Best SAT prep courses?

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Hoppy

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What are the best sat preparation courses out there? I'm not looking to spend a ton of money on it either so something on the cheaper side is best.
 
Khan Academy. Absolutely free and helpful. You can link your collegeboard account to it, and it will analyze areas of weakness based off of previous SATs and your PSAT. They also have several full length SAT tests available for practice where it will analyze your answers and let you know what areas you need to focus on. In my opinion, grind out on that until you’ve abused it. If you still want more, then look for a paid membership somewhere. I never paid for SAT prep so I have no clue where to start. I believe there was a thread about this topic awhile back, so you may want to use the search function to find it.
 
My son took a very expensive SAT prep course over one summer, but he said Khan Academy helped him a lot more.
And it is free!
 
I completely agree ^^^
Just keep using their practice questions and see what you got wrong and improve on your weakness. For me, my reading and writing went from 610 to 720 within a month or two of applying myself. You got this!
 
Check with your library and your guidance counselor. They may have Princeton review prep books that are useful to work through that would be free since you’re just borrowing them
 
You will get opinions all over the board on this (from free is the only way to go and paying is crazy vs. paying a top-notch tutor is a must), but it depends on the individual. Ultimately, you will get out of it what you put into it whether it is free or expensive classes and tutoring. Not every student has the self-discipline to sit down "on their own" and actually put in the time on "free" prep courses, and that student may need the regular schedule of a class or tutor. Some kids can do that on their own and see huge increases.

I can tell you that I have seen private tutor kids take a 26 and go to a 33 or above on the ACT, and have seen private tutor kids go from an 1120 to a 1500 and up on the SAT in a year or less. There is no guarantee, but you will generally get what you pay for on this if the applicant is fully on board and the tutor is good. This could also cost anywhere from $3k to $15k as well. However, I have also seen "free" prep kids go up 3-4 on the ACT and about 200-250 on the SAT. That isn't to say that free prep can't get you a 6 or 400 bump respectively, but it is far less likely from what I have seen.

Neither free or expensive test prep can substitute for a lack of knowledge. Likewise, free prep generally cannot recognize and address test anxiety or other "testing" issues that the applicant can't recognize through free prep, but a good tutor can make larger gains here than a free class can and that may be all the difference the applicant needs.

If you look on Reddit and College Confidential for admitted stats threads for EA/ED schools (that weren't test blind, RD schools trickling out now), you can see this in action. For the SAs, it appears that based upon rejections this year and the last few years that many applicants are being denied based on two more obvious areas (as we can't see essays, LORs, etc.): SAT/ACT scores and CFA scores.

While you don't have to pay Stew Smith himself to get the CFA up to where it needs to be, when it comes to an SAT/ACT (depending on the starting point) you may have to look beyond the free resources. If there is a situation where the difference between a 1250 and a 1450 (as a random example) might have been the deciding factor for an SA or another college, and Khan brought that applicant up to the 1250 from an 1100, would $10k for private tutoring to get from a 1250 to a 1450 be worth it?

Only the applicant can answer that.
 
My kid used March2success and Khan to go from a 1100 to a 1280 with two SAT attempts. His math was at 720 in attempt Nr 2 and there was only one date left in December for a 3rd attempt with no guarantee that the scores would be back by USMAs Jan 31st deadline, so I told him it's probably "good enough" and not to take it a third time. (Covid did not allow for more than that, testing centers were closed for months). His very average english score I blame on the fact that his native language is German and he didn't start school in the US until he was 12. He is just not the fastest reader or best writer because he doesn't have a super solid foundation in English. Or maybe he just has more of a math brain. Idk.

His SAT was the only part of his application which wasn't super strong, so it may have been the deciding factor in receiving a TWE last week from USMA. You are super early in the game so take it a bunch of times and use the resources out there and STUDY until you get to a super score you that is very strong. In hindsight, he should have taken the December test and rushed the processing. I bet a 1450 would have been my DS's ticket in. Good luck!
 
Best must mean best to you Hoppy!

Set measurable goals, a schedule, and a budget that put you in Admissions play.

Start free, take practice tests, focus on why answers were wrong, and take actual tests as frequently as your budget, schedule, and goals allow/require. If you hit your bogey - take a moment to congratulate yourself.

So many great options are listed by others above. Books are great. Khan Academy is great. Revolutionprep.com is great. Prepscholar is great. Compassprep is great. ApplerouthTest is great. Individual prep (expensive) can help with test-taking strategies if super-scoring is needed.

We have had several go through the process. Each picked the approach that worked for them based on skills and what else life demanded at the time. Using a combination of the above tools, all found their way to their goals. Some were one and done, others took many tests.

Like everything else at the SA's, the best prep tool is you - specifically your determination and resilience. Plan the work. Work the plan.

Exicted to hear about your future success!
 
Jman0714 said:
Khan Academy. Absolutely free and helpful. You can link your collegeboard account to it, and it will analyze areas of weakness based off of previous SATs and your PSAT. They also have several full length SAT tests available for practice where it will analyze your answers and let you know what areas you need to focus on. In my opinion, grind out on that until you’ve abused it. If you still want more, then look for a paid membership somewhere. I never paid for SAT prep so I have no clue where to start. I believe there was a thread about this topic awhile back, so you may want to use the search function to find it.
Click to expand...
Ditto to this! My DS used Khan to study and boosted his math from a 680 to a 780 on his second try.
 
I will say from own personal experience with the ACT. First and foremost, I would say take a practice test and identify your greatest weakness, mine was math. I bought the Official ACT prep book with five tests in it and I sat down and took the entire test simulating testing conditions then scrutinized my incorrect answers and asked my math teacher at school for help when I did not understand why I got them wrong. I also downloaded older tests off the internet that were free (there are literally dozens) for more practice; also focus on pacing time will get you on the ACT. After my first official ACT test I got a composite 22, I'm kind of guessing what I got because it was super long ago, (English 17, Math 19, Science 20, Reading 29). Then I retook without any practice and got a 25, once again kind of guessing, (English 20, Math 22, Reading 29, Science I don't really remember, but something low). After this test WP told me I was a RISK candidate and I needed to receive a minimum of a 27 in all categories to have my file continued, so I studied like crazy via the method I mentioned for a month and during the week leading up to my third ACT I used Kaplan advanced math prep course, which is like an hour and a half of a lecture showing harder math topics on the ACT which helped tremendously. I received a 30 on my third ACT (english 31, math 27, reading 32, science 29) with like an 11 on the essay (essay is a joke it's so easy).

Moral of the story, commit to a plan and you can achieve your goals with grit and determination.
 
When we signed my youngest up recently for the June SAT, there was an option to buy a practice test book for around $20. It seemed like a good deal so we included it in the order. We were very surprised a few days later when it arrived...it's the size of an old phonebook and has 10 full practice tests with all of the answers/explanations, etc.

Practice tests (especially those from the Khan Academy) are the way to go according to our older son. He ended up raising his overall score by 200 points in less than 1 year. However, like anything else, you gotta have the discipline to sit down and put in the work.
 
P.S. This assumes one's DS/DD approaches the Black Book like an ACT Bible and studies and practices it religiously. Kahn is great for content, but it doesn't teach you test strategies. Pair Kahn with the Black Book and whaalaa....the ACT magical formula!
 
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For bang on SAT prep without breaking the bank, go for Khan Academy. Fair dinkum, it's free, links with your collegeboard account, and dishes out top-notch analysis on your weak spots based on past SATs. 🙄 🫡 Chuck in some full-length practice tests, and you'll be sweet. No need to splash the cash unless you fancy it. Never paid a quid for SAT prep meself, but there might be a yarn in an old thread about it. Give the search a burl, and you'll be apples!
 
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