I used the mathematics portion of this book for my SAT prep class students. It is pretty good even with detail solutions. However, it did have a few mistakes due to typo errors. Overall, it is a good study material for SAT I.

The vocab list was really long and seemed impossible to undertake. However, I did about 2-3 lists per day for a couple weeks before the test, memorizing unfamiliar words, and I saw a lot of them on the test itself. It also improved my vocab for REAL LIFE situations! If you're willing to sit down and try to memorize close to 3500 words, then why not?

The practice tests were rather inaccurate. The math portion was a lot harder than other publishers' math parts. I took 3 of the 4 practice tests in Barron's and received scores lower than 650 each time. But when I took the College Board test, my math score was above 700. The actual SAT math questions were more similar to the big blue book questions than they were to Barron's questions.

I never bothered reading through the whole book.

This book has many practice exercises that are hard enough to be good prep for the test.

It's major flaw is the lack of explanation for why a given answer is correct.

If you need a book that explains how to arrive at the correct answers I suggest buying Rocket Review as the book actually teaches you basic principles that explain how the test works and how to beat it.

The 16 books are coming in three different times (in a week). they are very new as promised. Shipping is very good without any damage!

I like to do business with this one!

I have prepared students for the PSAT, SAT, ACT and have used Barron preparation all the way back to the 1980s. I use various other manuals and software, but my students tell me that the Barron is the quality preparation they need. It is more difficult than many of the resources and better enables them to score well. There is abundant testing material, answers well explained, the built-in flash cards, dictionary of vocabulary likely seen on the actual test, and available useer friendly software with imediate feedback. In other words, the Barron has it all. I always know that when my students treat this manual as another text book, completing everything offered, their expectations will be fulfilled. My students tell me they know they have had the material that is more difficult than that of the actualtests which gives them a sense of being well prepared in the testing environment.

It's hard to give a fair review at this point since my daughter has only just begun the SAT review class and will take the test in the mid-winter months. I'm optimisitc that this was a good investment.

comprehensive and helpful study guide, very complete because it has strategies and many practice tests too.

The book was I was looking to be, it helps a lot to prepare for the SAT.

It has a very extensive vocabulary list with almost every SAT word possible! (I would say about 99% of all words are listed). They also provide sentences with word which helps tremendously in understanding the word in context. I would highly recommend this book if you need to improve your vocabulary.

It has a very extensive vocabulary list with almost every SAT word possible! (I would say about 99% of all words are listed). They also provide sentences with word which helps tremendously in understanding the word in context. I would highly recommend this book if you need to improve your vocabulary.

This book's "high frequency" and "probably"
vocab lists are AMAZING! They really helped
me on the SATs. However, the practice questions
are not so great. For practice, I reccmend
the Collegeboard. However, for prep, I reccomend
this book!

Please note that there is a newer version of this book available: Barron's How to Prepare for the SAT: 2006-2007 (23rd edition). You want to get this newer edition, because the 22nd edition contains far too many significant errors to be truly worth your money. The vast majority of these errors, however, are corrected in the 23rd edition.

The following is an abridged review from CEEAE dot org:

This book cannot be recommended due to multiple glaring errors that are repeated throughout the book. From the beginning this book gives faulty information about the SAT. It incorrectly claims that the SAT is divided into 8 sections, but it is actually 10 sections. It incorrectly states the number of questions in each section as well as the time given for some of the sections.

Further, the practice tests are not very accurate to actual SAT questions. The Sentence Completion questions were far too easy. Math questions were not nearly as tricky as those typically found on the SAT.

Also, Barron's (both this edition and the newer one mentioned above) uses a unique method of grading that was roundly denounced by the tutors who authored the composite review. For example, if a student missed 6, 8, or 10 questions the same 50 range was applied.

The last comment is that this book is very similar in structure to a textbook. While this may work for a few students, most will find this format slumber-inducing to put it nicely.

Although most of the glaring errors found in the previous edition (Barron's How to Prepare for the New SAT) have been rectified, this book is only marginally recommendable.

Anyone well versed in SAT preparation will first note that practice tests in this book are not very SAT-like. The SAT features some very convoluted questions. While the material tested on the SAT is not that difficult, the questions are difficult due to their convoluted phrasing. Hence, to provide accurate test questions, the practice tests must feature questions that are similarly convoluted. Barron's book, however, features questions that test the same material as the SAT, but the questions themselves are not very SAT-like.

The other major point is that this book is written like in a textbook or reference book. Some may prefer this presentation, but most students will prefer the more approachable format found in Princeton Review, Kaplan, or Up Your Score (there are others but we decided to only name a few). The books mentioned in the previous sentence are formatted like a conversation between student and tutor, rather than blocks of text-based material. If you prefer the textbook-like presentation of material, we recommend McGraw-Hill's SAT I over Barron's.

On the positive side, Barron's book has an excellent and comprehensive review of all relevant material for the SAT, and a plethora of reinforcement problems. Also, this book comes with detachable vocabulary flashcards at the end of the book.

Note: This book as well as more than 20 other SAT prep books are reviewed and ranked on CEEAE dot org Every book review has a direct link to its page on Amazon, so you can read the reviews, view the rankings and then return to Amazon to purchase your selections.

Barron's is THE SAT prep. It's kept updated to change with the SAT revisions, is easy to use and understand. Great for self-study.

This book actually focuses more on reading and writing than vocabulary. Personally, although there is a new writing section, I like the new SAT better because there are less vocabularies to remember and analogies are always for non-native English speakers. Therefore, I highly recommend buying this because it helps you to prepare for the new SAT.

When I first bought this book, I thought I was going to get the best practice ever before every taking the real SAT. However, In Barron's they don't really go in depth in any of the explanations and all/most of the sample problems in both math and verbal sections were very hard to follow.Look out for the math section tactics. Sometimes, they start making assumptions on multiple choice questions( like eliminating one because the answer's too big/small)without giving a certain mathamatical reasoning.The verbal, as I stated before is poorly explained and is difficult to follow(especially the writing section; they don't go in depth in to explaining most the parts of speech and their affect on the other parts of the sentence, hence it was very difficult for me to do the error ID section of the test). What is even more upsetting to me is the fact that Barron's doesn't really provide any face to face/class tutoring so I may never really understand how their strategies really work/how they intended them to work). IN fact, I learned very little from this book and learned a lot more from the Princeton Revew. I was struggling with this book for 2 years. Those books and the course together can really boost up one's score within a few months.

The Barron's book has some strengths, which include a good vocabulary section and helpful tactics for high school students to review prior to taking the SAT. It also has some weaknesses. The most significant of these is that the sample tests don't exactly match the format of the actual SAT. As the teacher of an SAT Prep course, I believe that it would be much more beneficial for high school students to take practice tests that duplicate the actual test format in its entirety.

Standardized testing should be abolished, but since that's not going to come to pass anytime soon, as a tutor I can tell you, this is the best book I have found to prepare a student for the unmitigated hell that is the SAT.

Good luck!

The practice tests are terrible! I have taken the new SAT in March 2005, and the practice tests in barron are so different from the real new SAT. The real one has 10 sections, but barron has only 7 or 8; the longest sections on the real take 25 minutes, but those of barron can be as long as 30 minutes!

My advise is not to buy this book, it is very misleading. I tried Priceton Review's Cracking the New SAT, that one is close to the real SAT, although it is slightly more difficult.

By the way, same problem with Peterson's New SAT practice book.

On one hand, this book gives you a lot of tips and strategies. On the other hand, its' tests are poorly made. They are packed with errors and repetitions. So, my advice is to buy a used version and save money to buy an Official SAT Study Guide.

This text was purchased for my daughter. We got what we wanted within a decent amount of time.

I'm a current user of the Barron New SAT manual(22nd edition), and it has more than enough content and training to help you get the confidence and skills for the New SAT. #1 the book has very thorough informations dealing with all 3 sections of the SAT carefully giving you first the tactics to deal with the questions and then a study guide to sum up your skills. #2 after every sections there are alot of practice questions that you can practice with answers and intelligent explanations so you can work out your strengths and weaknesses. #3 in addition to all that, the book has 3 sets of vocabulary words: the "hot words", "prospects words, and "basic words list". The first two lists are designed for those who wants to get the basic most frequently used words on the SAT, the last list is for those wanting a detailed word bank. The cool features about the word lists is the identification in part of speech and 2 setences illustrating how the words are used.(You don't have to buy another vocabulary book, the Barron's have it all) Overall, the Barron's test prep has moderate strategies, alot of contents, and alot of practice. Even though it doesn't stuff you with strategies as much as the other guides, the contents really does give you the skills, and the practice is more than enough. Be aware that the book is for motivated students who are willing to go the extra mile studying. I highly reccomend this book for students particularly weak in Math, that's where Barron's really give you the skills. (Don't be overwhelmed at first by the difficulty of the math section, it will guide you through no problem.)

well, this book is great.. just great. But, in order to be able to use this book correctly, you need to be able to handle a lower score than what you would like (let me elaborate). Barron's is known to produce test prep materials that are much tougher than the actual ETS tests. It isnt any different with this book. When I took the Tests, I recieved a critical reading score of 610-650, Writing score of 630-690, and a Math score of 600-690. I was pretty frustrated because I had spent over three months working and I didnt really see an improvement in my scores. I finished working on the barron's, completed the seven tests and review exercises. I sat down and pulled another SAT book (the collegeboard official study guide (isbn:0874477182) and did a couple of the writing and critical reading sections. I couldn't believe my eyes - I got a 740-790 on critical reading and 720-770!!! I haven't finished the math sections yet, but I'm very optimistic about the results.. I was aiming for a 2100, but I guess I can go higher now that I did the Barron's!