SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Studying on your own for the SAT/ACT can feel like trying to prepare for a marathon when you’ve never even run one before: it can be overwhelming and you have no idea what to do or where to start.

This is why a prep class is often an excellent idea. Classes teach you all the components of the exam, give you tips for test day, and ensure you get the score you want. But as you might’ve guessed, classes can be pretty expensive, making you wonder: are ACT prep classes worth it? Are SAT prep classes worth it?

We’ll go over the biggest benefits of SAT/ACT prep classes, how to figure out your own prep class budget, and how to ensure you get your money’s worth.

Many students assume colleges will see every score they've earned on the SAT and ACT when they apply.

However, while some top-tier schools do require your full testing histories, many don't. Some even allow score choice for the SAT, which allows you to send only the scores you want them to see, or they allow you to pick your best ACT test date.

If you're aiming for a top-tier school like an Ivy League, Stanford, or MIT, read this guide to learn how they evaluate standardized tests to help you best prepare.

Some colleges will guarantee admission to applicants who meet certain requirements for test scores and GPA. These schools are good choices for students who are looking for sure bets in the college application process.

In this guide, I've compiled every school that offers guaranteed admission based on SAT/ACT scores, along with other requirements like residency and GPA. If you're lucky, you'll fit the criteria at one or more of these colleges and be 100% certain of your acceptance if you choose to apply.

When are the ACT international test dates? If you're an international student thinking about taking the ACT, you might be surprised to learn that ACT testing dates are different internationally than in the US.

Find out what the ACT international test dates are for 2022 and 2023 and which dates you should choose in this article.

When you're trying to prepare for the ACT, the last thing you want to worry about is finding ACT practice tests. To help make the process a little less stressful for you, we've compiled this huge list of sources for free ACT practice tests and questions.

Not all practice tests are created equal, though. For each test source, I'll talk about how you can use the practice material to best prepare for the ACT.

Yep, you read that correctly: in May 2020, the University of California Board of Regents voted unanimously to stop requiring the ACT and SAT as part of admissions applications. In other words, if you're applying to a UC school, you won't have to submit your ACT or SAT scores.

Before you get super excited, there are some caveats you should know about. That's why we're breaking down the changes — and answering your FAQs! — below.

Looking for official ACT practice? The Official ACT Prep Guide is a great resource.

In this article, I'll provide a review of the current Official ACT Prep Guide, including positives and negatives of the new guide and whether or not you should buy it to help you through the study process.

Getting ready to take the PreACT? Then you might be wondering whether you should prep for it—and what resources you can use. Is there a PreACT practice test you can take? What kinds of PreACT resources does ACT, Inc. offer?

Keep reading to learn why it's a good idea to lightly prep for the PreACT, and get a comprehensive list of the best PreACT practice tests and materials you can use in your studying.

Maybe you’ve read our article about Duke’s Talent Identification Program (TIP), maybe you’ve heard about it from other students, or maybe you did your own research. You've heard vague hints of "score requirements," but don't know exactly what that means—do you have to take the ACT in order to take part in TIP? How well do you have to do on the ACT in order to become a TIPster? (I refuse to believe that students who participate in TIP do not go by this name.)

There are ACT (or SAT) score requirements for the Duke TIP: specifically, there are score requirements for Summer Studies programs and eStudies courses. I'm going to cover this complicated topic in exhaustive detail, explaining what the programs are, what the ACT score requirements are, and giving you some tips on how to meet these requirements. These requirements all refer to the regular ACT, not the ACT Aspire or ACT EXPLORE.

Feature image credit: Ilyse Whitney/Flickr

Studying for the ACT doesn’t have to include sitting in a library and flipping through piles of prep books. You can find lots of ACT study resources online! From official practice tests to short, targeted quizzes that make it easy to hone specific skills, you can study for the ACT whenever you have an internet connection.

However, if you find an ACT practice test online, it isn't guaranteed that it's a great resource. Some online ACT practice tests very different than the actual ACT, and using them won’t help you raise your score. Fortunately, in this guide, we’ve found all the best official and unofficial online ACT practice resources for you to use. We also end with tips to help you get the most out of these resources.

After you take the ACT, the anticipation isn't over! You have to wait to get your scores. While the scores aren't available immediately, you don't actually have to wait too long to see your scores or have them sent to colleges.

This guide will go over when you can expect to see your ACT scores for each test date, as well as the differences in score release dates for students who took the ACT with Writing.

Do you want to know your exact ACT score up to six digits of precision? Every digit can help when you want to know your exact performance. I've used real ACT data, newly-released in 2021, to calculate these ultra-high-precision percentiles.

As a high school student, I took both the SAT and the ACT. I’d been taking the SAT every couple of years since I was in middle school, so I planned to focus primarily on it. However, as a public school student in Colorado, I was required to take the ACT by my school. My scores on the two tests were relatively similar and I ended up submitting both.

Taking both tests, whether because of school requirements or personal preference, has become an increasingly common choice for students, especially those applying to top colleges. Though it isn’t necessary to take both the ACT and SAT, doing so might be the right plan for you. This guide will walk you through the pro and cons of taking both tests.

Here at PrepScholar, we understand how important it is to pick the right ACT test date. Choose a date that's too early and you won't have enough time to study. However, choose a date that's too late and you may not be able to retake the exam, if needed, or get your scores to colleges by their deadlines. 

To help make choosing the best ACT test date easier, we constantly review data to keep you up-to-date on new ACT testing dates. When you know future ACT registration and exam dates, you can stay organized so you can focus on studying for the test with less stress.

In this article, we go over the confirmed ACT test dates for 2021-2022 and explain the steps to take to pick the best ACT test date for you.

The ACT is the second-most popular college admissions standardized test in the US, with the number of test-takers close to that of the SAT.

But what does ACT actually stand for, and why does this actually matter? We answer all your questions in this guide.