Should I have SAT tutor or study on my own (please read)?
November 3rd, 2009 | 
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Hi and welcome to my blog,
I opened this blog to help anyone who is preparing for his SAT.
I remember myself when I started - I was so lost and in such a panic.
Luckily I got this great SAT guide that helped me a lot . So study hard and good luck!
Hi, I am a sophomore right now, and I know that this summer is the time I need to focus on SATs the most. I really am having a hard time deciding whether I should go to a highly recommended SAT tutor place, or if I should just study on my own.
I actually want to study on my own, but I really want to do whatever’s just the best. ***Would going to a tutor (it’s a few days weekly) make my scores better rather than studying on my own from the Collegeboard SAT book? What if my score isn’t that good if I study off the book?***
Just in case this helps in answering my question, this semester I got one B and everything else were A’s. Also, I am in Honors classes at my high school and it’s not a high school where it is really easy to get A’s; you need to work for it. I’m not trying to brag, but just providing more info.
Please help! Include your own stories if you want, too. Thank you!
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Take a practice SAT and see where your scores are at.
If your scores are below what you need for the colleges you want to go to, I’d get a tutor (I recommend Princeton Review Tutors – just Google it).
If your scores are right around what you want, you may be okay with just using a book.
I highly recommend you use a tutor. You sound like a smart girl, but being school smart doesn’t necessarily mean that you will do well on the SAT. The SAT doesn’t measure how smart you are because you CAN study for it – it measures how well you can take the test. Studying using a review book is definitely a good start, but using a tutor or a prep course is even better because these things teach you specific strategies to beat the system and score high on the test.
Getting a tutor in general is fine and more than enough to get you prepared. However, there ARE a few other options for preparing:
1.) Take a review class. I recommend Princeton Review – they guarantee at least a 200 point increase on your total score.
2.) Get a tutor. Again, I recommend Princeton Review tutors. They can help you with one-on-one practice and additional questions and help. My tutor helped me raise my math score 110 points…
3.) If you can’t afford a class or a tutor, at the very least you need a review book. I used various Princeton Review Books for the SAT but I’m sure the Collegeboard SAT book is fine. It’s all the same strategy. Buy some vocabulary flash cards (Barrons sells a great set).
4.) Wilsonprep.com. They give you 6 prep questions a day that span over the three sections. They also set you up with a counselor that sends you extra assignments to help you improve your scores. It costs money, though! (I only recommend this one if you’re actually going to get on the website to do it every day. When I was studying for the SAT going online every day became a pain and the extra practice was unnecessary because I already had a tutor….It can’t hurt…Though the money might not be worth it for you).
The extra practice and one-on-one help that a tutor provides can increase your score drastically. My math score (my worst area) on my first diagnostic test sucked – it was a 590 – but with a tutor I was able to increase the score to 700.
GOOD LUCK!
I’m an online SAT tutor and a college student.
First of all, do not go to Kaplan or TPR. You can just learn the materials from their books. Feel free to ask more questions via my message board!
http://s215234424.onlinehome.us/index.php
Do both!! A tutor is a great way to help you prepare for the SAT, but you should also study by yourself too.
Ok honestly a tutor isnt going to help for the SAT you either know it or you dont so dont waste your moeny… just buy the book b.c that does help do practice essays and review the math part but as long as you know alg. and geometery you are fine
i mean how is a tutor going to teach you to read they arent you either know how to coprehend your reading or you dont and you speak english so if you cant ace that part we have a problem… just relax review the book from collegeboard and take some practice test… make sure you are familiar with the types of problems and the direcetions…. the only thing that you learn from a class is wht type of questions there are and teh directions but u can get that from the book too so like i said save your money… aslo going to SAT study sessions is just a waste of time when you are already busy… just do the book take the test and if you dont like your scores you can retake it 
and if you still dont like it you can try a tutor but i wouldnt until i tried on my own b.c most of the time it doesnt improve your scores…
and for subject test take tehm right after you complete a course dont wait