PSAT/SAT Prep Courses

[Boston Tea Party]

We are looking into prep courses for DD for the PSAT/SAT. Does anyone have any experience they would care to share?

Thanks in advance

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Is this for this year or next year? The PSAT date for this year has passed.

My dd took a SAT class through her school. It helped her alot with AP classes and getting a better score on her SAT. While not national merit level it is decent.

Are you looking for an intense prep so your dd can be eligible for National Merit next year? Need that intense boost or just do well.

I know that Princeton Review has some stuff, as well as others.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Is this for this year or next year? The PSAT date for this year has passed.

My dd took a SAT class through her school. It helped her alot with AP classes and getting a better score on her SAT. While not national merit level it is decent.

Are you looking for an intense prep so your dd can be eligible for National Merit next year? Need that intense boost or just do well.

I know that Princeton Review has some stuff, as well as others.

Yes, we are planning for next year.

We got some info at college night and Kaplan has a lot of difference "packages" so to speak. I'm having a bit of sticker shock...

 

[asta]

I highly recommend the online SAT course that you can sign-up and take on the College Board web site. I think it costs about $75 for a 6 month subscription. I have two daughters who did this and each of them went up about 100 points on the SAT after working through this course. My older daughter also went through one of the prep courses through her school and didn't find it that useful. With the online course the student takes timed sections of the SAT (you don't have to take a whole test at one time) that are immediately scored with a great diagnostic tool that tells you in what areas you are weak. They then have lessons you can work through and retake the test.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes, we are planning for next year.

We got some info at college night and Kaplan has a lot of difference "packages" so to speak. I'm having a bit of sticker shock...

I can imagine. My dd was able to take a free course through her school....we were lucky.

I do have to say that my dd did improve, so if you are looking for a score booster it is worth it. There is stuff online as well.

My 17yodd took the SAT Nov 4th and we are waiting on the score. If she gets a 1090 and up (CR/Math), she automatically gets in and will not have to go to Community College in the next semester. That would be great as she is graduating in Dec.

And we just found out she would not be eligible for Freshman Scholarships IF she goes to Community college prior to University (maybe).

Also she could work full time until she goes off to college. That would be a super bonus here.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I can imagine. My dd was able to take a free course through her school....we were lucky.

I do have to say that my dd did improve, so if you are looking for a score booster it is worth it. There is stuff online as well.

My 17yodd took the SAT Nov 4th and we are waiting on the score. If she gets a 1040 and up (CR/Math), she automatically gets in and will not have to go to Community College in the next semester. That would be great as she is graduating in Dec.

And we just found out she would not be eligible for Freshman Scholarships IF she goes to Community college prior to University (maybe).

Also she could work full time until she goes off to college. That would be a super bonus here.

Crossing my fingers here for y'all.

DD wants to go to Cornell. I don't even want to think about money. She's doing well in a magnet-type high school program (had to apply to be accepted) and is making all A's. If she gets in I'll find a way to pay. Want to buy a kidney?

I'm hoping that paying for a PSAT prep course will pay off in a National Merit Scholarship.

This is all so foreign to me. She's just a freshman but these next four years are going to fly by, I just know it.

 

[fourdaughters]

I highly recommend the online SAT course that you can sign-up and take on the College Board web site. I think it costs about $75 for a 6 month subscription. I have two daughters who did this and each of them went up about 100 points on the SAT after working through this course. My older daughter also went through one of the prep courses through her school and didn't find it that useful. With the online course the student takes timed sections of the SAT (you don't have to take a whole test at one time) that are immediately scored with a great diagnostic tool that tells you in what areas you are weak. They then have lessons you can work through and retake the test.

I second this...and we also bought the book that goes along with it. ( you don't have to buy the book though) She gets daily SAT prep questions by email everyday that is also part of the online program.

 

[hoosll]

I recommend going to an actual prep class if your child has test anxiety problems. My DS would always know the material until he got to a test and then he would be so anxious that he just couldn't remember things or concentrate properly.

In the classes they can monitor for this and give your student help in relaxing or learning how to analyze the questions for the best chance of answering it.

By being in a class, when you take practice exercises you are in a setting which is more like the actual exam experience than sitting at a computer.

 

[ctinct]

Check your local community college. Ours has prep courses that are very reasonable. The Princeton Review/Kaplan type ones are extremely expensive. My daughter just took the PSAT as a sophomore yesterday; I am anxious to see how she did. She said it was easy Not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign. (She has not taken a prep course yet.)