I wrote a (very long) post about which books to get (“What are the best study guides for the Upper Level SSAT?”) below. For the upper level SSAT (the only test with which I’m familiar), it depends on how much you want to study. Most people suggest starting with a practice test to get a baseline. Then you ‘ll want to focus on areas where you can bring your score up. Verbal is really just vocabulary, so you’ll want to learn as many words as possible from one or two of the published lists of SSAT words (some of which are free online). You’ll want to read about strategies for the reading section (from one of the study guides) and do some practice questions. Of course, you’ll want to brush up on your math using one of the study guides too. Experts recommend doing lots of practice questions because you learn best by challenging yourself and making mistakes.
You are probably past the point where you can spend 6 months studying (assuming you are applying for 2026), but 1 to 3 months can give you a good score depending on your goals. Most people will recommend that you focus on studying a certain amount each day and be consistent. It’s a great skill to develop the ability to do that. It can be helpful to get friends and or family to help. Let them know what your goals are and ask them for encouragement to study. Family and peer pressure can help you choose to study instead of, say, gaming.
Learning experts recommend that you make up your own flash cards for vocabulary or other topics. Spending time writing up each vocab card with a sentence that you’ll remember may seem like a waste of time, but it’s actually part of the study process and supercharges your memory.
I’ll stop there. Good luck, and good for you for trying to get into prep school!