Looking for online options, not private or in person tutoring at this point.

Best three options?

Thanks!

So, just that I am clear, you're searching for an online SAT Prep course or a self-guided program?

Self guided.

rjhtamu said:

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Self guided.

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I'm sorry, I know of some other professional test prep coaches who offer digital courses, but I'm not familiar with any self-guided materials.

My son used the blue book practice tests on the College Board website as well as the free Khan Academy math practice. Not sure that's what you are looking for.

PSAT or SAT? If you are prepping for the PSAT, calm now

Z3phyr said:

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PSAT or SAT? If you are prepping for the PSAT, calm now

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They're are essentially the same thing except the PSAT is shorter.

combat wombat said:

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PSAT determined nation merit scholar. If your kid is bright it makes sense to prep. Lots of benefits to being a semifinalist.

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Yep, and the prep for both is the same.

That's the plan, thanks

The most important section of the PSAT report is the information and ideas, and the craft and structure section scores.

Both of those pertain to reading comprehension and vocabulary, skills that take the longest and the most difficult to reach on the top end of the scale. The stronger the student is in those two areas, the higher the probability the student will achieve National Merit.

Our school district had a deal with KD College Prep. They picked up most of the bill, and we had to pay $300. It was an intense program that went from May into October. If your kid completed all requirements, they refunded $100.

There were tons of workshops, practice tests, reviews of test results, etc. I don't even want to guess how many hours my son put in.

Overall, it was a good experience for a dedicated, self-starter type kid. He made huge improvements throughout the program, and although he missed the National Merit cutoff, it paid off big time on his SAT and ACT scores.

I don't usually hang out here, but I do have some experience.

I taught PSAT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT courses (among others) working on my Masters & PhDs. (well one was ABD).

A self-paced course will help some, but not nearly as much as an in-person course. For bright kids, there is a certain attitude that is almost as important as knowing the tests, and a good teacher will convey this -- beat the test.

And, as unpopular as this may be today, competition (of a sort) with other students makes the work more interesting, particularly if they also study together.

But, just getting "official" copies of the tests and going over them will help some.

The struggle with the materials out now is that they're not the best. For the SAT, the Blue Book tests are easier than what students experience on Saturdays. So we're at the mercy of College Board until they post new ones. A good SAT coach will have additional, more rigorous materials beyond those tests.

For the ACT, they have released only two new tests in the enhanced variety. In the next year, there will be a lot more material to review. The main difference is in the ACT Math section, where they've significantly increased its rigor compared to the previous version.

double b said:

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The struggle with the materials out now is that they're not the best. For the SAT, the Blue Book tests are easier than what students experience on Saturdays.

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We recently found this to be very true with two of our kids. They did 60-140 points better on the practice tests than the real thing (actual SAT in this case). That is a significant difference and can give you a false sense of security heading into the test.