Most test prep books out there today cater to the masses, which, given the national average (~1050), means dumbed-down overly simplistic material. The typical guide illustrates entire concepts with just one example, yet somehow takes an entire chapter to explain the format of the test(??). As any high-scoring student knows, the SAT and the ACT repeatedly test the same concepts but not in the same way. That's why it's important to be exposed to as many practice problems as possible. As a teacher, I struggled to find a more thorough guide that would address the basic question types as well as the complex. I ended up having to write much of my own curriculum to help my more advanced students, and that material eventually became these books.
These guides go in-depth, covering every concept and the many question variations that come up, including the oddballs. You won't find anything not on the test—everything in these books has shown up on past exams. You also won't find a focus on questions that are too easy. Tons of practice questions arranged by topic will get you to mastery.
The College Panda's SAT® Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook
3rd Edition fully updated for the Digital SAT
The key to SAT Math is not any one trick but a mastery of the material. The SAT repeats the same concepts over and over again and once you have a full understanding of what's tested, acing the math section is quite straightforward.
This book brings together everything you need to know for the math section. Unlike most other test prep books, this one is truly geared towards the student aiming for the perfect score. It leaves no stones unturned.
Inside, you'll find:
- Clear explanations of all tested math concepts, from the simplest to the most obscure
- Hundreds of examples to illustrate all the question types and the different ways they can show up
- Over 500 practice questions grouped by topic
- Clear answer explanations that show you exactly how I would approach every question.
- The most common mistakes students make (so you don’t)
Excerpts:
The College Panda's SAT® Writing: Advanced Guide and Workbook
Note for the Digital SAT: This book was written for the previous version of the SAT but still covers most of what you need to know for the grammar questions on the Digital SAT. See this update for more information. The next edition for the Digital SAT won't be released until 2025.
This book brings together everything you need to know for the SAT Writing section, from comma rules to data interpretation questions. It leaves no stones unturned.
Inside you'll find:
- Clear explanations of all the tested grammar rules, from the simplest to the most obscure
- Tons of examples to illustrate each question type and the different ways it can show up
- Over 500 drills and practice questions to help you master each topic (exclusive to this guide)
- Tips and strategies that will help any test-taker score higher
- Three complete and realistic SAT Writing practice exams with explanations (exclusive to this guide)
Excerpts:
The College Panda's 10 Practice Tests for the SAT® Math
This practice book is the perfect companion to The College Panda's SAT Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook
Inside, you'll find:
- 10 Complete SAT Math Practice Tests that actually reflect the format and questions on the SAT
- Answer Explanations for all Questions
- An index of questions grouped by category so you can focus on the topics you struggle on
Excerpts:
The College Panda's SAT® Essay: The Battle-tested Guide
This book is the only guide that gives you a proven battle-tested essay template used by a perfect scorer on the current SAT. As a teacher, I took the current SAT myself and got a 1600 to bring you these insights. This isn't just the 5-paragraph stuff that you read in every other book—I'll tell you exactly what persuasive elements to look for and how to analyze them. My high-scoring essay from the May 2016 exam is included. I share everything: what I did right as well as the subtle things I initially missed.
Here's what you'll learn inside:
- How the SAT Essay is Graded
- The 7 Elements of a Perfect Essay
- All the Rhetorical and Persuasive Elements You Need to Know
- The Essay Template for any Prompt
- The Narrate and Explain Strategy
- How to Quote
- 8 Fatal Mistakes Students Make on the Essay
- Official Prompts & Model Essays
- Real Student Essays that got a Perfect Score
Excerpts:
The College Panda's ACT® English: Hardcore ACT Prep
This book brings together everything you need to know for the ACT English section, from comma rules to tough sentence ordering questions. It leaves no stones unturned.
Inside you'll find:
- Clear explanations of all the tested grammar rules, from the simplest to the most obscure
- Tons of examples to illustrate each question type and the different ways it can show up
- Hundreds of drills and practice questions to help you master the concepts
- Tips and strategies that will help any test-taker score higher
- Three complete and realistic ACT English practice exams with explanations
Excerpts:
The College Panda's ACT® Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook
This book brings together everything you need to know for the ACT math section, from the simplest to the most obscure concepts. Unlike most other test prep books, this one is truly geared towards the student aiming for the perfect score. It leaves no stones unturned.
Inside, You'll Find:
- A thorough review of all tested ACT math topics, from the simplest to the most obscure, including tough ACT-specific topics like trigonometry, logarithms, visualizations, ellipses, and matrices
- Hundreds of examples to illustrate all the question types and the different ways they can show up
- Over 400 ACT practice questions and explanations to help you master each topic
- The most common mistakes students make (so you don’t)
This book was written specifically for the ACT and has very little overlap with The College Panda's SAT Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook. You won't find the practice exercises in this book anywhere else.
Excerpts:
The College Panda's ACT® Math Workbook: More Advanced Practice By Topic
The Perfect Companion to The College Panda's ACT Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook
Inside, you'll find:
- Over 400 additional ACT math practice questions grouped by topic so you can drill down on your weak areas
- Exercises on tough ACT-specific topics like trigonometry, visualizations, logarithms, ellipses, and matrices
- Answer explanations for all questions
You won't find the practice exercises in this book anywhere else. Again, these are different questions than the ones you'll find in The College Panda's ACT Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook.
Excerpts:
The College Panda's ACT® Essay: The Battle-tested Guide for ACT Writing
This book is the only guide that gives you a proven battle-tested essay template that has been used on actual administrations of the ACT to get perfect scores of 36. This isn't just the 5-paragraph stuff that you read in every other book—I'll tell you exactly what words and sentences to use, and they work for any prompt.
An actual copy of my perfect-scoring essay is included as proof. This essay was obtained through the ACT's Test Information Release service, which is available for the December, April, and June exams.
Inside, you'll learn about:
- My Quest to Find what the ACT Graders want
- The 6 Elements of a Perfect Essay
- The Essay Template for any Prompt
- 6 Versatile Essay Examples You Can Use
- What to do When All Else Fails
- 8 Fatal Mistakes Students Make on the Essay
- Sample Essays to Official Prompts
- 10 High-Level Words You Can Use in Any Essay
- 5 Essay Prompts for Practice
Excerpts: