<p>My father has been bugging me for the past year about studying for the SATs. Now he is getting extremely serious about it, and is really upset with me for not studying. I just don’t have the motivation to sit down for an hour a day to study. I have the college board book, Princeton review book, Barons book, and Barons flash cards. I am supposed to sign up for an online prep course, because I have kind of a packed schedule. I really want to satisfy my parents by taking a course. My dad’s goal score for me is a 2100 or higher, and in order to reach this goal, I’d need to raise my score by at least 400 points. </p>
<p>Would it be more effective for me to take a class in a classroom instead of online? I’m not really motivated, and don’t really want to take up the time, but I want to make my parents happy. I know for sure that I’m going to apply and audition for colleges and conservatories to get my music degree in vocal performance. I know scores are important, but since I want to go to music school, I don’t think my family should spend a lot of money on raising my score. While some very academic schools have great programs, SATs don’t really matter for most of the programs I am interested in. My parents know about my goals, but still insist that I make SAT my #1 priority. </p>
<p>How should I go about studying for the test? Should I only study at home, do the online class, or do a classroom class, if I’m trying to raise my score by about 400 points? Or what combination of these?</p>
<p>Let’s first tackle this problem. I’m glad to see that you can recognize your problem - that’s a great step! </p>
<p>Try reading through this thread first and see if you can’t find something that’ll actually motivate you:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1196799-what-motivate-s-d-you-study-sat.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1196799-what-motivate-s-d-you-study-sat.html</a></p>
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<p>400 point increases with a prep course? I never heard of that, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. </p>
<p>Still, a 400 point increase requires a fair bit of dedication and thus motivation. Prep courses are a waste of time (and money) unless you sorely lack the motivation to study. The tutors on this fora have stated this themselves. </p>
<p>Ultimately, you should first try to find a reason to excel on the SAT first. If you desperately can’t, then you probably need the pressure of a prep course. </p>
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<p>Thanks for the thread, I had actually already read this thread before I posted my question, except I just don’t feel like the ideas apply to me, considering the fact that my admission into college will be primarily talent based, and not based off of the traditional grades and test scores. I do understand that in some cases, higher scores might help me with financial aid, but I won’t be crushed if I don’t get in to say, Northwestern (which would please my father), because I have so many schools on my list that hardly care about SAT scores. I’m a fairly good student anyways, and my scores are already technically above average.</p>
<p>This is another reason why I should create an SAT study group.</p>