hounds you with programs to teach you about their test and this book is no different. Even in the book it has coupons for its online courses. If this book is so good, then why would you need any more help, especially form the same author?
Basically it breaks down to:
Pro's: lots of practice (but not a whole lot more then others), written by test makers
Con's: Boring to read compared to my other SAT book (Princeton Review), no test taking strategies that aren't common sense
2 The best out there!
First of all I'm a Puerto Rican, so when I decided I wanted to study on the United States, I was completely lost about the admission process. Soon I knew I had to take the SAT, prepared by the College Board. At first I was really scared about the idea of having to take a test completely on English, made for people who use english as their primary language, and having to actually write an essay for them to evaluate me equally to all of the native-english speakers.
But well, soon I was registering for the SAT and 3 SAT II subject tests and start looking for preparation material. I found out about The OFficial SAT Study Guide through this same website, and bought it. Now, almost two months after that, I don't regret my decision. I have been using the whole book and it simply gave me the strenght and confidence to take the test. It covers every single aspect about the NEW SAT including the three parts. Critical Reading (Previously known as the verbal section but now without analogies), the Writing section (Including how to write an essay and how they will evaluate it) and the Math section (without cuantitative comparision and more high school math).
This test covers everythings. It explains how will be the whole process of evaluating the test, the essay, how to prepare for each part and also EIGHT complete practice tests that will give you a very accurate idea of how you will do on the actual test. Also you may access online the exclusive area for the book owners on the college board web site. There you may enter the answers to the tests and it will automatically correct your results and give you the score range you'll be in.
My advice, buy this book, no other book will give you a so accurate idea of the actual test. Good luck to everyone!
3 Listen carefully !!!!!!!!
Listen...
Forget about every other SAT book you find. Get this one.
Before I purchased this book, I was searching for so long, I was confused, I read other reviews, I even looked inside of other SAT books. Appearently, I made an EXCELLENT CHOICE.
To make a long story short, this book offers 8 actual SAT exams and tips that will help you score higher that you wont find anywhere else.
Anyway,Buy this book, you will be glad you did !!!
P.S, The BEST way to study for the SAT, is to sit down for 3hours and 45 minutes and take an entire practice test. Do it about 3 or 4 times before the actual SAT date, and you should score at least 1700. Good Luck!!!!
4 Great prep for the new SAT
I never really thought about it before studying for the SAT, but if ur going to study for a test, shouldn't you use real test material? I found the tests in the book a little uneven...some of my scores on practice tests were a lot higher then on other practice tests, but when I took the test in March, I felt totally prepared. And I got my scores back this week and went up almost 300 points from my PSAT.
I didn't really read the stuff at the beginning of the book, only the practice tests. I used Maximum SAT alongside this book, and that really helped me figure out what I was doing wrong and how to get answers more quickly. Mostly, I put a lot of time into practicing and reviewing the tests once I took them, and it really paid off. This is the book to have.
5 Great buy for practice, not strategies - No Solutions
My 5 star rating is not an overral review, but a review for the quality of their practice tests. If you are looking for practice tests, this is the book for you because it inclused tests written by ETS, and after taking the March 12 exam I can tell you that the practice tests and actual tests are very similar. While this book is awesome for practice tests, it is not the book to buy for strategies. Which the book includes some strategies, CollegeBoard is not going to release a book that tells you tricks to solve the problems they test you on. Also, the solutions to problems ARE NOT in the book, and you mast pay for them through their online course. I did this, but I don't think you should have to pay for them.
6 the cornerstone to prepping for SAT, with or without a tutor
Giving this book five stars is not an indication that I believe it's perfect. Were a student to use it as his sole resource for SAT prep, he would have virtually no have chance of optimizing his potential, attaining the best score he is capable of. The topics covered in the Writing Section review could be much more comprehensive, as could those in the Math Section review. The information on Reading Comprehension review is poor at best, misleading at worst. Nonetheless, I give this book five stars because I consider it essential for students who wish to maximize their scores. No other book can match it in terms of the quality of the questions presented, a fact that's not surprising: the people who write this book also write the real test. They are simply better at writing questions than anyone else, and they possess greater resources with which to do it.
At the end of the day, students prepping for the SAT need REAL practice problems. The questions in this book aren't tilted towards one or another test prep company's best techniques; they represent the fullest range of problem types and the most subtle examples of those concepts available anywhere. Moreover, ETS publications always succeed in a way that every other test prep publication fails; namely, the quality of the reading comprehension. Without exception, every other SAT prep book that I have seen comes up incredibly short of the standard set in this book. Often the quality of reading comprehension passages is horrible; inevitably, every other book is nowhere near this one in this respect. The implication of this for students in serious; use the wrong materials and it's almost like you prepared for the wrong test.
Expanding on this last point, I must point out the same thing about the other sections. Many test prep books have a bad habit of producing vague or even ambiguous Writing Section questions, while others tend to make the Math sections overly difficult; they do this because math questions are the easiest to write. Preparing for more difficult math may sound like a good approach, but it is not. The trick to the SAT is not the difficulty of the concepts tested, but the difficulty with which those concepts are presented. Preparing for tough math concepts might not prepare you the tricky math questions that the test writers excel at creating.
Still, "The Official Guide" is most useful when you have someone who knows what they are talking about showing you why you got questions wrong and then teaching how to get the same types of questions right in the first place. If you can, get some kind of tutor; he'll guide through this book and then, when you run out of problems in this book (if you're serious about preparing, you probably will), he can find you the other materials that come closest to this book in terms of relevance. Ultimately, I highly advise getting help. It will make the time you spend preparing more efficient in terms of what you accomplish and more profitable in terms of your score improvement.
On the other hand, should you choose to go it alone, you'll need something more than this book to prepare. My advice, however, is use other books to learn concepts; use "The Official Guide" to assess how well you're doing on them.
Ultimately, in teaching my students, 38 of whom have gone on to study at Ivy League universities, with many others getting into the best of the rest, I have always used this material as my main resource for practice and instruction. Before the first new SAT was administered (March 12th, 2005), the previous "Official Guide" was my main resource. I am certain that this guide, as it develops into updated editions, will remain so.
7 The only test-prep you need!
I took the new SAT in March and my advice to you is buy this book, take ALL the tests, make sure you understand every single problem, review some vocab (NY-times is a great source of vocab!), and buy the barrons SAT II writing book to brush up on your grammar and you are on your way to a 2400! After taking the test I can tell you that if you master this book you will know how to do every single problem on the SATs! So stop reading this review, buy the book, start your prep (TIMING the tests and taking each test in a single sitting-- VERY important), and GOOD LUCK! I'm still awaiting my score, but whatever improvement I've made I owe it to this book and to barrons SAT II writing!
8 Certainly good for now, but some short comings...
As the "NEW" SAT approaches
(Old SAT I + SAT II Writing - Analogies - Quantitative Comparisons + Short Passages = "New SAT") people are obviously looking for ways to prepare. I purchased this book thinking it would be essentially the successor to "10 Real SATs." Indeed I found, like "10 Real SATs":
-) Description as to the format of and basic strategies for the SAT
-) More SAT practice tests than anything by other prep companies (Eight)
Overall, the strategies given are very sterile and are not very helpful as compared to something by Kaplan or PR. Typical advice is obvious and often identical to free material published by the collegeboard, "Read all the answer choices, then mark the best one on your answer sheet." The guide offers no vocabulary list. The advice and "strategy" offered by this guide could probably best be considered an extended instruction sheet.
The actual exams offered are probably the best current representation of the NEW SAT until the actual test has been administered, but they are far from perfect. While these tests are by the test-makers, unlike "10 Real SATs", which sported actual tests from past administrations, these tests are only samples of what should be expected. To add to the frustration, because the Collegeboard doesn't know the actual difficulty of the NEW SAT, they are unable to offer an accurate scoring guide to allow users to figure out their scores; a certain number of questions correct in Critical Reading will translate to the ambiguous score of "700-800", theoretically meaning one's score on the practice test could be "2100-2400" which would tell one nothing about one's performance from test to test.
At the same time, prep companies do not know the scaling of the NEW SAT either, and so the scores they list are rather arbitrary.
In conclusion, it's going to be rather difficult to get any feeling of one's performance or an estimated score on the NEW SAT prior to the actual test. Take these tests simply as an educational experience to familiarize yourself with question types/pacing, the score this book will give you will be too vague to be of any interest.
9 Excellent resource for the new SAT!
Having taught SAT prep for years and years, I can say that this is an excellent book. I have been through pretty much every inch of it, and can wholeheartedly rate it a 5.
There are lots of books on the market, and it's confusing for people to know what to pick up. This is from the College Board, which oversees the SAT, so it's for real!
10 Great Start to Studying for the SAT
"The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT" by the College Board is where studying starts for the famous high school exam. It is their test, and so it is important to see their prep materials. Stop with that, and you'll sell yourself short. However, if you skip this book, you will miss out on the insiders version.
What Good Is This Book?
The College Board version presents their bias. That's good because they know what is coming up in the next exam.
The practice tests are so important. The College Board gives you eight of them, but try to take more. Again, start with this book, and move onward.
What's missing? The good stuff. More exams. Other voices. The reality is, the playing field for this test is not level. Those taking courses on SAT test taking have an advantage, as do those plowing through Kaplan books, or those published by the Princeton Review. Skip those options, and expect a lower score than you could otherwise have received.
What's really missing? The hardcore strategies. The College Board isn't intending to make the test easy. They want it fair, and to be an exam of true gained knowledge. While this noble desire eventually will be the real indicator of collegiate success, the point of most students for taking it isn't about potential success. It is about money, and/or acceptance to the school of their choice.
Get into that incredible college, and continue the same effort in your courses, and the world is yours. It starts with getting accepted.
Who Needs To Buy a Book?
The SAT is coming up. If you're bright, you'll do well. Doing well isn't good enough. If getting into the local state college is your goal, consider it done. Get something above a 'C' GPA, and something above 1,000 or 1,100 and you meet your goal.
If scholarships, or acceptance at a better school are important to you, then you need to study. Good students study. Great students study a lot. "The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT" is part of that studying.
I fully recommend "The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT" by the College Board.
Anthony Trendl
11 Ok, but not great
The book didn't seem to be updated much. I liked the SAT for dummies book better for studying.
12 Best book out there for the New SAT!
I am very happy with my purchase of The Official SAT Study Guide. This is the only book out there that has tests created by the test maker. The detailed descriptions of each section, including the New Essay section, are a plus. It is great that they have essay questions with sample essays. The 'Keep in Mind' approaches give me valuable insight on the new SAT. Since I own the book; I am able to go to collegeboard.com and receive free online score reports and sample essays for all of the practice tests. I am also a subscriber to the Official SAT Online Course and I am able receive answer explanations for the all of the questions in the practice tests. The online course also has auto essay scoring for all of the essay questions in the book-that means I can go in and type my essay and receive feedback instantly. I also love the interactive lessons. I think that is my favorite part!
I think the study guide and the online course make a great pair in studying for the new SAT. It has already given me the confidence that I will be ready for the new SAT!
13 What better practice than the real thing?
The best type of practice is accurate practice. Only this book will guarantee the correct simulation of new SAT questions. It's a must have.
14 The Best Book Out There
This book is for people who are trying the Ace the SAT's not through a bunch of cheap tricks that don't really work, but through hard studying. This book (although known only for the real questions it gives), has a better review section than even Kaplan's. And the best part is the REAL practice questions. The questions that Barron's, Kaplan etc. give are totally bogus. It's not fun, but it is for those who are serious. It's the best buy.
15 This book from my point of view...
The review by Great Faulkner's Ghost made many wonderful points, and because of that, I did not purchase this book. However, I was given this book, and, upon using it, I feel that I need to review it from another point of view.
This is very much like a new edition of the 10 Real SAT book, which I also own and is extremely useful. But I say: Buy this book, because although some questions are recycled, there is no better practice than being able to take a complete real SAT. You can get that sort of practice from this book. This also includes plenty of practice and intructions for the new writing section, which 10 Real SATs do not have.
It is disappointing that this book does not have a solution explanation section, but keep in mind that the 10 Real SATs book does not, either.
Although 10 Real SATs may still be used, it is no longer the full length, authentic SAT for graduating classes of 2006+. I strongly recommend that you purchase this book for these four points:
1) This is complete with the new critical reading section (originally verbal section, but now w/o the analogies), new math section (w/o the quantative comparisons), and the newly added writing section. The length, the scoring, and the format of the test are as close as can be to the real thing.
2) There are 8 complete tests written by the people who writes the SATs that you will be taking. You must familiarize yourself with their questions. Barrons or Princeton Review may give you an idea of what the tests are like, but this book is the way to go if you'd like a taste of the actual test.
3) The book also gives descriptions and explanations for the different types of problems. This allow you to see how the test makers view their problems.
4) As the owner of this book, you may go online and plug in your answers at CollegeBoard.Com, and they will give you a score report. They will also tell you the key elements that they look for in the essay, and you can score your own essay. At an added fee, they'll score it for you (an excellent chance to see where you stand in the way they grade essays).
(This review was not written in any way to argue against the only other one written before me. I just want to point out what I thought.)
EDIT March 12: After taking the first administered New SAT today, I can say for a fact that if you master all the practice tests in this book, the actual test should not surprise you at all!
16 New SAT, But Not All New Questions
To save yourself some money, don't rush into buying this book. You may not need it. The College Board provides a copy of a complete New SAT test on its web site, which you can download for FREE. This book provides 8 additional tests. However, a fair number of questions are recycled from the guide to the "old" SAT, called 10 Real SATs, which you or an older sibling may already own. Also, this book provides only an answer key for each test, not the explanations. This somewhat limits its usefulness.
