Outsmarting the SAT: An Expert Tutor Reveals Her Proven Techniques, Strategies, and Confidence-Building Exercises That Will Maximize Your S

About a year ago, I happened to meet Elizabeth King on Twitter, one of my favorite social networking sites. As I got to know her and realized that she wrote the book OUTSMARTING the SAT, I rushed out to buy a copy for my son. I have to say that it was one of thee best investments I have made all year! My son Brandon, who is not the most avid reader on the block, not only picked up the book and read it, he devoured it in days! And, he actually enjoyed it! Wanting not to be left out, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. After all, no one likes to be left out, even if this is an SAT prep book! Once I got to page two, I knew why. Elizabeth has managed to write a book that not only teaches you how to do well, but somehow she's managed to capture her personality into what could otherwise have been a tedious read. Again, this is an SAT prep book! Her wit, humor and common sense jump off each page, as if she was right next to you, and while you're laughing, you're learning. And she's there at each turn of the page to cheer you on. You can just hear her saying, "you can do it!" It is a form of sheer trickery, a magical book that we just couldn't put down. I highly recommend this read to any student who wants to do well on the SAT. My son Brandon once feared this exam, but is now almost giddy in anticipation for it. Crazy kid.

After finishing grad school at Brown, I needed a bit of extra cash, so I applied to teach SAT prep at a national tutoring company. I discovered that not only did I need to retake the SAT to qualify, I needed to score in the 90th percentile. I also discovered, that, while the language and writing sections weren't a problem, I hadn't touched some of the math subjects since high school. I've found this book to be the most complete, comprehensive resource available to grasp the content and format of the SAT. Unlike other test prep books that mostly teach "tips" or "cheats" to inflate the final score, Outsmarting the SAT focuses on actual skills. Since I'm going to be studying anyway, I'd prefer to become proficient in the subjects SAT actually tests, rather than cutting corners to beat a formula. Ms. King's explanations are thoughtful and concise, with the encouraging, conversational tone of an expert tutor. She never talks down to the reader, or succumbs to the belittling misconception that students need to be entertained with fluff to trick them into learning. I also appreciate the fact that her process of working out math problems is all handwritten, just like it would be if we were working on them together at my kitchen table. I've been working with the book for only a few weeks, and I have yet to retake the test, but already I understand many concepts better than I did after a year of Algebra II in high school. Ms. King is simply an excellent, excellent teacher, and I'd recommend this book to anyone who needs a comprehensive review--or even a reintroduction--to any of the skills tested on the SAT.

I have a tutoring companies in AZ & CO, our test prep tutors absolutely love this book. It is written very simply, but packs a lot of punch!! It has made our tutor's life easy, as far as what to teach them, where to focus their time and energy and our students test prep scores have soared, which in turn means happy parents. I highly recommend this book and our tutors do as well. You will find that are many books to sift through for SAT Test Prep, this is the BEST one we have found, by far!

I am a high school senior trying to increase my 700 critical reading/650 math score. I needed a prep book that would help me with math (not my favorite subject) in the limited time I have to prepare for the October exam (I only have a few hours a week to study). I was using a different prep book but then switched to Elizabeth King's book as soon as it appeared at my local bookstore. One of the reasons for switching books is because Ms. King's takes such a refreshing approach to SAT prep. So far I have found it to be an excellent prep book. It explains each concept in an easy to understand manner and contains tons of helpful hints and step-by-step explanations. I really enjoy using this book, particularly the comfortable conversational style that Ms. King utilizes--I feel like she is personally tutoring me. She also has a good sense of humor, and I can visualize what an intellectual brain she is, but with the outstanding ability to effectively communicate with her audience. Her suggestion to use her book in conjunction with the CollegeBoard's Official SAT Study Guide for the practice tests is a good one that I also highly recommend. This is not just another one of those SAT prep books, it is THE prep book!!! I understand that she is a highly sought after personal SAT tutor in New York; if I didn't live 3,000 miles from her, I would definitely hire her to personally tutor me, using her book as my text. If you're looking for a really good SAT prep book, go out and buy this one right away!

Every summer I go to the bookstores to see what's new in the SAT prep arena. I am a high school guidance counselor, and I have been preparing my students to take the SAT for several years now. Most new books are simply last year's books with new covers. Sometimes a brand new SAT book appears, but the content is "more of the same." Imagine my delight to have discovered last weekend OUTSMARTING THE SAT, by Elizabeth King. What a breath of fresh air! This is the SAT prep book I wish I could have written for my students. King has had great success as a private tutor, and in this book, she shares her insights and strategies(most of which I have never seen in other SAT prep books, and I have read every SAT prep book in print) for helping students achieve their hightest scores. OUTSMARTING THE SAT is well-written, well-researched, and well-packaged. It is not the size of the telephone book, and students can actually put it in their backpacks with room to spare! King's examples have the "feel" of actual SAT questions and answers--something that is very important to keep in mind when working your way through practice examples. Take my advice: buy this book. Let the student who DOESN'T buy this book beware!