2/11    A relative in high school is looking for SAT, AP, and other test
        prep courses.  I'm wondering if any of you took them before getting
        into UCB.  I didn't take any of those when I was in HS so I don't
        know.  I heard of Princeton Review and Kaplan and there might be some
        smaller neighborhood test prep business.  What do you recommend?
        Take a course or just get some books with CDs, etc?  I think his
        parents wants him to take a afterschool or weekend course.  Thanks.
        \_ I didn't use anything for the SAT, but I can say that for the GRE,
           the Kaplan CD + book was *really* helpful, and definitely much
           better than the Princeton Review.  I got 780,790, and 680 on
           the math, quantatative, and verbal respectively.  I think the
           SAT is similar enough to the GRE that the same advice holds.
        \_ I didn't take a SAT course (my score was ~ 1400 on the old SAT,
           but as my major was mse, 4's on the Chem & Calc APs and 750+ on
           Chem and Math achv. offset my low SAT score).
           My brother took Princeton Review and got a 1570 on the new SAT
           (he needed it as his major was BioE).
           I would recommend taking a class (PR and Kaplan are both good)
           if a 1500+ score is required for the planned major (EECS, BioE)
           otherwise just studying with a book/cdrom is probably enough.
           I wouldn't recommend taking a AP prep class unless the AP class
           at the school is really crappy. Most schools do a good job of
           preparing people for the AP tests. The prep classes that some
           of my brother's friends took didn't really prepare them for 5's
           they seem more for people who just wanted 3's.
        \_ I'm an old fuck so in my day, no, it was a waste, but these days
           I'd say yes.  You want courses that focus on the academics of the
           test and the trick questions.  Some courses focus on bullshit like
           how racist the tests are which is interesting but not useful.
           \_ The SAT is culturally biased in favor of those cultures that
              value education.
              \_ Funny.
        \_ Don't bother.  Just buy the Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc. books,
           and work through them.  I trained one summer to be a Kaplan bitch,
           and basically all the classes do is force you to go through the
           workbook.  Why pay $800 or more for the same thing you get from a
           $50 book? -dans
           \_ This is true for Kaplan.  For TPR, the teachers are usually
              more skilled.  Depends on the franchise, but TPR teachers
              generally make more $$ than Kaplan, and TPR stresses teacher
              skills more.  That being said, I didn't take any courses for
              either SAT: 1440, but then studied off TPR & Kaplan & Vocab
              books for GRE: 2330.   -ex-TPR instructor & Kap-teacher trainee
              \_ Maybe, but my understanding was that Kaplan spends MUCH more
                 on research, so their core materials are better.  Also, I
                 believe that on average, Kaplan students show bigger
                 improvements than TPR students.  Of course it's easy to lie
                 with statistics so I'd believe that the same could be said of
                 TPR students and both statements would be true in a manner of
                 speaking. -dans
                 \_ Numbers for 2003 were something like:
                    Kaplan: $4-5mm research for 20+ tests.
                    TPR:    $2+mm research for 8 tests.
              \_ Maybe the studying helps. I got a 1550 (old SAT) but only
                 a 2290 on the GRE. Both without studying.
                 \_ Oh yeah?  I got a 2310!  My penis is _TWENTY POINTS_ bigger
                    than yours!
                    \_ I'm female.  That makes your penis _TENTY POINTS_.
                    \_ I'm female.  That makes your penis _TWENTY POINTS_.
                       \_ Hi lea!
                          \_ BZZZT!  Next?
                             \_ Hmmm, alice?
              \_ the new gre has a max of 1600&an essay (from 0 to 6..
                 i think) !!! :)  analytical section is wacked. :(
              \_ seconded.  I just bought a Princeton Review book many years
                 ago for GRE.  It was actually humorous to read back then.
                 A high school classmate took a Kaplan course instead.  She
                 must have had much higher SAT score than I did, but I am
                 than she, 4 year later.  Of course, I would not attribute
                 quite confident I did better, maybe a lot better, on GRE
                 than she, 4 years later.  Of course, I would not attribute
                 all this too TPR. :)
        \_ The Mercury News had a big story on prep courses yesterday:
           link:www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/7921147.htm
        \_ I took a cheap SAT course at my local JC, and a simple test taking
           tip of circling the answers on the booklet and fill in the bubbles
           in groups gave me enough time to recheck my answers couple of times.
           Raised my score by 100 points.  It was just a one Saturday morning
           class.
           \_ I took a cheap one at my local community college, and their
              book of sample exams had an inappropriate question (it was a
              brain-teaser) and had the wrong answer.  The whole experience
              was a waste of time and money.