SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Allen Cheng

As co-founder and head of product design at PrepScholar, Allen has guided thousands of students to success in SAT/ACT prep and college admissions. He's committed to providing the highest quality resources to help you succeed. Allen graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude and earned two perfect scores on the SAT (1600 in 2004, and 2400 in 2014) and a perfect score on the ACT. You can also find Allen on his personal website, Shortform, or the Shortform blog.

Recent Posts

Announcing Our $10,000 Scholarship - You Redesign the SAT / ACT

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Posted by Allen Cheng

We're proud to announce our new $10,000 scholarship. High school students and college students of any grade are eligible to enter. We challenge you to answer one question - if you were to redesign the SAT and ACT for all high school students to take, what test would you come up with?

Keep reading for more details.

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Kaplan SAT Book - Full Review

Kaplan is a giant in SAT prep, but that doesn't mean its prep materials are good. In fact, they tend to be far from excellent. In this review, we'll examine Kaplan's SAT 2015 book for its strengths and weaknesses.

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The Critical Reader - Erica Meltzer: Full Review

 

Erica Meltzer's books have come onto the scene in the past few years with great reviews. Her books are fantastic for the subjects they cover—Reading and Writing. She's published two books for the SAT—The Complete Guide to SAT Critical Reading, and The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar.

While these are high quality books, they're not perfect, for reasons we'll explain in this article. Keep reading to figure out whether these books are appropriate for you, and whether you should integrate these as part of your personal prep program.

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Full Expert Review: The Official SAT Study Guide

 

The Official SAT Study Guide is the most important book to have in your prep program. Nearly every student who's serious about SAT prep has this in his or her library.

Even despite its obvious strengths, the book has its major drawbacks, and it will not be enough for most students. Read this detailed review to find out what the cons of this book are, and how you should integrate it as part of your prep.

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Average ACT Score - which one matters to you?

You're probably curious about how you stack up against average ACT scores. But how many types of averages are there, and which averages are important for you? How about the national average ACT score? Or ACT score averages by gender and by ethnicity?

We'll discuss official results for all these questions and tell you which ACT average actually matters for your future.

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Penn State SAT Scores

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Posted by Allen Cheng

Pennsylvania State University (also commonly know as Penn State) is one of the largest public universities in the country, with an annual enrollment of over 45,000. What SAT scores does it take to become one of these students?

Get an accurate, helpful look into your chances of getting into PSU here.

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NYU SAT Scores

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Posted by Allen Cheng

New York University is one of the largest private universities in the country, with over 5,000 freshmen enrolling each year. What SAT scores do you need to get into NYU?

Find your chances of getting into NYU here.

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Why Are My SAT Scores "Not Yet Available"? Take Action Now

The dreaded date has come: SAT score release date. You've waited for this day. You log in, and the College Board gives you a stern warning: "not yet available." What does this mean?!

Unfortunately, your scores are delayed. Learn the most common reasons that your SAT scores might be delayed and how to fix this and speed up your score delivery.

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The Definitive Guide to the Xiggi Method for SAT Prep

The Xiggi Method was written by a popular member of the forum CollegeConfidential. After scoring well on the SAT, he wrote 10 pages of his top tips for SAT prep. The value in the Xiggi Method, however, is not just in reading the guide, but in understanding how to put it into action in your own study plan. As he notes himself, "there are no earth-shattering secrets...it's mostly based on common sense." Therefore, to get the most out of the Xiggi Method, you need to understand critical ways that it may not apply to you and know how to move forward to guide your own SAT prep. Read on for our detailed guide to the Xiggi Method and how to use it.

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Breaking Down the New SAT: Math (Part 5 of 6)

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Posted by Allen Cheng

MATH

Overall Gist:

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Breaking Down the New SAT: Essay (Part 4 of 6)

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Posted by Allen Cheng

ESSAY

Overall Gist:

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Breaking Down the New SAT: Writing and Language (Part 3 of 6)

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Posted by Allen Cheng

WRITING AND LANGUAGE

Overall Gist:

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Breaking Down the New SAT: Guide Summary and Conclusion (Part 6 of 6)

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Posted by Allen Cheng

Conclusion:

resources-blog

We've gone through all the tips for how the new sat is different, and how that means the guide to studying for the new SAT will be different.  At this point, we can conclude that ...

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Breaking Down the New SAT: Guide to Reading (Part 2 of 6)

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Posted by Allen Cheng

READING

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Overall Gist:

  • All questions are now based on passages.
  • The subject matter of passages are pre-determined. There's 1 passage concerning US and World Literature, 2 for History/Social Studies, and 2 for Science.
  • Some passages will now contain data and require interpretation of data.

Greater emphasis 

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