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Winner: The
Princeton Review (93% buyer satisfaction)
Cracking the SAT 2003,
Cracking the ACT 2003
I'm a huge fan of
Cracking the SAT (or ACT) as I have recommended this book to my
students every year. Students loved the informal and practical approach of
the books. "The Princeton Review made studying for the SAT actually fun,"
stated one student. Most test takers also found the techniques in the book
to be quite powerful. Back when I wrote the SAT (a long, long time ago) I especially found the Joe Blogg's
technique of eliminating choices on tough questions very useful - those of
you who have no idea of what I'm talking about, you need to read the book.
Most students found the books helped them to raise their scores, with
several reporting triple digit score increases.
Runner-Up:
Kaplan (83% buyer satisfaction)
Kaplan SAT&PSAT 2002,
Kaplan ACT 2002
Overall
Students found the book helpful and well-worth the price. Although
you won't find the same ingenious techniques as The Princeton Review books, students have
reported substantial score increases. One student loved the list of 2,200 SAT
vocabulary words: "90% of the tough words on my test were on the list."
This isn't surprising since ETS is known to recycle vocabulary words.
Another student liked the score comparisons with top schools saying, "I
knew immediately after writing a practice test whether my score was good
enough." The few students who preferred Kaplan's books over The Princeton
Review's cited more realistic exams and a greater number of tests as their
reasons why.
Honourable
Mention: Barron's (80% buyer satisfaction)
How to Prepare for the SAT
I, How to Prepare for the ACT
A new edition to the
popular long running Barron's Series. Students complained that the
practice tests were more difficult than the actual exam. However "after
doing the practice exams the real thing was a piece of cake," noted one
student. I'm actually surprised Barron's didn't fare better. The books are
very comprehensive and geared towards long-term preparation. Many students
reported having best success using Barron's book along with either
Kaplan's or The Princeton Review's book.
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