SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Planning the night before the test is the last thing you really have to worry about before taking the ACT. But how do you know what to do so that you get the best score possible the next day?

This comprehensive guide will lay out everything you should (and shouldn’t) do before you head to bed the night before the ACT. Follow these tips - covering everything from logistical concerns to last-minute exam prep - to wake up confident, refreshed, and ready.

Let’s get started!

Times, they are a-changin’. Bob Dylan’s 1964 anthem of change may not have originally referred to a college admissions test, but it certainly applies to the SAT overhaul of 2016. The redesigned test features huge changes from its previous version, in terms of its structure, scoring, and content.

Read on to learn about the major updates and what you can do to prepare for them. To start, let’s take a look at the test’s structure and exactly how it’s a-changin'.

Since the SAT has just been redesigned, you might feel like there aren’t very many practice questions around for you to use. The College Board has released four free practice tests, but once you get through those, what should you do?

You might be wondering if you can use old SAT practice tests to study for the new SAT. The answer is yes, you can! I will show you how.

Read on to see why you would want to use old practice tests, what practice tests won’t do for you, and then a how-to guide on the most effective way to use old tests to prep for each section. Finally, I’ll also briefly discuss using the ACT for new SAT prep, since the tests are surprisingly similar.

Do you know how to determine if a noun should have an apostrophe? Do you know where to place apostrophes in possessive nouns? Do you know when to use there vs. they're? These are all topics that are tested on the SAT.

The SAT Writing section has questions about possessive nouns and pronouns. In this article, I'll provide you with all the rules and strategies to correctly answer these questions.

SAT Math questions often hit you with a lot of jargon. Some types of questions are prone to being pretty wordy, and many problems just don't make sense—they simply don't click in your brain.

Well, this state of affairs simply will not do. There's got to be a better way of hammering away at these problems. And, lo and behold, the post that follows has arrived to illuminate this path.

This article will walk you through how to figure out what an SAT Math question is really getting at—what it's truly asking under all that banter.

If you took the ACT in high school, you were probably perfectly content to bid it farewell when you want on to college. If you didn't take it in high school, you were probably just as glad to get a pass on that particular trial. But what if you need to take it after you graduate? Can you take the ACT in college?

Yes! It's absolutely possible to take the ACT in college; there's nothing standing in your way. This article will discuss reasons to take the ACT as a college student, what the process is like, and what makes it different than taking it in high school.

The ACT is upon us, and it seems fair to assume (since you're reading this article) that you're under-prepared. If you've got less than three weeks before the exam and haven't really studied yet, you're officially cramming for the ACT.

Now, if you're willing and able to put in some 60 hours of preparation before the test, take a moment to read our cram plan for those very circumstances. If that doesn't sound realistic for your circumstances, though, read on to discover the most useful strategies you can employ to get up to speed on the test in a pinch. We'll cover tips specific to each part of the test, as well as some global advice on topics like guessing and keeping a level head on test day.

We've all experienced nerves before an important evaluation, but for many of us the anxiety is much, much worse than a few simple jitters. 

By all accounts, a significant percentage of students experience some level of test anxiety, ranging from significant but livable symptoms to the most severely debilitating manifestations.

Dealing with any level of test anxiety during the SAT or ACT is, at its best, the opposite of fun. This guide will explain what test anxiety is, why it happens, and what you can do to manage it. 

If you’re using practice tests for your ACT prep, great job! That’s the best way to prepare for the ACT, but how do you make sure you’re learning from each ACT practice exam you take? How do you make sure you’re really prepared for the actual ACT? You must sit for each ACT practice exam with realistic testing conditions. What might you be doing (maybe on accident) that’s destroying your realistic testing conditions? 

Looking through pages and pages of SAT advice, tips, and strategies can get a bit overwhelming. If you’re looking for the information on the most important things to know about taking the SAT, you’ve come to the right place.

Here, I’ll lay out my best SAT advice: five tips to help you excel when you take the test. Read on to get the short and sweet version of everything you need to know.

If you’re currently preparing for the ACT, you might be wondering how many other students are in the same boat. As you may have expected, you’re not alone - there are a lot of students out there who are trying to prepare for the ACT.

In this post, I’ll go over exactly how many students take the ACT, before talking about the different methods of prep that these students use.

If you’re a current high school student, then you’re caught in a big transition between the old SAT and the new SAT. You may have thought you were all set with a high SAT score, but now you’re wondering, “Should I take the new SAT?”

Not to worry, help is here! You can easily resolve this concern by asking yourself two key questions. First, find out whether your colleges require the new SAT. If they don’t, feel free to scroll down to the next important question: is your score on the old SAT really high enough to achieve your goals?

Read on to consider one or both of these questions, and determine once and for all whether or not you need to take the redesigned SAT.

The format of the SAT Writing section is very unique, and you may not have taken a test with a similar format. To reach your target score, you're going to need a specific approach to tackle the passage-based questions.

In this article, I will explain the various approaches you can take when reading the SAT Writing passages, and I'll guide you on how to identify the strategy that will work best for you.

Searching for the perfect high school or school district for you or your child? You've come to the right place. When looking at different high schools or different school districts, average ACT score can be a helpful comparison tool.

Average ACT score can help estimate the quality of education and quality of students at a particular high school or school district. There are a few different ways to find average ACT scores by high school or district. I’ll explain the different methods and why you should care about average high school ACT scores. 

Are you preparing for the SAT by taking practice tests? Awesome! You’re on the right track! How can you ensure that you’re getting the most out of each practice test you take? You need to make sure you’re taking each practice test under realistic testing conditions. What’re you doing (maybe subconsciously) that’s ruining your realistic testing conditions?