Gruber's Complete SAT Guide

For better or worse, SAT scores can be improved through cramming, and this is the best of the cram books. We've gone through this process with 2 kids now, tried out dozens of books and web sites, and Gruber's book is the best resource out there (along with Number2.com, a really good free SAT prep web site). Gruber's approach is clean, clear, thorough. The emphasis isn't gimmicks, it's mastering the skills that the SAT measures. Of course there is a lot of good test-taking strategy too, but really there are no short cuts to a really outstanding SAT score -- you just have to know a bunch of stuff cold, and Gruber can get you there. The prep services that charge $500 to $2500 try to make you think there are secrets to beating the SAT. There are no secrets. It's just a bunch of stuff you have to know. If your kid is motivated and can set aside time to work on this, this book will be far more through (and I'm sure effective) than any cram course. If you really want that 200-300-point boost that studying can provide, your kid needs to spend several hours a week studying for several months at least. To work through this whole book would take even more than that. But if there's only time for a one-week cram, this book is still worth the money -- Gruber has good last-minute approaches as well.

This is not the kind of book that is mainly about strategies to get you through the test (Princeton Review's "Joe Bloggs" comes to mind, here...), so it's not recommended for last minute studying. However, when it comes to actually teaching the things that you need to know, Gruber's is really, really good. I've had problems in the past with textbooks that are riddled with careless errors that caused significant confusion, but I can't say that I found any major errors in the book, or even any typos. What's also nice about this book is that it gives approximately equal emphasis to each of the sections- I've had books that completely ignore verbal while focusing on math, and vice versa, but Gruber's gives you a thorough grounding in everything. 1) The diagnostic section was great. The book opens with a short math and verbal diagnostic, but also had a section about "the 101 math questions that you most need to know how to solve", which was great for pinpointing lingering issues that I had. 2) Regarding the math section: It's quite thorough, with lots of handy practice questions interspersed throughout the lessons. One caveat: I didn't use this section all that much, because I had separate books that were entirely devoted to the math portion. However, I still found it to be extremely helpful when I did use it. 3) The verbal section is fine. It focuses mainly on the vocabulary portion of it, which I personally feel is unnecessary- the SAT only has a few vocab questions, and it's not really worth the time to spend hours and hours improving your vocab for a couple points. They did cover it thoroughly, though, with sample questions. I would really like to see some more sample reading passages in the next edition, but they do have tips for reading long passages in the "Strategies" section. 4) The grammatical section is the best I've seen- I haven't come across any other textbook that comes close. It's also the section that I needed most, especially since I (and most people I know) haven't been taught proper grammar since... never, really. What's nice about it is that it actually teaches you grammatical rules, including those about misplaced modifiers, dangling adjectives, etc., instead of mostly expecting you to wing it. In fact, I think that the grammar they taught in the book was actually more difficult than what the SAT required: I shed tears over the grammar section when cramming, but I breezed through the writing portion when I took the actual test, so I think the level of difficulty is a good thing. The only problem I had was that in the part about the essay, it didn't thoroughly emphasize the fact that you need clear examples in your essays, either from history, literature, current events, or personal experience. Otherwise, it helped my score to no end. The practice tests at the end were really nice, and there were a lot of them, with thorough explanations for each answer. Two thumbs up. I recommend it unreservedly, i

It's all you need. Not cluttered like Barrons. Not vague and inaccurate like Princeton. Not full of typos and errors like Kaplan. It's nice and concise, and if you decide to study many months before the SAT, it has a comprehensive list of vocab words. The lessons are easy to understand. Watch out for the occasional typos though, like any other book. It has good practice too. My advice: PRACTICE!! Whatever you get wrong on the practice tests, check the answer explanation and learn from that. If you're still confused, go back to the lessons because they're pretty good on Grubers. Out of the books I've seen, I think Gruber's is the most dependable. Was recommended by a friend who got 1590 on old SAT.

I am a teacher at a private high school and had used Gruber's New SAT book for a four week SAT preparation course with 28 students. All students took the March 2005 SAT and the course was in preparation for the June 2005 SAT. When we tabulated the scores for the June 2005 SAT we were thrilled that the average increase in the math was 120 points, the verbal, 100 points and the writing 110 points. Some students increased more than 600 points total. Although students were attentive in class, and although I believe I am a good teacher, I know that the students could not have achieved such great results without Gruber's book.

I knew that the Gruber SAT books for the old SAT were great, so I purchased this book when I saw it in the bookstore. I haven't gone through it in depth, but it seems to be one of the best SAT books for the new version. It has a lot of helpful features like the "101 Most Important Math Questions You Need to Know How to Solve" and a very thorough "Math Refresher" that will definitely raise your score. The word list is great, as the definitions are very concise and easy to remember. The 5 practice tests seem to be very realistic. The grammar review is phenomenal. It goes over basically all the grammar one could possibly need to know for the SAT, and it also seems to contain some extraneous information that will be very helpful for a high school English class. For some reason, my high school teaches no grammar, so I need all the practice that I can get for the writing section. This is probably one of the best SAT books for actually learning the material. The Kaplan and Princeton Review books won't help you learn a lot, though they will provide you with a lot of practice. The three best books for the new SAT are, in my opinion, McGraw Hill's SAT I, Barron's How to Prepare for the New SAT, and this one. They are also quite thorough, and you don't need to purchase more than 1 or possibly 2 of the 3 to be well-prepared for the test. Good luck :)