<p>My advice is that you analyze your needs and make your decision based on what you need. CollegeConfidential’s usual stance of “study by yourself, don’t waste money” is solid for self-motivated students (which CC has a lot of), but it’s not for everyone.</p>
<p>First you have to know yourself. What’s your biggest problem? Is it motivation to study? Is it not knowing what to study? What level are you scoring at - below average, average, above average? Do you have a busy schedule and it’s hard to fit in prep time? How much are you or your family willing to spend? </p>
<p>If you have no motivation problems and are decently introspective, self-study is great. You need to learn from your mistakes and put in study time, but following the advice on this forum will help you a lot.</p>
<p>If your problem is motivation, then self study probably won’t work for you unless you have a track record of being able to put in study time. If you’re scoring at a low level, are willing to pay $800+, and just want to sit in a room and have info thrown at you, a class like Kaplan (<a href=“http://www.kaptest.com”>www.kaptest.com</a>), Princeton Review, Veritas, etc. is not bad. It’s not going to do you any miracles for your score, but you’ll be forced to sit in a room and at least spend some time studying and get introduced to the test. </p>
<p>Maybe you don’t have time to do an in-person class, but you still want some structure for what to study and how. Online programs are pretty good for this purpose. I personally bought PrepScholar (<a href=“http://www.prepscholar.com”>www.prepscholar.com</a>) and found it to be helpful. I used it mainly for its practice questions, but they had some motivational and scheduling features built in that my friends said they liked. YMMV. Basically this gives you structure and guidance at a lower cost.</p>
<p>If you have a really high budget, then tutoring is usually the way you can get the best results, BUT most tutors out there are actually pretty bad and don’t know how to teach. You need to find one that people agree is good.</p>
<p>This guide has good advice on thinking through what methods of prep are right for you or not:
<a href=“https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/l/compare_methods_prep”>https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/l/compare_methods_prep</a>
(Disclosure: I personally bought PrepScholar and am not necessarily trying to advertise it; I think the guide they wrote will actually be helpful to you).</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>