SAT Prep Course or Self Study?

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This course is designed to provide students with information on whether prep courses are worth it for the SAT's.

Objective: Find out whether prep courses are worth your money.

You want to do your best to prepare for the SATs, so how do you decide whether to invest in a prep course or try to go it alone?

A prep course will improve most high school students’ SAT scores. If you think you’ll get added motivation from the competition generated by the other students in your prep class, then taking the course is a good idea. The course will also benefit you if you think you’ll have questions about test-taking techniques and practice questions. The small percentage of high school students who can truly do just as well without a test-prep course usually have all of the following traits: They have enough self-discipline to put sufficient time and practice into preparing on their own; they can learn the correct test-taking techniques from books and websites without an instructor; and they can work through all the practice questions without guidance. Unless you can do all this on your own, a prep course is a good idea.

While an SAT prep course will likely improve your test scores, there are a number of things to keep in mind before signing up. First, they can be very expensive. If you have a limited budget, you must decide if a course is the best allocation of your funds. Second, the courses tend to dedicate an equal amount of time to each of the sections. If you feel very strong in math, for instance, and need to spend more time on your reading and writing practice, a course may not be the best use of your time. Third, ask around for recommendations on a specific course. The quality of the instructors largely affects the quality of the course. Make sure you find a course with top-notch instructors. Finally, unless you take an online course, you’ll need to adjust your schedule to make sure you can make it to the course’s pre-determined time slots. You may need to reschedule that Saturday morning soccer practice.

If you decide that your time and budget allow it, a prep course can be a huge asset to help you get into the college of your choice.