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• SAT Prep for Junior
• Summer prep classes for SAT
• Recommendations for Private Tutors
• Older Recommendations
• See also: Advice about taking the SAT
• Rory Bled's SAT study words

SAT Prep for Junior

I'm searching for a good SAT prep course or tutor for my daughter who will be a junior in the fall. Also interested in suggestions about self-study guides on studying for the SAT. Any recommendations? Berkeley Mom

Summer prep classes for SAT

I read through prior referrals and couldn't find any recommendations for SAT prep classes for teens. I was hoping to find a good one in Berkeley for the summer. What experience do people have with good programs? Kaplan seems quite expensive and pushy. Are they worth it or are there better choices? melinda

Mo did an outstanding job helping my son. His overall SAT score increased several hundred points, from the time he took the PSAT in October to his SAT last month (May 7), when he took the New SAT test for the first time. He achieved excellent scores.

My son is a bright kid and, with Mo's help, was able to clarify concepts that (maybe) were not clear to him from the beginning of his schooling. In that respect, my son's experience with Mo preparing for the SAT test has helped him in more ways than one.

Mo is a warm, patient, and knowledgeable teacher. A one of a kind person. The sessions were two hours long, once a week, at our house.

I recommend Mo Rahmoun highly. You can contact Mo by phone at: 510-367-5829 or by email at: bcfcl [at] comcast.net

victoria

I want to highly recommend the SAT tutoring service, SuccessLink Tutoring, 650-346-0410. The most impressive thing about the service is the time and care taken to match students up with a tutor who shares their interests and is sympathetic to their needs. My son is a slightly above average student whose PSAT scores were not promising. Michael, of SuccessLink, spent at least 30 minutes on the phone with me, asking all sorts of questions about my son, his interests, his strengths and weaknesses, etc., then matched him with a tutor who was a great fit, a great teacher, and a thoughtful and compassionate fellow, who bolstered not only my son's confidence but his performance as well. Although the hourly rate sounds high, in all the total cost was less than many test preparation courses, and immeasurably more effective, personal, and pleasant. I cannot recommend these folks too highly. SuccessLink Tutoring 650-346-0410
Beth

I heard from the People's Test Prep Service at UCB about the SAT workshops that they offer. Here is the email response I got from them.

Thanks for your interest in our program. We actually have two kinds of services, the main one being an 8-week SAT 1 prep class which is scheduled to start on the first week of March at various sites (and end in May). We are working on finalizing our sites but we usually have several sites at UC Berkeley on the weekends (4 hours total, 2 math and 2 verbal on one day, either Saturday or Sunday) and one at BHS on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (2 hours each day). We are also looking at some possible sites in Richmond and Oakland. The other service is one-time workshops (usually lasting around 3 hours), usually one on College Admissions and Financial Aid and one on SAT 2 material, though we may add some more this semester. If you are interested in enrolling in the 8-week class simply call 510-642-4951 and leave your name, your child's name, your child's high school, your phone number and which site you prefer. If you are interested in the one day workshops, we will probably post more info on the website when it becomes available (the workshops will likely me in March and April).
Chris Koh

I had my daughter go to AMES seminars for SATs because she needed to raise her math scores and she learns well in a classroom setting. She was a Merit finalist. My son is currently with a private tutor because he needs to bring up his English. The owner of AMES told me that it's most difficult to raise the English scores if you aren't constantly reading and increasing your vocabulary. My son is doing well with the private tutor and because of all his sports commitments he would not be able or want to go to a classroom. I think either works depending on your child. AMES is good about letting the kids take refresher courses or make up classes and they offer many options. I was pleased with them and so was my daughter. Jan

Older Recommendations

My son consulted a book called "Up Your Scores" after taking his PSATs with no prior review or practice. It's written by 6 kids who scored 1600 on their SATs, with a lot of tongue and cheek humor and comments in the margins by other teens reviewing the guide. He LOVED it and found it extremely helpful with the verbal section, particularly in the areas of interpreting tricky questions, how to guess, etc. While the were undoubtedly a number of things that helped his scores on the SATs (including a third year of Latin...), he raised his scores by 270 points from PSATs to SATs, so I would think the bookd was useful.

My son used the Princeton Review software. It was entertaining enough to use and it was helpful, particularly so that he could take many practice tests and have them easily scored. The key to these programs is that the kids have to be self motivated- 1 or 2 hours trying to cram in 500 vocabulary words doesn't cut it. That's why classes are better- they force you to put in the hours. But if they use it it's got great time saving tips and strategies for managing the whole test so by the time they actually take their SAT they're pretty comfortable. My son's score went up @200 points. He used the program for a year off and on.

Here's a strategy for helping your student prepare for taking the SAT I.

1. Buy the book 10 Real SATs
2. On three different days have your student take one of the SATs from
the book.
   For each section of the test (provide them with scratch paper and a
calculator):
    a. use a timer to let your student know when the test would have 
       ended.
    b. have them mark where they were.
    c. Let them finish the section - However much time it takes.
    d. Ask them to use a special mark for guessing - to allow better
       review.
   Score the test - both the timed and untimed results.
   Hopefully you will see improvement in the timed results with each
   successive testing
3. After each test work through all of the problems that the student
   missed or guessed with them.
    Have the student explain to you how they go the answer they put
    down.
    If you can't figure them out with the student don't be embarassed to
    admit it, just set that one aside
    for an expert - perhaps the student's teacher. Copy down the
    problems and take them to the teacher for help.
4. If your student gets good enough scores with unlimited time -
    a. Just practicing taking the the tests may help speed them up. You
    can use the rest of the tests for that purpose.
    b. IF your student needs Lots of extra time, consider getting them
    tested for that purpose. If they test out - then they will be allowed 
    to take the test without time limits-
5. If the scores are too low even with unlimited time, then look at the
   subject matter of the questions that are being missed/guessed at and 
   try to figure out why the student is missing them.
    Are these careless arithmetic errors/ vocabulary problems, or is the
    problem that they don't understand the question correctly, or is the 
    subject matter beyond their level of mastery?
   If it is the level of mastery, a subject matter specific tutor (or
   software) is in order.
6. Practice  on the remaining tests after remediation.
 
            Roger  (May 2000)

I run a small but mighty tutoring business here in Berkeley. A number of parents of teens are already familiar with my program: I work with and instruct several tutors as well as conduct tutoring sessions. You can read about all of us by going to my web site: www.classroommatters.com We can provide private SAT sessions throughout this summer as well as during the school year. In addition, we are conducting a special summer book club for teens. I hope this is helpful to you. There are lots of recommendations (probably from some folks that you know) on the web site as well, but feel free to contact me for any additional information. Best of luck with your teen's studies! Molly Gales (mgales[at]mindspring.com) (5/00)

PSAT Advice

My son chose to take the PSATs only once. We learned afterwards that PSAT scores are the trigger for National Merit scholarships. With a score of 1320 on PSAT's, my son did not qualify as a NM Scholar, despite then getting 1590 on his SATs. So my advice is for those with kids with potentially good scores is to take the PSATs in the spring of the sophomore year, then again in the fall of their junior year. Most kids see their scores increase with improved understanding of testing methods, and the PSATs turn out to be more important than you might think.