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A Note on SAT Books
We strongly advise all prospective college applicants to
purchase at least 2 books on the SAT Reasoning Test (which we'll call simply
'the SAT' for short).
One should be the official
guide from the College Board,
the test's administrator. There is a
significant difference between the official questions
you will be asked on the exam and the practice questions contained in all other
books. You need a College Board publication to familiarize yourself with the
quality of questions you will actually face on the SAT.
Secondly, we recommend
buying and studying at least one of the "unofficial" guides
reviewed below. There is indeed a way to study for this test that will materially improve your score.
The better unofficial guides contain many time-proven test-taking strategies
that serve that purpose, as well as excellent explanations of the logic behind the correct answers to the practice
problems. You will greatly increase your chances of receiving a higher
test score if you go to the test armed with SAT test-taking strategies and knowledge of actual
questions from previous exams.
For quick reference, here are links to related books we have reviewed:
Book Reviews
The Official SAT Study Guide: 2nd Edition by College Board (Editor)
 Buy this book
from Amazon.com
We strongly advise all prospective college applicants to
purchase this book. This is, by far, the most informative book available on the
SAT test. The book includes 8 practice tests and an estimated test
score calculator.
Up Your Score 2013-2014: The Underground Guide to the SAT by Larry Berger (Editor), Michael Colton, Manek Mistry, and Joe Jewell
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This 'guerilla guide' to the SAT was written by students, for
students. It is witty, and definitely packed with strategies that will help to increase your
score. We have received a lot of good feedback from clients on this book.
In fact, we have been told on numerous occasions that this guide is the most readable SAT
preparation guide on the market. We ourselves were pleasantly surprised at the
helpfulness of many of its tips, such as those on how to improve your
concentration and on how to relax.
The Full Potential SAT Audio Program by Bara Sapir*
 Buy this
5 CD set from TestPrepNY
The Full Potential program optimizes
your test-taking potential by enhancing your mental
retention, concentration, and relaxation.
*Mention
Z-Code "AC" to receive free shipping*
28 SAT Math Lessons to Improve Your Score – Intermediate by Steve Warner
Buy this book from Amazon.com
If you are looking for a specialized guide for SAT Math and you
are currently scoring in the intermediate range of 500 to 600, look no further.
Steve Warner has written the perfect guide for you. Seriously!
Ready SAT Go! by Jed Applerouth
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This guide is both detailed with lots of practice questions and
is written in a humorous and creative manner with plenty of illustrations to
connect with the teens who will be reading it.
The Ultimate SAT Tutorial: The Easiest and Most Effective Way to Raise Your Score by Erik Klass
Buy this book from Amazon.com
Klass Tutoring's Ultimate SAT Tutorial has a short, medium, and long program
built in to help students create study schedules that work for their particular
needs. We were impressed with how the book is designed to be used in conjunction
with the College Board's Official SAT Study Guide.
Math SAT 800: How To Master the Toughest Problems by Dan Eiblum and Michael Foreman
Buy this book from Amazon.com
If you are looking for help with the SAT math section, and the more difficult math questions specifically, this is the
book for you. Our clients who were scoring in the 600 range before using this guide have reported it is quite helpful at helping them further
boost their scores.
SAT 2400! A Sneak Preview of the New SAT English Test by
Laurie Rozakis
Buy this book from Amazon.com
English language skills now account for two-thirds of the total points
of the new SAT. Accordingly, we believe many test takers will benefit from any
study guide that focuses on the Writing and Critical Reading
Sections. This book covers both areas.
The 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies, 2nd Edition by
Steve Warner
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This is exactly the type of book we like to recommend for our
clients. It's concise, well organized and helps test takers raise their SAT math
scores without forcing them to learn any new math.
The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar by
Erica Meltzer
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This very well written and organized book covers all the grammar
rules you will need to know for the SAT as well as for later writing assignments
in college and beyond.
320 SAT Math Problems arranged by Topic and Difficulty Level by
Steve Warner
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This is another well organized – and self contained – book by Steve
Warner (see our review of his The 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies
above). Most students do need additional practice questions to augment the
official guide and this delivers not only high quality questions but also
organizes them by level of difficulty.
100
SAT Math Tips and How to Master Them Now! by Charles
Gulotta
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This is another useful guide from Charles Gulotta. It will not
teach you math, but it will teach you how to answer SAT math questions and
how to recognize the pitfalls and traps that the College Board intentionally includes
in the test in order
to trip you up. Once again, the quality of these tips, and the humorous cartoons
illustrating them, make this a recommended SAT quantitative book. The book's
concise (120 page) length also makes it a very manageable read.
Movie Themed Books for Vocabulary Building
One of the newer innovations from the test prep industry has
been combining many test takers' love for movies and movie trivia with vocabulary building. If you think this might make
vocabulary building easier for you, we encourage you to look at the following books:
Defining Twilight by Brian Leaf
Buy this book from Amazon.com
This verbal prep book for the SAT and ACT bases
vocabulary lessons on some of the more difficult words from the popular novel
Twilight. Lists of words refer back to sentences in the novel, so
readers can see the word in context. This would be a fun and painless way
to learn some essential vocabulary for fans of the book. I wouldn't,
however, use it as the only book to prepare for the verbal sections of these
tests. Stephanie Meyer has a good command of the English language, but
there's no guarantee she used every word you might need to learn.
Name That Movie! (Comedy and Action) by Brian Leaf
Buy this book from Amazon.com
If you are a fan of comedy and action movies, this book can help
you boost your vocabulary skills while helping you recall famous scenes and
lines. The author also ties actors' debuts in to the trivia as well.
Name That Movie! (Romantic Comedy and Drama) by Brian Leaf
Buy this book from Amazon.com
If you are a fan of romantic comedy and drama movies, this book
can help you boost your vocabulary skills while helping you recall famous scenes
and lines. The author also ties actors' debuts in to the trivia as well.
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