SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Are you a high achieving student who’s used to getting good grades in school? Were you expecting a similarly high standardized test score and were disappointed when you got your scores back?

I have two pieces of good news: 1. You are not alone; this problem is a lot more common than you probably think. 2. There are ways to improve your test taking skills and raise your score. This guide will go over the most common reasons smart students get low scores on standardized tests and give step-by-step guidelines for solving the problem.

Standardized test scores have long had an important place in college admissions, as well as for some jobs. Schools and employers want to they accept the most talented people, so they often use SAT scores to judge intelligence and future success. However, some common beliefs about what SAT scores represent are actually false.

Read this guide to learn what information SAT scores can and cannot be used to determine and maximize the usefulness of standardized test scores for your school, business, or committee.

Like most students who take the ACT, you may have taken the test more than once or are thinking about taking it multiple times. How will colleges look at your multiple test scores? Will they look at all your scores? Just your highest score? Will they average your scores and use that number? Standardized test scores are an important part of applying to college, but it’s not always clear how colleges will determine your ACT scores if you’ve taken the test more than once.

Do you think that you may have gotten someone else’s scores by mistake or that there was another scoring error?

SAT scoring mistakes are rare, but they do happen. This guide will go over the steps you need to take in order to verify your scores, as well as what you should do to improve your score on future SATs if there was no scoring error.

Choosing the best way to practice for the SAT can be difficult; there are a lot of study options out there, but not all of them may give you an accurate indicator of how well you’ll do on test day. Taking SAT practice tests under realistic testing conditions is a great way to practice for the SAT and get an estimate what your score will be on the real test. 

There are many free SAT practice tests available that you can take in your own home, however; it can be challenging to simulate real test-taking conditions. The closer the conditions of your practice test are to the real SAT, the more useful and accurate your results will be. Read on to learn how you can recreate realistic testing conditions at home in order to get the most accurate results from SAT practice tests.

Have you been significantly involved in community service or volunteer work? Will you be applying to college soon? Good news! You can use your community service experiences as a way to help pay for college or to fund future volunteer projects. 

Read on to learn what community scholarships are, how you can find one, and how you can increase your chances of winning one.

The SAT is a long exam, and it tests your knowledge of a lot of topics. To get a top score, you'll need to have strong skills across reading comprehension, algebra, grammar, geometry and more. The SAT is also infamous for its tricky wording and sometimes confusing questions.

To excel on the SAT, you need to know what to expect from it, and the best way to do that is to become familiar with the types of questions you'll see on the test. That's where we come in! This guide includes official sample questions from Khan Academy for every type of SAT question you'll see for both the Reading and Writing section and Math section. There are over a dozen question types, and we explain them all with these new sample SAT questions. We'll also go over what to expect from the exam and where you can find additional study resources.

The same way that musicians practice their concerts before going in front of a live audience and athletes have scrimmages before a game, it’s important to practice taking the ACT before you sit down for the real exam.

There are many free ACT practice tests available that you can take in your own home, however; it can be difficult to simulate real test-taking conditions. The closer the conditions of your practice test are to the real ACT, the more useful and accurate your results will be.

Read this guide to learn ways that students and parents can create realistic test conditions in order to achieve the most accurate results from ACT practice tests.

Are you trying to register for the SAT but can't find any testing centers close to where you live? What should you do?

College Board, the corporation that develops and administers the SAT, offers a way for students to take the SAT at a location closer to them, called “testing closer to home.” Read on to learn more about this special accommodation, its benefits and drawbacks, and how to apply for it.

Have you taken the ACT or will you be taking it in the future? If so, you may have heard of ACT college and school codes.

These codes are used to ensure that your ACT scores get sent to the proper school. Read on to learn everything you need to know about them.

If you’ve taken the SAT or will be taking it, you may have heard of something called SAT college and school codes and wondered what they are.

This guide will explain everything you need to know about SAT college and school codes: what they are, why they’re important, and when you’ll need to use them.

Have you heard about volunteer abroad programs and are wondering if you should participate in one? Volunteer abroad programs can provide amazing experiences and the opportunity to help improve the world, but they can also be expensive, frustrating, and at times ineffective.

Read this guide to learn about potential positive and negative effects of volunteer abroad programs and to learn whether you should participate in one.

Are you a college student or starting college soon and wondering which extracurricular activities you should be involved in? Extracurriculars are an important part of college, and they are a great way to meet new people and try new activities.

Read this guide to learn how to choose the best extracurricular activities to help you meet new people, learn about future careers, and explore new interests in college.

Are you thinking about applying to an art program? Do you know what you should include in your portfolio? Your art portfolio is usually the most important part of your application, and having a great one can significantly improve your chances of getting into your top schools.