Has anyone ever taken or had their child take this class? The high school is offering it, and I just want to know if it is worth the $$ - it is $699 for 12 weeks. TIA

By Pamt on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 09:27 am:

No personal experience with that one per se, but as a general rule I think those thing are a waste of money. I'd personally just buy a prep book with a practice CD and call it good. That's what I did to review for my GRE and I found it very beneficial.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 10:05 am:

Ditto Pamt - same exact thing. I bought the review for my GRE as well and also found it beneficial. I think the the 'classes' to improve your test scores are generally a waste. I thought my GRE review book was really helpful and gave me great review on some things I hadn't done in a while. I personally would not do the class.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 11:39 am:

I agree, they can not teach/prepare each person at their personal level in a class setting, so it ends up leaving some people struggling in the areas they needed help/refreshing in. Where as if you buy the CD/books then you can work at your own pace. You can take the time to go over a subject until you have an understanding of it and skim the things you are sufficient at. Those classes can help but in most cases they are a huge waste of time and money and you end up having to buy the books/CD's anyway.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 02:29 pm:

Sarah didn't really prepare for the ACT and did fine on it! That's a BIG chunk of change. I would think a prep book would be enough.

By Ilovetom on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 02:46 pm:

My girls took the ACT- twice with no prep - they were not the greatest of scores- but with their GPA and activities from high school they got into their choice of college.

Sometimes those scores are not that inportant.

By Kaye on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 03:27 pm:

Back in high school I took a prep class for the act, after I took it once. It was a one day all day class, and I am certain we didn't pay more than 100 dollars for it. We got a book and some other stuff. Mostly they talked about test taking strategies, how to mark your test, how to check over it etc. I raised my score from a 19 to a 31. So it was well worth it for me.

However, my suggestion is simply take the test first and then decide if you need to improve it or not.

By Tsa on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 04:09 pm:

Coette, what school is your child trying to get into? Is the test SUPER important to get in? Are the grades adequate to meet entrance requirements to get into that school?

I guess what I'm getting at is: if she wants to go to Harvard, Yale, etc. and really needs to do well on the test then the $700 is a good insurance policy that she will do well on the exam. If she wants to go to the state university and her grades are great then she won't need an excellent score on her test. Can you afford the class?

I would do horrible studying on my own for the ACT or SAT when I was in high school. Having said that, I didn't take the prep course and did fine. I did take a prep course to take my boards after graduate work. I felt like it was an insurance policy. You do learn little things that you wouldn't ever think of otherwise. Good Luck with your decision.

By Tayjar on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 04:35 pm:

I know our local junior college offers a class on preparing for the SAT and the ACT. It's like $40 - $50 and is only a session or two long. That might be an avenue to check out, too.

By Colette on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 05:24 pm:

She did really well on the reading and writing part, just had some trouble - but not horrible - on the math part. Maybe I will see if I can get a tutor for the math part and see how she does taking it without kaplan. If she bombs, I can always sign her up for the next round.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 06:02 pm:

Sounds like the best plan to me, Collette. I agree, spending the money for some math tutoring is probably a better place to spend it than on a mass test-taking program.

By Mrsheidi on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 08:07 pm:

Collette, most New England/Eastern schools and California schools rely heavily on the SAT score. In the midwest, it's not required to even take the written part at some colleges. They rely more heavily on the ACT.
Which one is easier? Definitely the ACT because the SAT counts negative points for wrong answers and the questions are more in depth.

So, if she plans on going to school in the New England area, tutoring is the best way to go. I would find a math SAT prep book and CD, have her go through it first. When she doesn't understand how to do something, make sure she "tags" it and brings the questions into a tutor to help her. Is there a college nearby? If so, students who are majoring in Math Education could help her for a cheaper rate. (Personally, I think the major tutoring places like Sylvan charge waaaay too much. It's usually $150 just for an assessment and then $50+/hour! I charge $35 or less, depending on how many hrs a week they need.)
Wish I could tutor her! Although, I'm crazy busy lately...I have 3 students coming in 2-3 times a week, each! Tutors are definitely worth it, and with the book, she can streamline her needs better than in a class.

By Pamt on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 09:22 pm:

"Which one is easier? Definitely the ACT because the SAT counts negative points for wrong answers and the questions are more in depth."

I have to disagree with this statement. I took both and there is a formula for converting and comparing scores. I made about the same on both tests (differences were not statistically different), but I did a little better on the SAT. The tests are different in that the ACT tests a little more knowledge and the SAT tests critical thinking and problem solving . So individual strengths and weaknesses will determine which type of test an individual does better on.

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/satactandotherexams/f/satoract.htm

By Mrsheidi on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - 12:15 am:

That link made my point...
Most high school students do better on ACT tests because the point system does not penalize for wrong answers. It's more rounded and not just math and English. The ACT also does not require an essay. And, like the website described, you can "hide" your ACT scores that are lower than your best. They did make a point in saying that great test-takers do better on the SAT's and, that doesn't suprise me. That's why, personally, I think the ACT is easier. It doesn't necessarily test your test-taking abilities. It proves you can think critically about things. IMHO. I didn't take any ACT prep courses, yet took the SAT prep courses and my ACT far outweighed my SAT scores. (I wasn't good in math yet either, at that point.)

For high school students, the majority of my students did better on the ACT...but, maybe it's because I'm an awesome science teacher and the SAT doesn't test science...LOL just kidding...completely.