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xiggi · 05-25-2005, 02:32 PM

As far as organized classes a la Kaplan or PR, I believe that an overall assessment has to yield a grade of no more than a C Minus, being a combination of a few B and a majority of F.

In my opinion, Princeton Review and Kaplan are pros at exploiting the feeling of inadequacy and guilt of parents. Simply stated, I think that the classes offered by the national chains are worthless, and this in spite of their cost of $600 to $1,200. The real downfall of this type of classes is that they have poorly prepared tutors simply rehash the same material that is widely available in their $30 books. Realize that there is a good chance that your “tutor” preparation did not entail much more than attending the same class you’re sitting in.

Except for forcing students to allocate 20 to 40 hours towards an organized event, I see few benefits. Anyone with a modicum of drive and desire should do much better by self-preparing. Learning techniques and strategies is only a small part of the preparation. Just like it is for sports and music, the key to success is repetition and practice. Duh, isn't that a profound statement? It is, however, so true!

On the other hand, I believe that there ARE tutors and tutoring companies that are well worth the price. It is pretty easy to find them and verify their credentials: they are mostly local, smaller, have an owner who is involved in the business, have verifiable references, and do not mind showing examples of their portfolio. If you are set on using PR or Kaplan, I would highly advise anyone to stick to the more expensive one-on-one tutoring. This is a way to ensure that the tutor will have a bit more than a few months of experience.

My overall conclusion: if you consider taking one of the organized classes from a large national company, DON’T! Consider using the budget to buy every book written on college admission. When you are finished with the process, you could resell the books at Amazon or, better, donate them to your local school. It may sound overwhelming to buy a bunch of books, but it does not take long to separate the bad ones from the very good ones. The bad news is that you may get tired to find a SAT prep book in every bathroom of your house. A fact that may cause your visiting neighbors and family to wonder about your life’s priorities!

05-25-2005, 02:32 PM	#37
xiggi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Threads: 337 Posts: 6,004	Are all “prep” companies and tutors similar? As far as organized classes a la Kaplan or PR, I believe that an overall assessment has to yield a grade of no more than a C Minus, being a combination of a few B and a majority of F. In my opinion, Princeton Review and Kaplan are pros at exploiting the feeling of inadequacy and guilt of parents. Simply stated, I think that the classes offered by the national chains are worthless, and this in spite of their cost of $600 to $1,200. The real downfall of this type of classes is that they have poorly prepared tutors simply rehash the same material that is widely available in their $30 books. Realize that there is a good chance that your “tutor” preparation did not entail much more than attending the same class you’re sitting in. Except for forcing students to allocate 20 to 40 hours towards an organized event, I see few benefits. Anyone with a modicum of drive and desire should do much better by self-preparing. Learning techniques and strategies is only a small part of the preparation. Just like it is for sports and music, the key to success is repetition and practice. Duh, isn't that a profound statement? It is, however, so true! On the other hand, I believe that there ARE tutors and tutoring companies that are well worth the price. It is pretty easy to find them and verify their credentials: they are mostly local, smaller, have an owner who is involved in the business, have verifiable references, and do not mind showing examples of their portfolio. If you are set on using PR or Kaplan, I would highly advise anyone to stick to the more expensive one-on-one tutoring. This is a way to ensure that the tutor will have a bit more than a few months of experience. My overall conclusion: if you consider taking one of the organized classes from a large national company, DON’T! Consider using the budget to buy every book written on college admission. When you are finished with the process, you could resell the books at Amazon or, better, donate them to your local school. It may sound overwhelming to buy a bunch of books, but it does not take long to separate the bad ones from the very good ones. The bad news is that you may get tired to find a SAT prep book in every bathroom of your house. A fact that may cause your visiting neighbors and family to wonder about your life’s priorities!