<p>Any suggestions on which book I should buy that targets above averaged students? I don’t need to waste time and money on mediocre books. Please tell me your experiences with them, and what books I should get.</p>
<p>what do you consider an above average score. For instance, 1850 is in the top 15%, which most people will agree is above average.</p>
<p>if you’re already at a relatively high score (1850-2000), then the collegeboard blue book is probably the best if you want to go to a 2100+. The book has 10 real practice tests at the back, and if you do all of them, and go over everything you got wrong, then you are pretty much guaranteed to have a score increase.</p>
<p>If you’re looking specifically at the Critical Reading section, the Essential 500 Words does a pretty good job of covering level 4 and 5 words (based on an overview of the last few tests my little brother is getting in all the practice he can – moot point now with the SAT changes – at least TBD — the book usually hits 6-7 of the level 4 and 5 answers spot on --sometimes it misses 1-2). Learning the vocab is also helpful for the passages in a more general sense, as level 4 and 5 passage questions do tend to use advanced vocab (esp in terms of literary devices), and for the essay as well; sprinkling in a few advanced vocab words can boost your essay score by a point or two. I used an earlier variant of the book to score 800 on back to back CR sections of the SAT, and my younger brother, in eighth grade just rode it to a 710 on CR. </p>
<p>The College Board Blue book is a good suggestion – I’d specifically look at the math sections, as that’s the toughest to prepare for using outside source material. In terms of math concepts, I really like Brightstorm’s videos; they’re short, to the point, and teach the concept pretty well; a good way to review some concepts quickly, especially some of the early geometry and algebra stuff one might have done in middle school/freshman year. </p>
<p>In terms of grammar, that’s a tougher one. For me, the grammar stuff was mostly an intuitive process (I do a lot of writing/blogging) so I went with my gut a lot. Plus, I was always really confident in getting a 12 on my essays, so I had a nice buffer, at least mentally. One thing to really keep track of is verb tenses; of the “real” College Board tests that I took, typically about a third of the answers could be boiled down to verb tenses</p>
<p>There’s some tips you might find helpful:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1438553-cheerioswithmilks-guide-sat.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1438553-cheerioswithmilks-guide-sat.html</a></p>