The SAT and ACT exams are constantly on high school students’ minds. Taking one of these standardized tests isn’t always required for the college admissions process, but it’s a great way to get merit-based scholarships. Whether they’re taking it for the first time to get their baseline score or trying to get high SAT scores, getting proper prep materials is a great investment. Studying and preparing for the SAT and ACT can make a huge difference in your scores. Your ACT and SAT scores have the ability to increase your chances of getting accepted into your dream college and open the doors for a lot of scholarship opportunities.
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Best ACT and SAT Prep Books
The great thing about the SAT and ACT is that there are prep books you can use to better prepare yourself for test day. Finding the best SAT and ACT prep books for your needs is a game-changer for your scores. So, let’s take a look at the best SAT and ACT prep materials available for you!
ACT
This ACT prep book takes our number one spot as an ACT prep resource because it’s written by the ACT themselves! Who knows how to better prepare the students than the test givers? We love this ACT prep book because it comes with practice tips and strategies in all the subjects. It covers English, math, reading, and science, and even has optional writing portions for you to use. The book comes with eight practice tests in total and over 400 online flashcards with the key concepts.
Kaplan has great test guides and prep books for you to use throughout your high school and college career. Their ACT Prep Plus 2023 book has a total of five full-length practice tests, hundreds of practice questions, and a year of access to online quizzes and video instructions. Plus, the online materials like scoring, analysis, and explanations allow you to see where you made mistakes. It’s an overall great option, especially if you’re using it to increase your score as they have a higher score guarantee. If you don’t score higher than your first test without the prep book, you can get your money back.
If you don’t struggle with the concepts and material, your mindset may be holding you back from getting the score you want. With this ACT prep book, you’ll go over how to change your mindset while you’re taking a test so you can tap into all the information you have stored in your brain and make the test go more smoothly. It comes with over 200 questions and has the answers explained. Plus, it also has tips and strategies for you to learn! It doesn’t come with practice tests so keep that in mind, especially if you prefer to prepare with a mockup version of the test.
Written by a famous ACT tutor, this ACT prep book says it gives you the must-haves for scoring a 36 so that you can get into an Ivy League college and for scoring a 10 to ensure a sports scholarship. Either way, it has over 600 test questions, a roadmap of the ACT, and formatting secrets about the test. The ACT test is more than just questions and answers, there’s a whole strategy to it and this test prep book helps you with learning it.
Like Kaplan, The Princeton Review helps thousands of students each year prepare for standardized tests. There’s a reason they are household names when it comes to taking the ACT. This test prep book has six practice tests, content reviews, and strategies to help you get a high score the next time you take the test. We love this resource because it includes a writing portion that some prep books don’t!
SAT
This SAT prep guide is your one-stop shop for everything you need for SAT prep. It includes nine full-length practice tests along with an all-inclusive guidebook. You’ll get realistic strategies, content reviews, techniques for scoring, and premium access to online tools. Using this prep book is sure to ease your nerves before you take your SAT test! We love this option because you can supplement it with the Princeton Review SAT prep courses.
A lot of high school students have trouble on test day not because of the concepts but because of their nerves and how they approach the SAT test. This book helps you with exactly that. Sometimes we get in our heads about how we take a test and suddenly forget everything we’ve been studying for the last semester, but with a change in mindset, we can conquer these standardized tests! This SAT prep book has hundreds of practice questions, a roadmap to the SAT format, and shows you how the SAT test is designed. Say goodbye to those test-day brain farts!
Get everything you need from this SAT prep book by Kaplan Test Prep! It includes five full-length practice tests, over 1,500 practice questions, and a whole year of access to their online portal with other resources. It teaches you how to look at each question and quickly understand what is being asked so you can come up with the correct answer. And the great part is it’s available on Kindle and paperback!
This study book is full of practice questions, video tutorials, tips and strategies on performance, and a review of all the SAT test sections! It’s a great option for students who don’t need to do more practice tests and would rather do practice questions about concepts. For every question, the answer is explained in-depth so you can truly understand how questions should be answered on your test day.
Another great resource is this premium study guide by Barron’s! It has five practice tests, one diagnostic test, and three online tests to give you a total of eight tests to prepare for your SAT. This study guide also features 1,500 practice questions and will review strategies with you for your test day.
Other Supplements
- If private tutoring options are possible for you, we definitely suggest it. Tutors can come up with personalized study plans to help you achieve your desired scores.
- The Official College Board is another great resource for students! The College Board website has plenty of test prep materials for students to look at. They use Khan Academy which is well-known in the testing world! The Khan Academy Test Prep is free to use and very comprehensive. It’s one of our favorite online SAT prep courses available for all students!
- Your school may also have SAT prep services, ACT classes, or maybe even a boot camp course for free!
The best SAT and ACT prep materials will look different for every student. Some students need to focus more on learning the concepts for the tests while others need more help with the format. No matter your needs, there are ACT and SAT prep books and resources available for your needs. Don’t forget to stick to your study schedule and get a good night’s rest before your test day.
And don’t forget to visit the College Raptor website to find personalized college matches and the FREE scholarships you’re eligible for after completing the SAT and ACT!
