Product Description
Comprehensive, Rigorous Prep for the New SAT

Every year students pay $800 and more to test-prep companies to prepare for the new SAT. Now you can get the same SAT preparation in a book. SAT Prep Course provides the equivalent of a 2-month, 50-hour course.

The new SAT is challenging but it can be mastered through hard work, analytical thought, and by training yourself to think like an SAT test writer. Many of the exercises in this book are designed to prompt you to think like an SAT test writer. For example, in the SAT math section, you will find Duals. These are pairs of similar SAT problems in which only one property is different. They illustrate the process of creating SAT questions.

Features:
Math:Twenty-two chapters provide comprehensive review of SAT math, including the new concepts from Algebra II.
Reading: Develop the ability to spot places from which questions are likely to be drawn as you read a passage (pivotal words, counter-premises, etc.).
Writing: Comprehensive analysis of the new essay, including writing techniques, punctuation, grammar, rhetoric, and style.
Vocabulary: Learn the essential 4000 SAT words and the 400 high-frequency words.
Mentor Exercises: These exercises provide hints, insight, and partial solutions to ease your transition from seeing SAT problems solved to solving them on your own.

Also includes SAT test-prep software!

Software features:
Mentor Mode: In Mentor Mode, you are immediately told whether you answered a problem correctly, and you can immediately view a detailed solution of the problem.
Test Mode: In Test Mode, you can take an SAT test timed and scored by the program. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not that great.
This book is very hard to read and understand.
It contains many sections that are poorly organized and also has a few mistakes.
It is more oriented for an SAT tutor than a student.
However, it is very thorough, and if that is what you are looking for you should consider buying this.

Personally, I see it as a waste of 20 dollars. There are better books out there. Try The Official SAT Study Guide, Barron's SAT 2400: Aiming for the Perfect Score, among others...

This book works
I buy books for a group of professional tutors and this is the most popular SAT book that is ordered. No one orders Kaplan or the Princeton Review books anymore. I used it for my own kids.

Best Prep book ever!!!
This book is awesome. It has a 4000 word list, classification of the questions, and info you need to know to ace the test. Everybody who's serious about getting a good score on the SAT should buy the book!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Now in its sixth printing and all new for 2005, this book does more than teach you how to solve the problem. It teaches you how to see the problem, how to recognize and avoid the traps, and how to think! Even if you hate geometry, have nightmares about algebraic equations, and can't stand the sight of a percent sign, this book will turn you into a fearless giant-killer. Using SAT-style questions to demonstrate one hundred critical concepts, it delivers plenty of straight talk, solid information, humor, crystal-clear diagrams, cartoons, teaching boxes, a very complete glossary, and lots more! Remember: there's math, and there's SAT math. A great score comes from knowing the difference. And if you don't understand that, you need this book! (120 pages) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Mastering the math SAT
(100 math tips for the SAT) is a guide to help you navigate through challenging math SAT questions. This study book has helped me to understand the kinds of questions on the math SAT and how to solve them as quickly as possible using logic, common sense and simple math. The book is a useful study guide because it clearly shows the steps for solving a problem plus its easy to read and understand. Although i have not taken the SAT yet i feel more confident in my math abilities because this book has helped me to see how easy math can be if you understand the mathematical language.

Great book
I gave it 4 stars because it could have been longer. The book is good for those that need extra help in math.

Incredibly helpful and not just for the SAT!
I used this book to as a study tool for the Praxis I exam. "100 Math Tips for the SAT" provides a variety of problems and supplemental explanations for these problems. As I went through the problems in the book, I was initially stumped by some. However, as I read through Gulotta's explanations and instructions, I found myself immediately understanding what I was doing wrong. Gulotta not only predicted the mistakes I was making, but took me through step by step instructions on how to avoid such mistakes. Gulotta doesn't take for granted the fact that not everyone is a math genius. Problems are broken down so clearly that even someone as "un-math savvy" as myself can learn. I definitely recommend this book to anyone studying for the math section of the Praxis exam. Thanks to this book, I went into the exam feeling confident and left the exam feeling confident!

I'll update my review once we've taken the SAT
All i have done so far is read through it and it looks great! It is entertaining and enjoyable to look at and it seems to really help teenagers remember those SAT Math problems they are going to need to know.I'll update my review once we've finished the book and taken the SAT.

A good way to get your feet wet
I liked this book a lot because it wasn't intimidating. A lot of SAT books are HUGE, and you may feel as if you're drowning in material. This book quickly introduces you to the types of problems you'll see on the SAT, and does it in a way that's fun and makes you want to read on. You'll be feeling better about the whole SAT experience before you know it. The math in this book is not terribly difficult, so it's not for people who want to learn advanced mathetmatics. It's more about how to APPROACH SAT math problems, and the pitfalls most students fall prey to (far more invaluable than a math book on the SAT, believe me). However, the problems in the book are explained very comprehensively, so if you're phobic about math at all, this is perfect for you. I still recommend other books in addition to this one, because it contains no actual practice tests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent Study Book
I used this book to help me study for the U.S. History Subject test in October after taking a US History class the previous year.I highlighted and took notes on the book, and it worked very well.All the information is useful and concise.The book is written and organized better than other books I bought from Barrons and Princeton Review.I studied almost exclusively with this book and got a 780 on the test!

Um, Amazing
A great review for both SAT II US History and AP US History. Pulled an all-nighter with this book; the practice tests were useful as hell. When I took the SAT II the next day, I found a few of the same questions on the test from this book. The information is concise, getting down to the bare, solid bones of US History. There are good details, but it was fantastic at summarizing the basic significance of all the events. Fantastic supplement for any course. Of course, you'll need to study. I was a pretty good history student to begin with, but this book really cemented the facts and last-minute details in my head, and I left the test feeling confident that I aced it. A few weeks later, my friend borrowed this to review for her regular US history finals, and deposited it a few days later in my lap, proclaiming "THANK YOU. This was a LIFESAVER."

Again, great review book. Thanks! Really got my money's worth.

Useful Book
Good book--though it looks daunting at first, it is actually very concise and factual.I took AP US History the year before I took the SAT II US History exam, so much of this was review but I had also forgotten quite a bit.I read through this whole book, taking notes the whole time and ended up with a 760.I am sure this book brought my score up considerably.

I like the end-of-chapter quizzes too!

Before buying, I skimmed through Barron's and this book is much better.Barron's distracted me from the main points, going way too far into detail.I like that this had detailed, yet pertinent, information.

Not quite what I expected
I bought this book for the US History SAT II on a whim. Usually, I buy Princeton Review, but for some reason Borders was out of the US History books for that particular publisher. So instead, I picked up the last Kaplan Review US History book, which cost around 20 with tax.

So buying off Amazon would have saved me about 8 bucks, but I had 2 weeks to study. Anyway...

Reading through it, I found it was simply written. However, I constantly found grammar and punctuation, as well as misspellings, throughout the whole book which irritated me and distracted from my reading. How could a book that costs around 20 have so many errors?

It made me realize that Kaplan was not as professional as I thought. Where the heck were the editors? Did they not proofread the book? I mean, COME ON. I'm sure there were more editions before this one, and did not anyone check the book to make sure it was all correct?

I'm sending it back to them.

Good for general overview
The surest way to get past 600 is by reading an actual USH textbook. I highly recommend the American History A Survey by Alan Brinkley. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

Goodbook to start SAT prep
A friend introduced this book to my kid and she seems to enjoy reading it and start picking up vacabuary.It is good starter book.

Busted
I had to read this book for my S.A.T. class and it realy helped me with the vocabulary. Not only was it an educating book but it was very interesting and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Even though it has many difficult vocab. words it was very easy to understand because the vocab. words are in bold and defined at the bottom of the page. I recommend this book to anyone who needs some help with their S.A.T. vocabulary.

SAT prep book busted helpful or not
i thought the book busted was very jejune. It wasn't the best because of the words being at the bottom of the page.It made it difficult to read and keep track because i would have to keep looking down. There was some parts that did help like the plethora of words that are used and the high school situation which makes it more interesting. It was an okay kind of way to learn but honestly i wouldn't choose it myself. It wasn't that kind of way to learn that your kind of excited about its just dull.I would actually perfer to use a song or a poem of some sort to better understand it.

Best read for SAT Vocab
This book is about a college girl named Kim. She is at home for winter break and gets a little bored so she jumps on the opportunity to help out her mom in a drug case. Her mom is a head police officer and is trying to solve a drug case at Hanover Academy, a rich boarding school. Kim decides she would be great for the job, going under cover as a transfer student in order to bust the dealer. Kim has 3 suspects she has to somehow become friends with. This ends up being difficult becuase they are all opposites and don't like eachother. Kim goes through many ups and down's trying to solve this case and the author threw in a few twists so it keeps you guessing until the end. It is a pretty short and easy read.
Considering the book is short and there are 1000 vocab words in it, it does seem a little packed. Though, all sat vocab books are like this, so it isn't too overwhelming. As far as sat books go, this one was the most well-written, and most enjoyable story line.

Not bad
I bought this book more for a guilty pleasure sort of read than I did for the vocabulary. It wasn't an outstanding storyline, but it wasn't awful and did succeed in making me giggle a bit along the way.

As far as the vocab goes it is either inconsequential to the plot or a hindrance. It was irritating to have to look down the page every couple sentences to see what a word meant and this made it difficult to really get into the story. While the words are all used correctly in the technical sense, it seems like the connotations of some of them have been forgotten. I've never heard of your heart "distending" in your chest to be a good thing, for example. Because of that, learning the vocabulary from the book isn't much different than memorizing a list.

Overall, it isn't a bad read. Get it at your library though, it isn't something you'll be desperate to read again. Quick, easy, fun story and all the vocab you'll need with technically correct definitions supplied. Just don't expect any context clues to help you figure out the words on your own. ... Read more

Product Description
The War of the Worlds: A Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Classic features:

*The complete tale of the classic novel, The War of the Worlds

*Featuring 600 vocabulary words frequently tested on the SAT highlighted throughout the text

*Definitions for each highlighted word on the facing page

*A pronunciation guide

*An index for easy reference ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Read A Classic, and Prep for the SAT!
This is one of the best ways of learning SAT vocab, or simply vocab for your own personal gain. Read the classic work on the right, SAT words are in bold and defined on the left. The real kicker is that words are repeated throughout the book. After seeing words over and over you learn them extremely well. Great Concept, Great Study Aid, Great Book!

These Books are better than other SAT Score raising books. Most of these books are written for the sole purpose of raising your score. Their stories tend to be boring, the writing style is usually adequate. Instead Kaplan, defines SAT words inside great literary works. They are perfect for any student. You can now read a classic book, and Study for the SAT at the same time!
... Read more

Product Description
Created by a Harvard-educated instructor, this book includes everything students need to succeed on the Writing portion of the SAT with:

* Five full-length practice tests that include all the topics tested on the SAT

* Unique test-to-test learning system that ensures continual improvement

*Online essay submission; grading and feedback from Ivy-League educated teachers

*Strategies proven in the real world on real SAT tests

*No wasted time; Get to what you need immediately and use EVERY page of this book

Customer Reviews (1)

The Best Practice Book for the SAT Writing Section
I have now used this book with dozens of students in order to prepare for the June 2010 SAT. My students' results confirmed what I found in the classroom: this book is the most realistic and consistent practice for the Writing test. After using this book, none of my students scored lower than 680 on the real test, and more than 20 scored between 780 and 800. I would highly recommend this book to students of all levels who want to improve their score. ... Read more

Product Description
Eight full-length model tests and one diagnostic test include calculator-active questions, and reflect the most recent SAT II tests in Math Level II C in length, question types, and degree of difficulty. All questions are answered and explained. A subject review covers polynomial and trigonometric functions, permutations and combinations, probability, sequences, logic, and all other topics tested on the SAT II. All new material on the graphing calculator has been included in this new edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

everything you need for the SATII math
I studied this book inside-out and I got an 800 on my math II SAT. The author truly coveres all the material you will need to know for the test and teaches/explains it in a concise yet still comprehensive fashion.

The practice questions at the end of the chapters reinforce what you learn, and the eight or so practice exams are all fantastic. Plus-get this- you can trace each question back to a specific chapter in the book for further review.

The content review is balanced very will with the amount of practice questions. If you are going to take the math II SAT, THIS is the one you should study. It is very well constructed/organized and there are no mistakes.

Good Seller
Amzon is a good seller. I got my book in five days and am highly recommended.

too hard but helpful
on the book tests, i got "average" according to barrons but i got a 750 on the real thing. the book tests were definitely too hard but they prepared me well. There were parts they under and overemphasized, but overall it was a good review. just don't get down on yourself because you will do better than you think!

Too Hard, but good.
The tests in this review book are much harder than the actual test.And, the explanations are terrible.The best use of this book is as a way of finding what you don't know.You can then find much better explanations online.Even Wikipedia's math entries are less dense than the ones in this book.I recommend the The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests (Real Sats) or The Official SAT Subject Tests in Mathematics Levels 1 & 2 Study Guide (Official Sat Subject Tests in Mathematics Levels 1 & 2 Study Guide) because the tests in these are much more realistic.

Too many errors
There are simply too many errors in this book. Sometimes the answers in the answer key are wrong, and sometimes the explanations apparently belong to a different problem and make no sense.

When a MATH BOOK has the wrong answers it deserves a low rating. If there were no errors in the book I would give it 4 stars but with the huge number of errors it contains I can't. In fact, if I could give it zero stars I would. ... Read more

Product Description

Get the edge you need on the Writing section of the new SAT

The SAT is coming up, and you need extra help to tackle the tough Writing section--including the dreaded SAT essay. Revised and updated, McGraw-Hill's Conquering SAT Writing, Second Edition, is packed with intensive practice for the new multiple-choice writing questions, plus teacher-recommended strategies for writing a high-scoring essay. You also get sample scored SAT essays with readers' comments! Specially created by a nationally known test-prep expert, this first-rate guide has everything you need to get ready for this difficult part of the SAT, and to help you achieve your best Writing score ever.

McGraw-Hill's Conquering SAT Writing includes:

• 3 full-length practice SAT Writing Tests with complete explanations
• A classroom-tested, step-by-step program for writing an outstanding SAT essay
• Sample scored SAT essays with readers' comments
• Strategies for answering the tough new multiple-choice writing questions
• Complete review of all the grammar rules you need to know for the test

Topics include: Introduction; The Essay; The Multiple-Choice Questions; The Fundamental Rules of Grammar for Writing and Editing; Three Practice Tests.

Customer Reviews (3)

BEST FOR SAT MATH AND GRAMMAR!
It's much better than Kaplan and Princeton's math.
And please get a close look of a book.
This book teach you grammar and math! And us really helpful!
I think the best combination is This one plus the collegeboard official study guide!

Superior Test Prep
Like "Busy Mom's" daughter, my daughter found the McGraw Hill books superior to the Princeton, Kaplan, & Barron's & other test prep books. She says the best way to prepare for the math is to DO ALL THE PROBLEMS - it prepares you for all the test-maker's tricks.The other books, though, do have merit, so check them out of the library if you can for supplemental preparation.It helps, though, to have a book to write in, so if you only buy one book, make it this one!

WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD!
I reiterate my appreciation for McGraw Hill's SAT (and PSAT) prep books! My daughter used McGraw Hill's PSAT workbook to prep for her junior PSAT and the results were great! During the last winter break, she used McGraw Hill's SAT (and a couple of other books) to prep for the January 2009 SAT Reasoning Test. It was her first try and the results were similarly successful. She finds McGraw Hill's Writing Skills section superior to other prep books in that it categorizes SAT grammar into 15 user-friendly units, illustrating each rule with easy-to-understand examples, and reinforced with lots of practice exercises. Its CR section is based on a similar format, thus making its vocabulary lists easy to learn. Its math review is also good, but you may want to use a couple more specialized math workbooks (e.g. Barron's, Greenhall) for extra reinforcement. Just as invaluable are the authors'suggested SAT review schedule, insights and no-nonsense advice to prod you through an otherwise arduous SAT prep. With relentless practice with this book and a couple of others (College Board, Princeton), my daughter got perfect scores (800) in both CR and Writing, and near perfect score in Math. Not only did this book give her the time flexibility to prep for SAT at her own pace (amid a hectic midterm schedule), it also saved paying for SAT prep courses! ... Read more

Product Description

Get the edge you need on the reading sections of the SAT

The SAT is coming up, and you need extra help to tackle the tough reading section. Revised and updated, McGraw-Hill's Conquering SAT Critical Reading, Second Edition, provides the most complete, in-depth review available for all of the reading comprehension questions on the SAT. Reading skills are explained and carefully demonstrated with numerous examples. You’ll get practice with intensive SAT-style drills and full-length sample test sections. A companion website offers additional SAT practice and test information. Specially created by a nationally known test-prep expert, this first-rate guide has everything you need to get ready for this difficult part of the SAT, and to help you achieve your best reading score ever.

McGraw-Hill's Conquering SAT Critical Reading includes :

• 1 diagnostic exam and 4 practice SAT Critical Reading exams
• Complete coverage of all SAT reading comprehension problem types
• Extra help with SAT reading if you are having difficulties
• Link to more SAT practice online at companion website

Topics include: All about Taking the SAT, Planning Your SAT Training Program, Diagnostic SAT Critical Reading Exam, Strategies for Sentence Completion Questions, Strategies for Critical Reading Comprehension Questions, SAT Critical Reading Practice Exam, SAT Critical Reading Practice Exam II, SAT Critical Reading Practice Exam III, SAT Critical Reading Practice Exam, Glossary, Build Your SAT Vocabulary

Product Description
Because Marie helps her poor parents by modeling for an ill-tempered artist, she becomes a famous ballerina but not in the way she had dreamed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

One of the best ways to study vocabulary!!!!!!!!
This is the best way to study vocabulary. All u got to do is slip the card in the card holder and slide it up and down. It is really easy to learn this way and i learned 60 volcabulary in 2 days so i am so happy!!!!!!!!! I think everyone should get this because it is cheap and it works.

YUK THUY
Disgusting! Horrible! Terrible! Words in the book are for 5 year old who have the intelegence of chimps in bubbles. =) Anyone scoring below a 500 and is currently in ESL should get this book.

These flashcards are great!
These flashcards are the best tool that you can use to prepare for the SAT.They increased my verbal score by over 100 points.I recommend them to any high school student studying for the SAT. ... Read more

Product Description

Ace the test with help from this expert guide to the PSAT andNMSQT

Customer Reviews (11)

not "like new" as advertized.
the book is not "like new" as advertized.there were lots of highlighting, writing, etc. in the diagnostic test.the rest of the book was in good condition

An exercise in frustration
Although this edition (copyright 2006) of the book has some useful reasoning skills, it is full of errors and typos in the math section. The errors are so abundant that I found many parts of the book useless and frustrating. I used this book as well other SAT and PSAT books (Gruber,Barron, Kaplan, King, College board) and while all the other books have some typos, this one by far has the most and the College Board book has the least. My favorite book is the one by Elizabeth King called Outsmarting the SAT. She actually takes the SAT test every year and her examples are indeed very close to the actual tests from the college board book.
The English section in this PSAT book is too easy and not representative of the actual tests. Test scores from practice exams in this book can be misleading. Overall, if this book had fixed its many typos and made the English practice portion more representative, it would have gotten a better rating.
If you plan to buy this book, wait for a newer edition. Be aware however that as of August 2009, there is no new edition yet.

A revolutionary book for the PSAT !
First of all, this is a truly amazing book. It changes the way many people views the PSAT. Debunking the myth that PSAT/SAT is designed by ETS merely to test your "test-taking skill"(which is suggested by many mercenary test prep companies/books), the book announces that SAT does another great thing: IT MEASURES YOUR ABILITY TO THINK CRITICALLY! Especially for those who want to excell at college, critical thinking skill is crucial.
Over all, three sections of the book are just perfect! Certainly, they all strongly emphasize the importance of your "thinking" ability.
I cannot recommend it enough. So check it out by yourself!
Hope this help

WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD!
Although my daughter did well on her sophomore PSAT in 2007, when she was a sophomore, she made 4 errors in the Writing Skill section and wanted to improve her score in her junior year PSAT. I used McGraw Hill's PSAT book to coach her for the 2008 PSAT. It really is worth its weight in gold!!! It contains a fantastic writing skill review categorized in 15 concepts, each of which comes with a 1-page mini concept review followed by additional practice. The 15 concepts are so well explained, so succinctly written, and so user-friendly that make writing skill improvement a piece of cake! After relentless practice with this book (and also with Barron's PSAT workbook) last summer, my daughter not only writes much better at school in her junior year, she did great on PSAT (upper 99 percentile)and a perfect score (80) in the Writing Section! Thank you, McGraw Hill!

Overall a great prep book
As an SAT and ACT tutor, I'm always looking for prep books that offer drills of specific concepts with lots of great sample questions and this book works well for that purpose. My one complaint is that there are many distracting typos. The price is right too. Overall, a really great choice for PSAT, SAT, and ACT students. I wish the McGraw-Hill ACT book was also broken down by concepts. ... Read more

Product Description

It's Not Too Late to Prepare for the SAT®

Have you waited until the very last minute to start studying for the SAT or PSAT? No problem. The Procrastinator's Guide to the SAT & PSAT is your down-to-the-wire guide to the must-know, essential concepts on the test. Small enough to carry around with you anywhere, The Procrastinator's Guide to the SAT & PSAT will help focus your preparation to maximize your score in the minimum amount of time.

• Succeed by making the most of your available study time with targeted review and realistic practice.
• Prepare for only what you need to know to score your highest on the SAT.
• Practice techniques on how to approach each question type and how to avoid common "traps."
• Score Higher using Kaplan's exclusive, time-saving strategies. ... Read more

Product Description
For students, Master the SAT provides a wealth of test-taking strategies and helps students prepare for the SAT with extensive reviews and 9 full-length practice tests to help sharpen math, writing, and critical reading skills.

For parents, Master the SAT includes the 24-page "A Parent's Guide to Paying for College"-a feature found in no other SAT book-with answers about the best college financing solutions, from financial aid and scholarships to tuition payment plans.

SELLING POINTS:

9 full-length practice tests (including access to 3 through CD), with detailed answer explanations for each exam questionA 24-page guide, "A Parent's Guide to College Admission Testing," provides advice on subjects such as what tests your high school student should take, how to motivate your child, and what role to play in the college admissions process.Extensive reviews of all subjects appearing on the SAT, including essay writing, higher-level math, and reading comprehension.friendly design, with bulleted roadmaps and chapter summaries formulated so that high school students can work through the exercises at their own pace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Excellent product
I'm the proud mom of two National Merit honored students (one Finalist, one Semi-Finalist) and another child getting ready to take the PSAT and all used the Kaplan book/CD preparation materials.We found the Kaplan products to be the most comprehensive among the retail products we reviewed.Highly recommended.

Super Starter for ALL
In the Dark Ages SATs did not exist but now they are the base line for getting to the next level.Now we have helpers for almost any type of advanced learning prospect and the Kaplan SAT Premier is among the better ones available.While it took me longer than normal to complete the over 700 pages I attempted to follow the directions and learn as I proceeded.The learning was the best part for me because I have this unending goal to learn as much as possible.Now if I could put that learning to practical use.It became apparent to me after completing a few of the practice tests and questions that this was a comprehensive and total assistant for any aspiring student or even oldies such as I.Unlike some other publications Kaplan not only gave me a full set of tools it had an element that I considered the best tool:why something was correct and an other was not. I can recall teachers at several levels preaching a subject and not offering the why.It was either the teacher's way or no way.Kaplan gives you the why.Kaplan reminds me of an advanced math course I took.The Prof told us to study real hard because the test would be different and difficult.He handed out the test and admonished us not to look until it was all out.Fine and when we opened it we were shocked.This course was statistics and the test was an essay test.He said any one of you can memorize equations but do you know why this and why that.That was the test.Please explain the derivation of the binomial theorem and explain each element of the equation.Kaplan does not go quite that far but it sure comes close.

After completing the text book and using the enclosed disk on the internet I had several thoughts that went beyond the item itself.The book is 2 inches thick and packed with goodies that will assist anyone willing to apply that which is taught.If I had my way I would consider and probably take this product and use it in the two years ahead of any student attending the first setting for the SAT.Even though some students max the final it is a very useful product and well worth using.The other products would probably make an ideal companion.

Helpful resource with some drawbacks
The Kaplan SAT 2010-2011 Premier w/SAT includes ten full-length practice tests which are particularly helpful to a student seeking to achieve high scores.My daughter has been using this book to study for the last four months and she feels that the tests have indeed allowed her to prepare well. Sometimes books of this nature have been poorly edited and some answers are incorrect.However, our experience has been that each time we question an answer, we have discovered that the book was accurate.

Also helpful are the test-taking strategies -- which are key to doing well on tests of this nature.However, the answer explanations are less successful.Some responses are so vague -- especially in the math sections -- that we have had to go to other resources to discover why a particular response is correct.In addition, the included CD is, frankly, very dull.My daughter tried it for about ten minutes and then went back to the book.

A last minor drawback is the organization of the book itself.Sometimes locating an answer explanation specific to a particular issue is very difficult.A detailed index would be very helpful

Despite these drawbacks, the book is indeed helpful and a good resource -- but probably not the only one a student will want to use.

Pretty Standard SAT Prep Material
I have tutored SAT and ACT (in addition to academic subjects) for many years, and have used (and refused to use) many different test prep products.Kaplan is a large player in the test prep industry, and I have been using this book with two of my students for the past three months.

I don't generally find the review-type stuff at the beginning of the book too helpful, and I have found that high school students generally don't want to read it all.I was disappointed that more than half of the practice tests can only be accessed with a computer, as I find paper-and-pencil practice tests to be a better prep for the real test.

As for my students, they too are conflicted about this book.While they are initially excited about the prospect of studying using the computer (as anything is more fun that sitting with a tutor studying for the SAT!), they have both complained that they can't do anything on the disc until they take the diagnostic test, which takes several hours.(Yes, doing a diagnostic first makes sense, but not all teenagers are so patient...)

For "real" practice tests, I heartily recommend The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition.For good review/strategy techniques, I also use The Ultimate SAT Tutorial: The Easiest and Most Effective Way to Raise Your Score.

Practice, practice, practice
This guide does many things well.Before reading the tips and information though, it would be useful to do a practice test, either one of the online tests (preferable) or the FOUR tests, not ten, included in the book.It's important to have a baseline so you know where you are beginning to see how much your score improves - both by understanding the test and its format - and by seeing how testing anxiety can effect you even in an informal setting.I am involved in testing and if you test students at the end of the year and find out where they're at, that's all great and good, but it's a lot more meaningful when you an demonstrate growth by knowing at what level they started.This guide looks huge but it is made up of a lot of tests and explanations - the last 393 pages are only these.

I have been involved in high stakes testing in a variety of roles for the last ten years.There are a lot of things you can learn from this book, clear strategies that will help you succeed in improving your scores on the SAT.What was funny, a thing I discovered AFTER doing a practice test is that in the math section when you are trying to figure out the value of y, to start with the middle choice and figure out whether it is correct or whether you need to go higher or lower because the numbers will be sequential.LOL!!!I don't know how I missed that my entire life - probably because I don't pay much attention to the math sections.

The section on the writing portion of the SAT is woefully inadequate.Readers of this section may think that the higher scores may be gotten with quick vignettes from real life, that the essays may be written with casual vocabulary and with not very much grace in the sentence structure or voice.None of these things are true.The essays they are using at examples as Score 6s would more likely be Score 4s, if not below that, which you can see very clearly by comparing these essays with the real life examples on the college board site.

The internet changes everything.It was easy to find appropriate essays that show you what is expected from an essay that receives a score point of 6.If you go to a variety of websites, including Spark Notes and the actual College Board site, you can see examples of real essays that received the highest score point and you will see that the essays in this book are nowhere close to the highest score point.Once you get to the College Board site, look at the essays under score point 6. You will see a profound difference in the quality of the writing and the depth of thought.This guide has skipped the very first two parts in the directions: "Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, and observations."There are five or six novels that students tend to focus on in the writing of these essays - from Romeo and Juliet to The Great Gatsby.Students write about world history, and World Wars, Churchill, the Civil Rights movement, the forefathers of our nation.The essays that receive a score point of 6 tend to discuss events from history or literature or both.

This is a great guide.It is effective and it does give a lot of good advice.But I don't think this resource is enough on its own and it does not take the place of an SAT preparation class, nor the in-depth study of vocabulary that some guides promote.There are a lot of good parts but it should only be considered a part of a plan to succeed at the SAT.

In short, practice, practice, practice. ... Read more

Product Description

Expert guidance on the Chemistry SAT Subject Test

Many colleges and universities require you to take one or more SAT II Subject Tests to demonstrate your mastery of specific high school subjects. McGraw-Hill's SAT Subject Test: Chemistry is written by experts in the field, and gives you the guidance you need perform at your best. This book includes:

• Full-length sample tests
• Diagnostic exams to help students pinpoint strengths and weaknesses
• Hundreds of questions with complete explanations
• Step-by-step reviews of all topics covered in each exam
• Strategies to help students get their best score

Customer Reviews (20)

Full of ERRORS and not the most helpful
After going through the majority of the book, I knew that it was not the best book. There were many errors and misleading information. I bought it because of the good reviews on the Amazon, but I soon realized that many of them were just used to bring up the ratings. I would not recommend this book. If you are actually serious of the SAT chem, do not buy McGraw's book!

It's a fluff book
I bought this book solely based on the 11 five-star versus 3 low-star reviews. However, it was misleading. Don't know where those 11 five-star reviews came from. This book is mostly fluff, with very little valuable stuff. Of course, you may buy it--if you target only 500-600. If you want a decent score (>700), I recommend other books, such as Barron, Princeton review, and Kaplan (I bought them from Amazon). In a word, this book is superficial. Don't be fooled by those "good" reviews.

Easier than the real thing, but provides alot of practice questions
I bought this book not for the review sections but for the 5 practice tests. I think practice is the most important thing if you want to score well on any exam. I found I scored better on these tests than those in Kaplan's book. I was not surprised when I sat for the real thing and found it harder than this book.

If you don't plan on investing a lot of your time into preparing for SAT Chem, and you're looking for a book that closely models the real thing, get the official Collegeboard instead (although it only has 1 practice test and no review). I did it only once, and because of the mistakes I made, managed not to repeat them when I sat for the real test (and there were quite a few opportunities to repeat them).

However, if, like me, you plan on investing a lot of time into preparing, get this book. The number of tests, despite their low difficulty level, will allow you to practice doing the questions quickly and revise basic concepts.

You should have a reference (maybe a textbook from your course.. or even google) by your side though. It'll greatly help in clarifying important concepts AND providing the information that needs to be memorized. (YES, some of the information needs to be memorized. Meaning, you cannot derive them just from knowing basic concepts)

I got an 800 for the test :)

Hope this helps!

Use it for the 5 Practice Tests
I am a science teacher who has successfully prepared students for the Chemistry SAT2 for years. This book is not the greatest for its review of the material, but it is enormously helpful for its practice tests, of which there are five.

There are some typos in the tests, as well as some irrelevant/bad questions, but taking five (timed!) practice tests before the chem exam will really help you on test day. Another thing to keep in mind is that the real ETS exam will use more easily crunchable numbers since you can't use a calculator, so don't be frustrated if these tests require a few extra minutes of math (the numbers are usually a little unwieldy).

Supplement with Barron's Regents Review of Chem (the blue book...tons of multiple choice questions) and Princeton Review's Cracking the SAT2 and you'll be in good shape for the test (make sure you get a copy of the latest released SAT2 from ETS/The College Board, too. That is the most reliable indicator of how you'll do on the real thing).

Good luck!

Too many mistakes to take more seriously.
There is simply too much fluff and too many errors for me to take this book seriously. I fell for a good review off another site of this book and while I admit it isn't generic and easy (Priceton Review) or long-winded and overly difficult (Kaplan), I found simple errors like another reviewer all over the place!

I even e-mailed the editors about these errors, and they said they would correct them in the new edition, but it looks like I was wasting my time. They're simply not doing their jobs because I felt like I was reading a pre-proofread book. Horrendous.

It's okay for review if you KNOW these concepts already, but if you are learning some new things, there is no way to tell what is correct and what is not. (If you know everything, play a game with how many mistakes you can find. Have fun.)

Also: I did fine on the test. Over 700, but that is because I like chem a lot and am taking ap chem right now. While this book may have helped a bit, it was excruciating. ... Read more

Product Description
The Princeton Review realizes that acing the SAT U.S. and World History Subject Tests is very different from earning straight A’s in school. We don’t try to teach you everything there is to know about U.S. and world history–only the techniques and information you’ll need to maximize your score. In Cracking the SAT U.S. and World History Subject Tests, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and

·Learn what subject matter will be tested so you can study more effectively
·Review key historical eras that will appear on the test
·Use proven techniques to solve complicated questions

The 2007-2008 edition of Cracking the SAT U.S. and World History Subject Tests is revised and updated to include the most current information possible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hmm...
I haven't taken the subject test yet, but I am using this book to review.
The US history section seems good, but if you've taken a US history class, flash cards like "Kaplan's APUSH in a box" is a much better way to review.
the world history section seems to have a ton of info, but it really lacks timelines, maps, pictures, etc. It's hard keeping all of the dynasties, etc straight, without any timelines in the book. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

An SAT Must Have!
As an SAT Tutor, I have found this book most helpful to use with my students. From math strategies to grammar traps, this book covers it all. I have found the "Math Traps" and "Common Mistakes" to be the most useful parts. The four practice tests provided in the book are of moderate difficulty. Test one and four seem to be the most difficult, and test three seems to be the easiest. I recommend this resource to any student who wants to learn how to understand "SAT lingo" and get inside the heads, per say, of the test writers. I also recommend this resource to any tutor or parent that is looking to help a student prep for the SAT exam. SAT prep can be rather arduous, but is always rewarding--good luck!

Stacy Padula, Author of Montgomery Lake High #1: The Right Person

Better than expected
I purchased this book for my son who is a sophomore in HS.Unfortunately, I've spent more time with it that he has!It is very compreshensive and provides a good number of tips for both how to prepare for the test and how to tackle specific questions.There are a lot of practice questions and full-lentgh practice tests.

There is an online component that I thought would be more useful, but it seemed more to be a way to try to get you to enroll in Kaplan's VERY expensive test prep courses.We have not explored the online content in much detail.

Overall I think it was a good value.

Prestine Condition
Fabulous service! Brand new book! Great Price!! On time delivery!!! Thank you! Thank you! Definitely would order from again!

This is the best SAT-prep book.I use it when I tutor my students.
This is the book I use with all my PSAT and SAT students. It provides a great overview of the test, teaches the Kaplan test-taking strategies, and supplies the student with several full-length tests so he/she can practice his/her new skills. There are generally very few changes from one year to the next, but I like the 2009 book because there's a new introductory section AND fun exercises to do as "study breaks" at the end of each section.While the content is pretty much the same as the 2008 version, it seems they left out a few of the pages of instructional material that I found very instructional in last years' edition. ... Read more

Product Description
Find out your best test-taking strategy for maximizing success.

Fiske Nailing the New SAT is the only SAT prep bok that skips the test-prep fluff and cuts to the heart of the SAT. Expert instruction hlps you undersand the test-maker's tricks, plus Fiske's specially designed advanced practice tests hlpe you master the most difficult questions you will find on the test.

* Boost your score by mastering the toughest problems* Learn how to confidently eliminate wrong answers* Why taking a popular test-prep class might lower your score* Analyze your performance with in-depth answer explanations* Real advice from top-scoring students coast-to-coast* Proven methods to learn more and retain it longer* Why the new Math section isn't really about math* How the Writing section could be your key to a higher score

Includes Fiske's exclusive advanced practice tests ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Read this if you want your hopes dashed
I don't recommend this book unless you are willing to be disillusioned as you prepare for this important test.The authors claim that most test prep doesn't work as advertised (I agree with this claim) and then go on to tell you how to do better on the test , with of course, more accurate expectations. ( To read my opinion on this issue read the last paragraph of this review.)The authors one good tip for writing test preparation is to do practice tests in 20 minutes instead of 25.If you practice that way you will learn to write faster and be that more confident when you take the real test.

In my experience teaching and tutoring SAT classes I have actually seen dramatic jumps in scores on practice tests for the Critical Reading and Writing sections of the test.All those I tutored improved, and only those who came to class over time so that I could teach and re-teach the same concepts and give coaching and feedback improved.I often think that most SAT tutoring and test prep doesn't work because the person doing the teaching/tutoring hasn't actually figured out how the test works.Instead, they teach a standardized curriculum.What I do is teach the students to think like the test-maker and I create new methods as I teach so that students gain understanding of the underlying principles.As a result they are able to consistently improve. ... Read more

Product Description
Updated to reflect the most recent SATs, this manual offers college-bound students an explanation of all the important tactics and strategies for taking the SAT, as well as a detailed review of all test topics, a diagnostic test, and five full-length SAT practice tests with all questions answered and explained. Subject reviews cover critical reading, grammar and usage, and math, as well as detailed instruction in preparing and writing the required SAT essay. The book's additional features include an overview of the SAT, an explanation of its scoring method, and general study advice. The enclosed CD-ROM presents two additional full-length practice tests with complete solutions and automatic scoring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Barron's SAT Review
Barron's SAT books are excellent resources for SAT preparation. A Barron's SAT book was a great help to me many years ago when I wanted to increase my vocab and math skills. Prospective SAT examinees will find the word lists, math examples, and test questions extremely helpful. I believe that anyone who masters this book will be on their way to doing well on the SAT. ... Read more