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Cracking the SAT, 2010 Edition (College Test Preparation) |  | Author: Princeton Review
Publisher: Princeton Review
Category: Book
Buy New: $50.00
as of 9/3/2010 23:08 CDT details
New (5) Used (12) from $10.00
Seller: bluebookandmore
Rating:  10 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 784
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.2
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.9
ISBN: 0375429220
Dewey Decimal Number: 378.1662
EAN: 9780375429224
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The SAT is a critical exam for college applicants, and more than 2 million students take the test each year. In Cracking the SAT the experts at The Princeton Review provide the information and strategies you need to succeed on the math, verbal and essay sections of the exam. This new 2010 edition of our popular guide for the SAT offers proven techniques from the test prep experts, as well as 3 practice tests in the book and exclusive free access to another practice test and additional review and practice questions online.
In Cracking the SAT you’ll learn how to think like the test writers and
•Master specific strategies for answering every question type
•Boost your vocabulary with our exclusive “Hit Parade” — a list of words that appear most frequently on the SAT
•Practice, practice, practice with questions just like those you’ll see on the real SAT, and learn from your mistakes with detailed explanations for all answers
Plus you’ll get a customized study plan for your schedule and access to optional online essay grading.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 MAJOR Help November 26, 2009
Charles W. Tignor Jr. (Hoschton, GA USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The first time I took the SAT in January (with no reviewing), I received a score of 1660 (1140). I was not content with this score, so I decided to take it again in an attempt to earn some merit scholarship money. I bought the Princeton Review book and studied (not just looked over, but actually took the time to do the activities) it rigorously throughout each chapter. I focused primarily on the Critical Reading/Vocabulary sections since that score was 100 points lower than my Math score. I brought the book to class with me and in my free time, I would crack it open and continue to work. I did not even get a chance to work on the practice sections because of time constraints (I bought the book two weeks before I was supposed to take the test). I guess you could consider it cramming, but with solid time put into the practice activities, my confidence and abilities increased immensely. I only got a chance to skim over the math sections, though. I just received my test scores a few days ago from the November test date and they are a true tribute to this Princeton Review SAT book. My math score went up 100 points, my critical reading score went up 70 points, and my writing score went up 80 points, making it a total point increase of 250. My final score turned out to be a 1910 (1310).
Thank you Princeton Review SAT Prep Book.
If you only buy one SAT prep book, buy this one February 13, 2010
DJ (Cincinnati, USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've been a private tutor preparing students for the SAT since 2003. While the best approach is to use several sources, and take authentic SAT tests that are released by ETS, if you're only going to buy one book this is the one to buy. The strategies in this book are the best I've seen.
If you already have a good test taking strategy and are just looking for something supplement, the College Board website has what you need to know for the math section, and the most painless way to build vocabulary is through SAT vocabulary books or online at the Logophile's Library.
"Cracking the SAT, 2010 Edition" - A great tutoring tool February 7, 2010
Hoosier tutor
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Cracking the SAT, 2010 Edition (College Test Preparation)" is a great tutoring tool. As I help students prepare to take the SAT, I find this book has the right contents to provide important instruction and practice for all phases of the latest SAT test. One of the great learning tools is the explanation after each drill question and every practice test question. This material is not adjacent to each question, but it is easy to find. Amazon.com provides excellent service at bargain prices.
Worked for my daughter! February 12, 2010
L. Ferguson (Midwest, United States)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
My daughter just got her SAT results; she made a 2390 out of 2400, and this was the book she used to prepare. She aced the ACT the same way (34 out of 36) using Princeton's ACT review book. We definitely recommend their test prep products.
Excellent review of needed material, but with a few warts July 27, 2009
Ashraf Eassa (New Hampshire, USA)
43 out of 44 found this review helpful
When I prepared to take my first SAT, I relied on this book to prepare. Let me first talk about the good aspects of the book:
It demystifies the SAT and takes a "student friendly" approach. That is, it helps convince the reader that the SAT doesn't measure intelligence, self-worth, etc. While this may or may not be true, it relieves one of a significant burden by believing that the test doesn't test anything innate, which prevents the formation of artificial mental barriers or blocks.
The vocabulary list is quite good, as it consists of a short, but sweet list of 200 words that are likely to show up on the SAT (either in passages or in the sentence completions). For such a short list, it sure does get a good number of "hits" on the real thing.
The math refresher is good -- it's not a math textbook in the sense that it will, in vivid detail, teach you the fundamentals of mathematics beginning with "2 + 2 = 4", but it does give you a great refresher of all the topics you (should) have learned. If you're shaky about performing basic algebra, then you don't need an SAT prep book -- you need a basic mathematics book. It also shows how these basic math tools can be applied to the SAT, by showing how to solve several "famous" or "representative" problems to give you a feel of the kinds of problems you'll likely encounter.
The grammar/essay sections are good, too. It goes over the fundamental errrors that you'll likely encounter without attempting to write the next great treatise in English grammar. So with the rules in here, you'll feel comfortable answering the questions on the real test. I went from a 650 (62 MC, 10E) to an 800 (80 MC, 12 E) simply by learning the rules given in this book's grammar section.
The best part, by far, of this book is the set of three very accurate, very SAT-ish practice tests. They're slightly more difficult than what you'll encounter on the SAT, but not by any significant margin. The math questions are sufficiently convoluted in wording and the content is great. The passages are of SAT level and the questions are very much in the flavor of the test. The writing/grammar questions are also superb -- any error that you can find on the real test, you'll find in this book on these practice tests. So, all in all, good practice that will demystify the content/format/questions on the test.
Now, for the bad:
Firstly, the reading comprehensions "tips and strategies" are just god-awful. This book explicitly states to "not read the passage and just skim it for the gist". Are you kidding me? That's how you miss out on big points on the reading comprehensions, especially the tone/overall meaning/theme questions. In fact, I was so naive as to follow their advice and got a lower score than I'd deserved (the first time I tried their method and scored 680CR, but when I retook and read through the passages without skimming, I scored a 760.) It's for this that I dock a star -- the section's called "critical reading", not "skim through and hunt for factoids which will invariably be out of context".
The book also doesn't have enough practice tests. The SAT is very much like any intellectual or artistic pursuit -- one's skill is directly proportional to the amount of practice that one has. And if you're using this book as your sole source of preparation, the three tests, while well designed, will run out quickly, and you'll very soon need to buy some more. For this, you can either buy PR's 11 practice tests or the Official SAT Study Guide which has 8 tests created by the ETS (guys who write the SAT). In this case, I'd go with the Official Guide -- no test can be as accurate as one written by the guys at the ETS. Not a huge downfall, especially since most people won't take that many tests, but it's nonetheless a caveat for those aiming for relatively high scores.
All in all, a very light and fairly entertaining read that will get you familiar with the SAT and help you raise your score. But if you're really serious, you're going to need to pair this with another book to provide an alternate perspective (I'd reccomend Barron's), as well as with the (New) Official Guide for practice tests.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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