SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published

Product details

• Paperback : 576 pages
• Product Dimensions : 8.5 x 1.3 x 11 inches
• Publisher : ACT Prep Books; 2nd Edition (July 1, 2017)
• Language: : English

The fully up-to-date SAT Prep Black Book, Second Edition gives you unique, effective SAT strategies from Mike Barrett, an SAT tutor with clients all over the globe who pay him hundreds of dollars an hour for phone tutoring. In addition to extensive and effective training on every aspect of the SAT, the SAT Black Book gives you detailed, systematic, easy-to-follow walkthroughs for every question in 4 of the College Board's official SAT Practice Tests. The Black Book is a must-have in your SAT preparation, whether you want to

• make a perfect 1600 to apply to an Ivy,
• score a 450 in each section to claim a sports scholarship,
• or anything in between.

You can find the first 4 Practice SAT tests from the College Board for free on the College Board’s website, or in the "Blue Book," which is the College Board's Official SAT Study Guide, 2016 Edition or 2018 Edition---both editions contain the first 4 official SAT practice tests. (The SAT Prep Black Book has no affiliation with the College Board.) The Black Book and the real practice SAT tests from the College Board are all you need to get your best possible SAT score. The Black Book is the ideal SAT book for 3 major reasons:

1. It covers every aspect of the test with advice that actually works, making it unique in the SAT prep field. It doesn't just review material from your high school classes! Instead, you'll learn to exploit design flaws in the SAT, using its own "SAT tricks" against it.
2. The Black Book contains 600+ detailed, systematic, easy-to-follow walkthroughs for real SAT questions from the College Board, so you know that what you're learning actually works. You'll see every question from the first 4 official SAT Practice Tests attacked in a way that clearly demonstrates the ideal thought process on the SAT. (You'll need your own copies of those real SAT practice tests, which you can get for free from the College Board’s website. You can also find them in the College Board’s 2016 or 2018 “Blue Book.”)
3. The Black Book is a clear, concise roadmap to the SAT. (See the selected highlights below). It explains exactly how every SAT question works, and how to beat it in the least time possible.

David C McCall

5.0 out of 5 stars Procrastinators-Use it!

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

Amazing test prep. A weekish before the SAT I realized I should probably study, so off I went to Amazon to find a book - there was no class, tutor, or online video that I felt could really help me in the amount of time I had left. I saw the Black Book at the top of the page, but after hearing it had 600 pages immediately looked for another option. I read online about the best books to use and eventually came back to this behemoth. Okay, 600 pages or not, I guess this was the book. I got the book that week before my first SAT, and, while trying to read 600 pages seemed impossible, actually reading the book wasn't as hard as it initially seemed because the way they write is easy to understand and engaging. Plus, probably over half of the pages were walkthroughs of the first four practice tests so there wasn't actually 600 pages you have to read every line of. The walkthroughs, though, were invaluable as they helped me understand how to work through all of the problems multiple different ways (you can see how others might answer that you never thought of, and that might actually be better). If you don't have a lot of time before the test, or you don't want to read all 600 pages, you can just do one or two of the walkthroughs and that will reduce a lot of pages. For me, each night I read one test section's material/tips, did the first practice test on that section (I printed the practice tests out myself-they aren't in the book), and then scored it and evaluated how I could improve using his walkthroughs. This meant that after four days I had read about the reading, math, writing, and essay (the book is structured in that order) and had finished the first practice test. After that, I did one whole practice test and reviewed it using his walkthroughs for the next two nights. At this point, my score hadn't improved a lot since the first practice test, but each time I had encountered new problems that I wasn't sure about and after looking at the walkthroughs felt confident in being able to do next time. On the day of the test, I felt much better about my timing, skills, and the test's structure overall because of Mike and Patrick's book. One of the questions I had gotten wrong and reviewed in a walkthrough the night before actually appeared on the test! Not yet sure of the score, but I can say it didn't seem as hard as I thought it would be solely due to their solid advice and practice walkthroughs. 10/10 recommend to anyone, whether you have a lot of time to study or not!

Update: The first SAT I took (June 2018), the one I wrote this review about originally, I got a 1500. I wanted to take it one more time, but I then procrastinated studying again and with one week left reviewed the book and took the remaining practice test that the book covers. I also looked back over the printed practice tests I did the first time, finding where I commonly made mistakes. For the August 2018 SAT I got a 1530. This book was amazing not only for how to think about the test, but also just to review concepts for both math and grammar.