College Prep Genius - The No Brainer Way to SAT Success!
Mood:
a-ok
Topic: Homeschool Product Review
I remember my college testing days from high school. The nerves. The "not understanding what I was really doing". The unpreparedness. Ugh. I get queasy just thinking about it! I was never a good test taker. I really wish there would have been something back then that would have helped me prepare for taking tests like the ACT and SAT. Even, now, I think about my own kids and how difficult it will be for them. I was thrilled when I found out that I was going to get to review College Prep Genius - The No Brainer Way To SAT Success.
College Prep Genius is a group of things that you can use to help you be prepared for the SAT. We received the College Prep Genius (Second Edition) Textbook, the College Prep Genius (Second Edition) Workbook and the College Prep Genius (Second Edition) DVD. They could be used separately, but we have been using them together, and, really, that's the best way to use them. John Allen isn't a real fan, but, what can you expect. Studying to get a good score on the SAT or PSAT is serious business. I really don't think John Allen fully comprehends what the SAT is all about yet.. College Prep Genius offers some great ways to prepare. Let me go through each item one by one to explain what it's all about.
The core item is the Textbook. This 325 page book is divided into six parts.
- Part One: Introduction to the SAT
- Part Two: The Critical Reading Section
- Part Three: The Math Section
- Part Four: The Writing Section
- Part Five: Scholarship Search
- Part Six: Journal for Test Success
As you can see just by the section titles, this book is full of good information. What makes this different than other SAT prep materials, though? One of the things is College Prep Genius' use of Acronyms. They have taken almost every scenario that you could think of and mad an acronym out of it. For example, one of the acronyms for the Reading Section is S.O.N. College Prep Genius suggests that you should:
Avoid answer using S.O.N.
- S - Strong
- O - Opinionated
- N - Negative
They then discuss why you shouldn't choose those types of answers.
That is really another plus about this textbook. They have a lot of examples for each acronym's rule. They basically tell you step by step how you can score well on the test by using these acronyms to remember key things that will help you.
The next item is the DVD. The DVD is really DVD's. There are four of them that have four lessons on each. These lessons are really the core of this curriculum. I mentioned the Textbook above first, because it could be used alone, but it is really better to use it with the DVD. I made John Allen begin by just reading the Textbook, but I quickly recognized my mistake and have begun using the DVD's first.
Each lesson on the DVD is about 45 min. long. Along with the DVD are homework assignments. One of the assignments is always to read a section of the Textbook. That was my mistake. John Allen was reading the Textbook without the benefit of the DVD but, even though the teacher on the video says to read the textbook first, in my opinion, it is much better to watch the DVD first. I also suggest (and so does the teacher) to follow along in your textbook while the teacher is lecturing. It is always better to hear and see rather than just to hear or just to see. The DVD goes right along with you textbook.
The teacher on the video has a pleasant voice and seems very nice, but she gets right to the point. There is no messing around. Be ready for a packed full of information lesson whenever you watch the video. Have everything ready, such as your homework assignment printed out (you download them from the College Prep Genius website), all of your books, and several pencils.
Finally, the last item is the Workbook. It has reviews of the different acronyms, a lot of sample problems for you to work out, and a few fun things. The Workbook really can't be used as a stand alone item.
As you can see, College Prep Genius is full of good stuff. I am so blessed that we were chosen for this review because it will be a great tool for John Allen to work through. I am sure it will raise his SAT score. The pricing for College Prep Genius is very reasonable. The price for the whole set of Textbook, Workbook and DVD's is $99. The three items can be purchased separately as well - Textbook $49.95, Workbook $19.95 and DVD's $59.95. You can find these and other great items from College Prep Genius by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. To find out what some of the other TOS Homeschool Crew members thought of this item and another great College Prep Genius item called "Vocab Cafe" click here. Happy Home Educating.
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free set of College Prep Genius material - Textbook, Workbook, and DVD - in order to try out and give an honest review on my blog.
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