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Best SAT Prep Books
Our in-depth guide covers the best SAT study books on the market to help you crush this all-important exam
Prepping for the SAT can be an extremely stressful time for future college students. You want to do well, but you’re not totally sure what to expect or even where to start. The good news is that there are a ton of useful prep books on the market to help you master the skills, tricks, and tips necessary to get a high score and expand your choice of colleges and universities. Below is our in-depth guide covering five of the best SAT study books on the market this year.
Table of Contents:
Based on our team’s review and analysis, the best SAT prep books on the market today are:
One of the most robust prep books on the market, Kaplan’s SAT Total Prep features a broad overview of the exam, how it works, and what kinds of questions you can expect to see across the three sections of the test. It also offers a broad range of practice questions and four full-length practice exams, in addition to detailed sections covering content review.
In total, there are over 1,100 practice questions in the book. I found Kaplan’s practice material to be highly realistic and particularly helpful in predicting the kinds of patterns I would see on the actual exam.
Kaplan is a very respected prep company that excels at being concise but comprehensive. And that’s exactly what Kaplan’s SAT Total Prep delivers, so you can approach the SAT with confidence.
If there’s a downside, it’s that some experts think the book could be a little more challenging. Still, it covers just about every SAT concept and topic you’ll encounter in the exam, making it among the best SAT Math, English, and Reading prep books.
In fact, the sheer coverage of this book puts it ahead of many other study guides. It can serve as a great refresher or overview, especially when used together with other books.
Next up, we like the SAT Prep Black Book Third Edition because it’s chock full of insightful advice, strategies, tips and tricks. It really helps you understand the test design, plus the types of questions you might encounter.
This resource provides details on the format and structure of the test and tons of great tips, such as how you can watch out for trick questions and why those questions are there.
Personally, I found this to be very helpful. Once I understood which answer choices were simply there to distract me, it was much easier to see through common traps and arrive at the right answer.
Finally, the SAT Prep Black Book breaks down a number of online SAT practice exams, with thorough answer explanations for four official practice tests. This can help you determine why you missed a question so you can do better next time.
The SAT Prep Black Book is an outstanding guide for students of just about any level. It can help you both learn useful tricks and change the way you look at the entire test. In other words, you’re not simply memorizing information; rather, you’re learning to build an effective test-taking strategy. If there’s a downside, it’s that there aren’t any original practice exams included; you’ll need to seek those out online.
If you learn best through lots of practice, Barron’s Digital SAT Study Guide will fit the bill. They provide three complete practice exams, over 1,800 practice questions with detailed explanations, more than 300 online drills targeting every question type on the exam, and score tracking to help you monitor your progress. That means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice your test-taking skills.
This guide also features a diagnostic test that can help you pinpoint your weak points upfront so you know exactly where to focus your energy.
The Barron’s guide does require a degree of drive and self-application to really get the most out of the book. You’ll need to be willing to dive in and take it seriously, engage at a high level with the content and keep laser-focused on your goal. No book can give you that kind of focus, however; that’s on you.
If you can engage with the text and stay determined, this book can help you break down the material into manageable chunks and give you the practice you need. It also uses some of the same tricks as the real exam, so you’ll get used to tricky wording and distracting answers.
Bottom line, I was a big fan of Barron’s approach. It’s certainly among the best SAT math prep books, as well as English and reading prep books.
This means the practice questions you’ll encounter are very close to those you’ll come across in the actual exam. In addition, inside you will find comprehensive breakdowns of why the right answers are correct, as well as test-taking approaches and suggestions.
The book contains seven full exams taken from actual past SATs. These practice tests aren’t just examples of what you might find on the SAT; they’re exactly what students have seen on the exam in the past. That makes this among the most complete and accurate resources for those looking to brush up on practice questions and exams.
In my opinion, seeing real questions from actual tests was useful. Finally, the book contains a detailed overview and guide to the exam itself. You’ll learn why the questions are phrased and presented as they are and how you can recognize the patterns and tricks they often use.
If this book has a downside, it’s that it doesn’t really offer tips and tricks, but instead focuses on making sure you have the skills so you don’t need them.
#5 | Princeton Review Digital SAT Premium Prep
Rounding out our top 5 is the budget-friendly yet comprehensive guide to tackling the exam, Princeton Review Digital SAT Premium Prep. It’s similar to the Barron’s guide in that it gives you a thorough overview of the exam covering all of the essential concepts, plus strategies for how to manage your time and approach the test questions.
It offers three complete practice exams in the text, with access to three more online.
Each question comes with a thorough explanation to help you grow from your mistakes. This will help get you into the proper mindset on test day.
An additional online interface provides 250 online flashcards, video lessons, and an admissions guide. You also get a range of test-taking tips and tricks that are certain to improve your approach to taking the SAT, and your final score and results.
The book is a bulky one, with nearly 850 pages of content. The bookworm in me loved this, but for others, the page count might be a bit intimidating.
However, it’s so well organized that using it is a breeze. This is one of the few study guides out there that can be used all on its own. It’s jam-packed with everything you need to take the exam.
These are just a few of the top SAT prep guides on the market. If you grab any of these books and dedicate time each day to studying, you’re almost certain to improve your score. Choosing quality study materials is essential – but so is consistency.
After reviewing over a dozen different SAT prep options, our team likes the SAT prep books from Kaplan and Barron’s.
Where to buy SAT prep books?
Perhaps the easiest and most convenient place to buy SAT prep books is through an online retailer like Amazon. When shopping, make sure you are looking for the most recent edition of the book you are interested in.
