Single SAT Prep Book Rankings

Prep. Book Reviews

Scroll down for an explanation of rankings

SINGLE BOOK SAT PREP

Ranking	Name
1	Cracking the SAT, 2007 Edition (Princeton Review)
2	The Official SAT Study Guide (College Board)
3	SAT Comprehensive Program, 2007 Edition (Kaplan)
4	McGraw-Hill's SAT I, 2nd Ed.
5	Fiske Nailing the New SAT
6	Barron's How to Prepare for the SAT: 2006-2007 (23rd Ed.)

EXPLANATION

Princeton Review's Cracking the SAT, 2007 edition came in first largely by default. We wanted to give top honors to The Official SAT Study Guide, since the practice tests in this book are made by the same people who write the SAT. However, the lack of effective strategies in The Official SAT Study Guide forced us to subordinate it to the penultimate position. One of the tutors in the room also made the case that the practice tests in The Official SAT Study Guide may not be as accurate as those in Cracking the SAT, 2007. Until this assertion can be confirmed beyond question, however, we still prefer the practice tests in The Official SAT Study Guide.

Kaplan's SAT 2006, Comprehensive Program came in third place. This is a solid book, and no student will go wrong with this book, but we felt that The Official SAT Study Guide has the most accurate tests and Cracking the SAT, 2007 has better practice tests than those in SAT 2006, Comprehensive Program.

Next in line is McGraw-Hill's SAT I, 2nd Ed. This book, too, is an excellent choice for the vast majority of students preparing for the SAT. This book has a plethora of strategies and reinforcement problems. It also has probably the most comprehensive coverage of any prep book. Our main gripe, however, was that it presents this surfeit of information in a dry, textbook-like format.

Fourth in line is Fiske's Nailing the SAT. The practice tests in this book are extremely consistent with those in The Official SAT Study Guide. It also contains the best presentation on the history of and the social issues that surround the SAT. The main reason why this book fell toward the bottom of the list is that the section on strategies and methods is far shorter than similar sections in competing texts, such as the three books that received higher rankings.

Pulling up the rear was Barron's How to Prepare for the SAT (23rd Ed.). This, too, is a solid book and some students will find it helpful, but there are better options readily available. If the student likes the texbook-like presentation of this book a preferable option would be McGraw-Hill's SAT I. We suspect that most students, however, will prefer Kaplan's or Princeton Review's offering since they present the material in an informal conversation-like format.