1600 Perfect Score: The 7 Secrets of Acing the SAT

As the parent of two teenage children I am always looking for ways to encourage my children to do the best they can in school. I have just finished a new book, 1600 PERFECT SCORE, The 7 Secrets of Acing the SATs, which I strongly recommend as a new insight to achieve this goal. I like the fact that Dr. Fischgrund did not speak in generalities. Rather, he gave specific advice to parents and kids on how to achieve better SAT scores and grades. His interviews with these high achievers gave me a new perspective on kids who get a perfect score on the SAT. The stereotype of the "academic nerd" is just that, a stereotype. These high achievers are dynamic and well-rounded. There is no one "type". Read the interviews and see how they view themselves. I now realize that they could be any one of my children's friends. I think we parents and our teenage children need to have evidence against the argument that kids who do well in school will be social outcasts and will be doomed to spending their lives in labs. This book gives us proof that success is attainable and comes in many forms and these kids are demonstrating only one of theirs by acing the SAT. Bernard Mlaver, M.D.

A refreshing approach to what is often a dry subject. This is so much more than a test preparation book, this is a book about life and creativity and values and how important those things are in becoming a happy, fulfilled person. Every parent should read this book -- and every student as well. It's about balance and focus and big picture goals. As it happens, practicing the seven simple principals will likely bring you close or closer to a perfect score. The beauty is that the score is not an end in itself, but a means to more opportunities for a rich and satisfying life.The author stresses that self-motivation, creativity and curiosity are critical -- all things that can and should be encouraged from very early ages. This far-reaching study truly confirms what many of us would like to think. Using the characteristics of the perfect score students, Fischgrund illustrates that success is not driven by money or privilege but by developing passions and focusing on the big picture. This is a book I will recommend to all. What a gift.

The simple beauty of "1600 Perfect Score", much like "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People" and "The Millionaire Next Door", is that it focuses on one of life's most highly desirable objectives and after careful research and observation by the author, reveals the most common, relevant traits practiced by almost all who have actually achieved it. The formula then offered is simple but effective: if you want to achieve this objective, practice these traits as best you can and you too may get there--or at least a lot closer than you ever thought you would. By understanding the deceptively simple "secrets" offered by books like "Perfect Score", the willing but uncertain reader can acquire probably the most important traits of all required for success: confidence and motivation. What "Habits" did for achieving self-actualization and "Millionaire" for building wealth, the well-written and carefully thought-through "Perfect Score" can do the same for maximizing your child's educational potential. Reading "Perfect Score" and applying its "Seven Secrets" consistently throughout your child's life will obviously not guarantee them a perfect 1600 SAT score any more than reading "Millionaire" will guarantee you an extra million in the bank: natural skills and abilities obviously do play a role. But just as you will almost certainly become at least a little more wealthy than you were by following the "Millionaire" template, consistent, long-term application of the "Perfect Score" principles will almost certainly result in a higher level of academic achievement for your child.What book then could be more important to you as a parent? If you're a parent, buy it, and if you have friends who are parents, do them a favor and buy each of them a copy too!

As I was reading this book with 1 student in college and 2 teenagers at home, I found many answers to questions that I have had about preparing my kids and helping them to improve their scores. At our house the SAT becomes a huge focus for at least 2 months before the test. Tutors are hired, computer programs are installed, Mom and Dad are screaming to study more and get off the phone. However we realize that by 12th grade we can not really help them very much. If we have done our jobs as parents correctly then they should be "ready" based on accumulated knowledge and life experiences.This book made me feel better about the support and resources that I have provided as a parent such as the impact of a nuturing home environment. It reinforced some things that I knew already(importance of reading and intellectual curiousity)but it also gave me a greater appreciation of the role of peers, friends, and schools on my kid's development and interests.I also realized just how "normal" most of these high performers really are. This book has many interesting profiles that really give you a sense of what drives these kids to succeed. These kids are not all nerds or naturally gifted...they are many times "all-arounds" who excel at many things and do not just have their head in a book. These are the type of people, the role mdels, that I want my kids to see and read about. So read this book for you...to better understand what the priorities should be in your home with your kids, and ask your kids to read the book so they can better understand what is really important in life ( beyond good grades and just scoring 1600).

This book reveals what the real test takers who aced the SAT did to succeed, which no other book has ever done. What a bright idea! The book even created charts comparing what all the other SAT prep books recommend and what the 1600 kids say. There are differences that surprised me. The book takes it a step further than that, it shows how these high academic achievers have succeeded as students, and how parents can help their kids be successful in life. The book also has another use that is not that apparent because of the focus on the SAT. The commonalities found in the 1600 students serve as a guideline to prepare college applications and the essays. Their personal attributes are exactly what college admissions officers are using to select students from the pile, once you get past the scores and GPAs.