How to prepare for the new SAT and the SAT subject tests

There are many ways that a student can prepare for the SAT. The most common are alone, with a tutor, or with an SAT group class.

I have tried all 3 methods, so perhaps my experiences with preparing for the SAT will shed some light on the best ways to increase your score.

First off, I thought I could prepare for the SAT alone, but boy was I wrong! I spent an entire summer (between 10th and 11th grade) studying by myself with the collegeboard SAT guide, and the princeton review guide. My score went up by about 30 points, but it could just be due to random fluctuations. Thus, I highly discourage studying for the new SAT alone, since the results will most likely be limited, and you will only waste your time.

The next way lots of people get ready for the SAT is by taking a prep class, such as those given by The Princeton Review and Kaplan in Los Angeles. You can probably find SAT prep classes in other cities than LA, but might have to do a little more driving. I personally went for the Princeton Review class, which cost me about $1500 total. My experiences were not ALL that bad, but for the most part, I saw the class as a waste of time. Strangely enough, my score actually went down after taking this class. The SAT prep class at princeton review was very unfocused, and the teacher didn't exactly know the SAT as well as he should have. I doubt the Kaplan one in Los Angeles is any better, as some of my friends later told me it was worthless. Also I felt like I wasn't receiving individual attention for my SAT problems since the class had 20 other people in it. This brings me to my next point, and what I consider to be the best way to prepare for the SAT.

If you really want to increase your score, with a minimal amount of time (but not money), you should get 1 on 1 SAT tutoring. This method worked best for me, since the tutor focuses the attention on only ONE student (YOU!). As a warning, the prices can vary greatly for Los Angeles SAT tutoring, as the big companies can charge several hundred dollars an hour. You can find a nice comparison of SAT tutoring in Los Angeles here. Keep in mind that the higher the price, the quality of tutoring is not necessarily better. For example, tutorfox offers the lowest price tutoring of the three test prep companies, and employs all UCLA students who scored above 2200, while princeton review and Kaplan charge much more money, and their SAT tutors can sometimes be in their 30s.

Once again, I strongly recommend tutoring when it comes to preparing for the SAT.