CC Poll: Taking an SAT/ACT Prep Course?

hkkid2014
Sat, 03 May 2014 08:03:27 +0000

For most people, the best test prep courses will only raise their scores 200-300 points, tops.



From my experience, I can’t say it’s always true. I’ve seen many students raise their scores on average between 400-500 points using a Test Prep Academy. With that said, they worked really hard every day and spent a bit of money because they’re not cheap. A number of them had good schooling as well…i.e., a relatively good foundation to work from.



Everyone learns different. Some people learn with human interaction. There is nothing wrong with that.



It’s true to a certain extent with the correction by IceQube (LOL), but many people also learn similarly. With that said, there are 3 major types of learning: through association, consequences and observation.

A test prep course/school works for you if you can achieve the 1-3 forms above and also need:
*someone to push you and keep you relatively disciplined (most of us need this)
*a curriculum that forces you to do more than you would if you were studying on your own
*someone to ask questions when you’re stumped
*a center that provides you probably with more resources and a network of people who are experienced in the discipline (if it’s a good one)
*great teachers (again, if it’s a good one)
*teachers who will let you ask them questions up through the last moment before the test (if it’s a great one)

Otherwise, if you can achieve the learning on your own and are very disciplined, as many have said already, it may not be needed for you. Also, depending on your education, you may already be close to ready and just need to polish up by doing a little bit of fine tuning. This forum obviously helps with this.