gcf101

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I have a position very similar to Godot's in regard to advantages of coaching for the SAT (or any other tests/competitions).
I base it on 25 years of my experience as a tutor with the success rate close to 95%.

I would voice a stronger opinion than Godot though.
Here's his quote (guys/ladies, please, how do I place it in a grey box?!):
"... in some -- SOME! -- cases, professional tutoring may help a student significantly ...".

I believe, QUALITY tutoring helps in a majority of the cases.

Now, quoting Xiggi:
"... student who spends enough time preparing in earnest for the test AND participate in forums such as CC will probably find few surprises on the SAT".

I already said that there is no ideal single prep book, or even a few, that would prepare a student with a level of accuracy and efficiency even remotely comparable to mine. I am not trying to self-advertise here -
I am getting enough students, and, frankly, I charge such amounts that I don't need many clients.

Spending time on this and other forums is fun and helpful, but in terms of efficiency (yes, it's a big word to me), it is a truly wasteful way of learning.
Of couse, it's possible to discover some very cool tricks and techniques here, but the way it's happening is very random.

Just look at the number of duplicate posts!
I can't really blame posters much for that, because searching capabilities of this site are dismal.

I've been volunteering as a math completions coach and a teacher's assistant at my daughter's and my friends' kids schools for a number of years, but recently I decided that it's more important to share my experience in a more important area - SAT/ACT prep.

Private tutoring is not an option for many students, and I find it socially irresponsible to service above the middle income tier exclusively.

I truly appreciate what Xiggi does - helping students for free.
I can't do that full or even part time - tests prep is my source of income.

Bringing my expertise to this forum and offering it to more students than I can address anywhere else makes me feel that I also bring a sense of balance to my own life.

June - beginning of July is a slow time of the year for me.
Presently I have a luxury of intensive posting, but that will end soon.

I invite other test prep professionals to offer their help on this forum as well.
We should not worry that our competitors will steal our proprietary methods - well, maybe we should, and they will.
Speaking from my experience, I have enough to share, so that I won't deplete my "secret" warehouse.
I hope other tutors and prep courses' authors feel the same way.

xiggi

Godot, I appreciate that fact that you took the time to answer my post and clarify a few things. I'd also like to apologize if some of my comments sounded too harsh or were inappropriate. I know that, at times, I get carried away. I also rarely edit my posts and the words do not always convey the exact message. I do tend to be direct!

I hope to make sure that I do not view my role on CC to create controversy and cause friction. I simply try to help by sharing the knowledge -or the mere opinions- I have acquired when preparing for the test ... and hang around this site after I was done. I am not trying to convince anyone that my ideas are better than others'. If I believe in something, I will debate its merits with passion. However, I am always happy to learn more and find better ways to contribute to the site. For this reason, I look forward to the increased participation of paid professionals, even if it provokes a few clashes.

PS Gcf, rest assured that I respect people who devote their life to tutoring. It requires deep commitments and dedication. From talking to tutors, I realize that they are very passionate about their work. This makes it even more natural to defend the profession from mild attacks of amateurs like me.

PPS Regarding the search engine ... it is not perfect but the advanced tools do work much better than in the past. Also, one could use the site-specific tools offered by search engines. For instance, you can restrict google to CC and play with terms ad nauseam. However, one of the difficulties is that most terms applicable to the SAT are redundant.

woneuniceyoo

"Xiggi" would be the best one to deal with......

ihateschool007

anyone know where i can purchase real New SAT tests? Like collegeboard came out with 10 real SATs for the older version of the SAT but does anyone know if they came out with one for the new SAT's? and if they did can you tell me the title, ISBN number appreciated too.

Harvard2011

I think it's funny because I know a person who took 7 of the 8 tests in a week, then he/she took the last test and his/her score didn't improve... Why? You might ask... Because he/she didn't review a SINGLE thing that he/she got wrong... I recommend that after you take the test you keep a journal and write the original problem that you missed, and make up your own solution to it. And then, two weeks before the SAT just go and make sure you know everything in this journal of yours... I also recommend to go through all of the word choices on the official practice tests for sentence completions and make a list of the ones that you don't know..... Just my "way" of doing the Xiggi method. I have the vocab lists typed up from the practice tests, if anyone's interested.

pianoman

The Xiggi method is the ONLY effective method. After trying dozens of SAT strategy books and never increasing my score beyond a 1400 on the old SAT, I used Xiggi's method and got a 1580 after a couple of months. No kidding.

GeorgeS

I don't understand. It seems to me that trying dozens of SAT strategy books is part of the xiggi method. What specifically did you do to increase your score?

ihateschool007

anyone know where i can purchase real New SAT tests? Like collegeboard came out with 10 real SATs for the older version of the SAT but does anyone know if they came out with one for the new SAT's? and if they did can you tell me the title, ISBN number appreciated too.

tanman

CB put out The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT (ISBN: 0874477182). It has eight new-SAT style practice tests.

In "Xiggi method", you not only have to buy strategy books and read them, but you have to know how to apply what you learn and how to learn from your mistakes, which is what many people that I've seen never do. The "Xiggi method" is essentially based on common sense - take the practice tests and learn from what you did wrong.

Also, what Harvard2011 suggested sounds like an excellent idea. Since your prep will be spread out over some time, writing down what you miss and reviewing it all before you take the test is a good way to make sure you've learned the material.

Mahnsta

Hey, xiggi. I've been reading your posts and find them really helpful. I am just getting started with my SAT prep and it's great info.

What did you score on the SAT? How many times did you take it?

Thanks!!

vtran31

this is way out of sync but I want to say how I solved a problem xiggi posted earlier in the thread. It took longer than 10 seconds, but at least it makes sense to me.

BTW, love the thread! keep on the discussion!

A girl rides her bicycle to school at an average speed of 8 mph. She returns to her house using the same route at an average speed of 12 mph. If the round trip took 1 hour, how many miles is the round trip.

A. 8
B. 9 3/5
C. 10
D. 11 1/5
E. 12


ok. so she travels at 8 mi/hr on a path and 12 mi/hr back along the same path.

so label the distance of the path x and the round trip 2x. Traveling 12 mi/hr she went a distance of x mi. and traveling 8 mi /hr she also went a distance of x mi.

if you divide the distance traveled by the speed, you will get how much time it took to travel that distance.

so for her 8 mi/hr trip:

x / ( 8mi/hr) = hrs taken


and for 12 mi/hr trip:

x / (12 mi/hr) = hrs taken.




since the entire trip took 1 hour and only includes the 8 mi/hr trip and the 12 mi/hr trip, you get the equation:



( x/ (8 mi/hr) ) + ( x/ (12 mi/hr) = 1


finding the common denominator:


(3x / (24 mi/hr) ) + (2x / 24 mi/hr ) =1


and adding the fractions:

(5x/ (24 mi/hr ) ) =1


and multiplying by the reciprocal:

x = 24 /5


since you are looking for 2x (roundabout trip) you find:

2x = 48/5

and that equals 9 3/5


sorry bout that. was that lucid?

harry3734

dude i think

(2*Speed1*Speed2)/(Speed1+Speed2)

is a lot easier...but that is jus tmy opinion

vtran31

I guess I find it harder to memorize equations with no real pattern

killaerone

Harvard, I would really appreciate it if you sent me the list.. is it all of the voc words on ALL of the CR (of each 8 New SATs)? Thanks a lot..

my e-mail adress is killaerone@aol.com

gcf101

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...d.php?p=997233,
post #8

Then again:
Hard Math Problem =(
post #5

It resurfaces on:
Math Help =/
post #16


---- Xiggi! ----
see what I meant when I talked about how inefficient this forum could be in helping students to self-study (post #166 above)?

You said:
"FWIW, I have posted in DETAILS how to solve this problem in anywhere between 10 seconds to twenty seconds, without the possibility of errors."
(post #10 on
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...d.php?t=74410).

If someboody was not reading it then, what are the chances that s/he will unearth it now from underneath of the evergrowing mountain of new posts?

And how many other valuable formulas, tips, methods, etc. are buried deep inside that mountain?

One has to maintain daily presence on this forum for months in order to accumulate knowledge that could be offered in a few tutoring sessions.

I find this forum extremely interesting, but I wonder if you feel exasperated at times, answering some question in umpteenth time.