SAT prep: an unnecessary investment

Stress and exhaustion are unavoidable in high school. Sports, clubs, honors and AP’s, college apps and a social life all compete for time and effort, so giving weary, overburdened students more work to do seems unsound. Well, ACI’s not listening.

With nicknames that range from “Air Conditioning Institute” to “Abusing Children Institute,” ACI is an SAT prep company whose website claims to give applicants “the SAT score you’ve always dreamed of.” Founded in 1987 to relieve the fears and wallets of demanding parents, it’s spread to a total of ten locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley, ensuring that you can never get far enough from SAT prep.

Although alternate prep companies like Elite are just as bad, it’s ACI’s UC Plus program that I know and hate. A Friday evening math class, a Saturday grammar lesson and model test translate into eight and a half hours of work a week. After a typical course, which lasts ten weeks and costs $1,200, ACI says your SAT score is likely to raise by 250 points.That’s $4.80/point.

Even if ACI didn’t charge, I’d question the lasting value of the information it teaches. Is the ability to define words like “quixotic” or “bellicose” worth more than the social, work and life experience that you could be getting in that time instead? Is taking time to memorize techniques you’ll use for a single test and then forget practical when you could be learning skills that will benefit you throughout your life?

I realize that dropping all forms of preparation for the SAT is inconceivable for many parents and so their kids must suffer through it. Still, there is a cheaper, faster and more relaxed alternative to ACI and its ilk: self-study. All you need to study effectively is the “SAT Prep Black Book,” which teaches effective testing techniques, and “The Official SAT Study Guide,” which supplies sample questions to test those techniques on. Combined, the two books are only $30 on Amazon.

So ditch SAT prep and, if you must, pick up those textbooks. Use your new-found freedom to do things that will truly impact your life.Learn to cook. Explore a hobby. Find a complete stranger and strike up a conversation with him. Read more. Not only will these give you more satisfaction and confidence than a numerical improvement ever could, most colleges accept accomplished, multifaceted people who score 1800’s over those who score 2050’s, but can only speak in tetrasyllabic, SAT-sanctioned vocab.

SAT prep is a crutch. It’s an expensive crutch used for a meager admissions boost. Don’t use a crutch. Let your skills, achievements and personality stand on their own.