Up Your Score 2013-2014: The Underground Guide to the SAT

by Larry Berger, Michael Colton, Jaja Liao

Written for students by students, Up Your Score is the book kids will actually want to use to help them ace the test. Its four authors and guest editor—who each achieved perfect or close-to-perfect scores and got into the college of their choice—offer expert advice and proven strategies, laced with an edgy wit.

Kept sharply up-to-date by the guest editor, Up Your Score is a complement—and a reality check—to the institutional reviews by Princeton and Kaplan. It’s the book that injects attitude into the dry business of test prep, fending off the anxiety of the SAT with peer humor. A rich and lively vocabulary section is filled with examples that kids will relate to. The math section delves into the eight core ways the test covers the subject, plus offers problem-solving techniques. The writing section addresses the 13 most important grammar rules to know. And Up Your Score shows how to “psych out” the test: How to think like the SAT. How to prepare the essay in advance. The best ways to fill in answer circles and other strategies to save precious minutes. Plus, tips for maintaining concentration, why it’s always better to guess than to leave a question unanswered, what to wear on test day, and a recipe for energy-boosting Sweet & Tasty 800 Bars.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to recommend this book to anyone preparing for the SAT. This book is funny, original, and helpful, a nice alternative to the dry, straight-forward material you'll have to read through in most other test prep books. I recommend it mostly for the vocabulary in it, because their definitions are all funny and clever plays on words, and they actually help you remember it a lot better.

[Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found humor in this book irritating and unnecessary. There was a lot of fluff intermittent with some advice. Their strategies are not unique and I did not find anything here that was not already in other books related to SAT preparation. It is also not very useful for prep as it does not contain practice questions.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun goofy take on studying for the SATs. I really enjoyed this teaching style. Even though it wasn't as thorough as other books out there. The authors all scored well on their SATs and used cartoons and a kind of storytelling style to get you acquainted to important SAT concepts and test question styles.
This book helped me memorize a lot of words because of the funny word associations.

[Darcy Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really tells you how to ace each section. The book gives you nice little shortcuts and hints. The book breaks up the sections pretty well. I would take the advice. This book is worth your time and money.

The book does exactly what it says. It will bump up your score. You must do that through hard work. I would get another book with just practice tests, if you are going to get this book. The book is very humorous. You'll find the examples really nice. These kids really know what they are talking about.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my absolute best friend now.
It's witty, informative, and caters to the teenager with an abundance of allusions and some mild vulgarity.
Just the way I like it.
If all I did to prepare for the SAT was read this book, I would be confident.
Worth every penny.

[Aspen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom made me read this to prepare for taking the SAT in the 7th grade (?!!?) and it was actually pretty helpful. I'd imagine it was more interesting than most other books on the subject. 2 stars for writing, 4 for content.

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and packed full of gotta-know info for the SAT. Nice to have something fun to read to space out those harder, heavier study books. But its not just all fun—it makes it easier to learn and remember important info. B-) Definitely recommend. My only complaint is some crude humor.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny book that prepares kids for the SAT.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Textbook, No Comment.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Hannah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and entertaining book!

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great and helped me alot with the SAT!!! I recommend this so much! It was hilarious!!!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Word list.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful, easy to read guide to the SAT, even though I didn't care for most of the jokes.

[Redwallcrazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Helpful!! By far the best SAT book I have found!! They made it super easy to understand. :D