Christine Sarikas

Christine scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She graduated summa cum laude from Michigan State University's Honors College with degrees in Plant Biology and Geography and received her Master's in Public Policy from Duke University. Christine has over ten years of experience in education and teaching.
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Recent Posts

What Is a Compound Sentence? Types and Examples

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | September 9, 2019

General Education

What is a compound sentence? How does it differ from a complex sentence? And there are compound-complex sentences, too? Don’t worry, we’ll help you keep them all straight! Read this guide to learn what a compound sentence is, what the different types of compound sentences are, what compound sentence examples look like, and what other sentence types you should know.

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ACT Test Dates 2019-2020

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | September 4, 2019

ACT

Choosing the right ACT test date can significantly impact the score you get. You want to choose a date that gives you both enough time to prepare for the test and enough time to send your scores to schools by their deadlines and potentially retake the ACT if you need to.

At PrepScholar, we constantly review the best data to inform you about future test dates so you can decide well in advance when you want to take the ACT. In this article, we give you the ACT test dates for 2019-2020 and explain the factors to consider in order to select the best test date for you.

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The 13 Original Colonies: A Complete History

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 27, 2019

General Education

You’ve likely heard of the 13 original colonies, but how much do you know about them? When were they created, why were they created, how did they gain their independence, and which states did they become? In this guide, we cover all the important and interesting facts about the 13 colonies, including the official name of each colony, when it was founded, and the role it played up to and during the Revolutionary War. We also give background on the colonies and explain how they eventually became independent states.

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Flashcards: The Ultimate Guide to Making and Using Them

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 27, 2019

General Education

Flashcards are an extremely common study tool and, if used correctly, can be one of the most effective ways to learn new information. However, you may not be using them the best way which can reduce how much and how quickly you learn. Want to be an expert flashcard studier? This is your guide! We’ll cover exactly what makes flashcards such a good study tool, where you can make your flashcards, the absolute best method for studying them, and tips to avoid common flashcard pitfalls.

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17 Great Teaching Tools for Organization, Assessment and More

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 19, 2019

General Education

If you’re a teacher, you’re already doing a lot, but luckily there are many tools available to make your job a little bit easier. Teaching tools can help with everything from creating quizzes to promoting good behavior, and many educators find them incredibly useful.

Practically anything can be a teaching tool; a handful of Post-It notes can be a tool if they help you with tasks like figuring out seating arrangements or keeping track of your calendar. However, for the purposes of this guide, we define teaching tools as an online resource that helps teachers with any aspect of their job. Read on to learn what tools for teachers can do and to read descriptions of 17 of the best teaching aids out there.

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The 5 Best SAT Prep Crash Courses: Which Is Right for You? · PrepScholar

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 13, 2019

SAT

If your SAT is only a few weeks away, you're asking a different question than students who start preparing months in advance.

You're not looking for a 100-hour prep program.

Instead, you want the fastest way to improve your score before test day.

That's where SAT crash courses come in.

This guide covers the best online SAT crash courses available in 2026. We compare the top live, instructor-led options from PrepScholar, The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and Prep Expert. We break down exactly what you get, how much you pay, and which program is the right fit for your timeline, score goal, and budget.

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11 Fun Toddler Learning Games for Your Preschooler

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 11, 2019

General Education

Looking for games that your toddler will both enjoy and gain important skills from? We’ve got you covered! In this guide, we go over 11 of the best toddler learning games. These educational games for toddlers can be played with few materials, one or more children, and toddlers of varying age ranges. For each game, we explain what skills it will teach toddlers and give instructions on how to set up and play the game.

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How Many Zeros in a Googol? A Googolplex?

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 5, 2019

General Education

What’s a googol, and does it have any relation to that similarly-named website? And what about a googolplex, how many zeros does it have? In this guide, we’ll give you googolplex and googol definitions, show how you can write them out, explain how they’re useful, and give examples on how you can start to understand huge numbers like these.

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The 5 Best ACT Prep Crash Courses: Which One Is Right for You?

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 1, 2019

ACT

Your ACT is coming up soon. How can you prepare for it?

Whether you have a few weeks or just a few days, the right ACT course can make a real difference in your score, but if you choose wisely.

This guide covers the best online ACT crash courses available in 2026. We compare the top live, instructor-led options from PrepScholar, The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and Prep Expert and break down exactly what you get, how much you pay, and which program is the right fit for your timeline, score goal, and budget.

We also address one of the biggest questions facing ACT test-takers right now: should you prep for the optional Science section?The Enhanced ACT, which rolled out fully in 2025–2026, made Science optional for the first time in the test's history, and different prep programs have handled that change in very different ways.

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The 22 Key Alchemy Symbols and Their Meanings

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | August 1, 2019

General Education

Have you seen images of alchemy symbols and want to know more about what they mean? Alchemy element symbols have been around for centuries, and people are often interested in them because they contain some of the mystique the field of alchemy does.

But what do those symbols mean? And how were the elements they represent used by alchemists? In this guide we’ll give a background on alchemy and alchemy symbols, then we’ll cover every major alchemy symbol, including what it stood for, the properties it was associated with, and any interesting facts that go along with the alchemy symbols and meanings.

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What Is Commensalism? Definition and Examples

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | July 30, 2019

General Education

Are you studying commensalism in biology class and looking for a good commensalism definition? Commensalism is one of the trickier types of symbiosis to understand, but we'll break it down for you. Read this article to discover what commensalism is, the different types of commensalism, commensalism examples in nature, and the other types of symbiosis and how they differ from commensalism.

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What Is a Vacuole? Understanding the 4 Main Functions

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | July 29, 2019

General Education

What is a vacuole and what does it do? A vacuole is a structure found in animal, plant, bacteria, protist, and fungi cells. It’s one of the largest organelles found in cells, and it’s shaped like a large sac. Vacuoles have a simple structure: they are surrounded by a thin membrane and filled with fluid and any molecules they take in. They look similar to vesicles, another organelle, because both are membrane-bound sacs, but vacuoles are significantly larger than vesicles and are formed when multiple vesicles fuse together.

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What Is Transcendentalism? Understanding the Movement

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | July 23, 2019

General Education

Confused about transcendentalism? You’re not alone! Transcendentalism is a movement that many people developed over a long period of time, and as a result, its complexity can make it hard to understand.

That’s where we come in. Read this article to learn a simple but complete transcendentalism definition, key transcendentalist beliefs, an overview of the movement's history, key players, and examples of transcendentalist works. By the end, you’ll have all the information you need to write about or discuss the transcendentalist movement.

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113 Perfect Persuasive Essay Topics for Any Assignment

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | June 19, 2019

General Education

Do you need to write a persuasive essay but aren’t sure what topic to focus on? Were you thrilled when your teacher said you could write about whatever you wanted but are now overwhelmed by the possibilities? We’re here to help!

Read on for a list of 113 top-notch persuasive essay topics, organized into ten categories. To help get you started, we also discuss what a persuasive essay is, how to choose a great topic, and what tips to keep in mind as you write your persuasive essay.

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5 Steps to Write a Great Analytical Essay

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Posted by Christine Sarikas | June 18, 2019

General Education

Do you need to write an analytical essay for school? What sets this kind of essay apart from other types, and what must you include when you write your own analytical essay? In this guide, we break down the process of writing an analytical essay by explaining the key factors your essay needs to have, providing you with an outline to help you structure your essay, and analyzing a complete analytical essay example so you can see what a finished essay looks like.

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