Foreword

Welcome to the 2014 edition of Cracking the SAT. The SAT is not a test of aptitude, how good of a person you are, or how successful you will be in life. The SAT simply tests how well you take the SAT. And performing well on the SAT is a skill, one that can be learned like any other. The Princeton Review was founded more than 20 years ago on this very simple idea, and—as our students’ test scores show—our approach is the one that works.

Sure, you want to do well on the SAT, but you don’t need to let the test intimidate you. As you prepare, remember these two important things about the SAT:

• It doesn’t measure the stuff that matters. It measures neither intelligence nor the depth and breadth of what you’re learning in high school. It doesn’t predict college grades as well as your high school grades do, and many schools are still hesitant to use the score from your 25-minute essay in their application decisions at all. Colleges know there is more to you as a student—and as a person—than what you do at a single 4-hour test administration on a random Saturday morning.
• It underpredicts the college performance of women, minorities, and disadvantaged students. Historically, women have done better than men in college but worse on the SAT. For a test that is used to help predict performance in college, that’s a pretty poor record.

Your preparation for the SAT starts here. We at The Princeton Review spend millions of dollars every year improving our methods and materials. Our teachers take each and every SAT to make sure nothing slips by us, and our books contain the most accurate, up-to-date information available. We’re always ready for the SAT, and we’ll get you ready too.

However, there is no magic pill: Just buying this book isn’t going to improve your scores. Solid score improvement takes commitment and effort from you. If you read this book carefully and work through the problems and practice tests included in the book, not only will you be thoroughly versed in the format of the SAT and the concepts it tests, you will also have a sound overall strategy and a powerful arsenal of test-taking skills that you can apply to whatever you encounter on test day.

In addition to the thorough review in Cracking the SAT, we’ve tied the book to drills and tests on our website—PrincetonReview.com—to make it even more efficient at helping you to improve your scores. Before doing anything else, be sure to register at PrincetonReview.com/cracking. When you do, you’ll gain access to the most up-to-date information on the SAT, detailed score reports for the tests in this book, exercises that will reinforce our techniques, and the opportunity to have your essays scored by our LiveGrader^TM service. You’ll also find great information on college admissions, online applications, and financial aid.

The more you take advantage of the resources we’ve included in this book and the online companion tools that go with it, the better you’ll do on the test. Read the book carefully and learn our strategies. Take full-length practice tests under actual timed conditions. Analyze your performance and focus your efforts where you need improvement. Perhaps even study with a friend to stay motivated.

This test is challenging, but you’re on the right track. We’ll be with you all the way.

Good luck!

The Staff of The Princeton Review