SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Planning to take the SAT? Before you sign up, you need to decide whether you're going to take the test with or without the optional Essay. How should you pick? Well, some colleges require that you apply with the SAT with Essay; others don't care whether you submit an SAT score with or without the Essay.

In this article, I'll provide you with a complete list of colleges that require or recommend taking the SAT with the Essay.

Trigonometry and radians are new additions to the SAT Math section! Do you love SOHCAHTOA and ${π}$ angle measurements? Do you hate trigonometry and radians and don't know what SOHCAHTOA or ${π}/{2}$ means? No matter how you feel about SAT trigonometry, there is no need to stress. In this guide, I'll let you know everything you need to know about trigonometry and radians for the SAT Math test and guide you through some practice problems.

The ACT is scored on a scale of 1-36. But how exactly do you end up with a composite score on this scale when you answer a lot more than 36 total questions? In this article, we'll walk through the steps needed to calculate your ACT composite score, including how to calculate your raw scores and convert these into scaled scores.

Interested in pursuing a career in medicine? If you are, being a hospital volunteer in high school is a fantastic way to test out the profession. If you're not interested in pursuing a career in medicine but still want to volunteer, that's great too!

Being a hospital volunteer is very rewarding, but it's also a lot of hard work. How can you become a hospital volunteer? Why should you volunteer at a hospital? What are the main duties of a hospital volunteer? I'll answer these questions and more in this guide.

Thinking about starting a club? It's a great way to meet people with similar interests, do an activity you enjoy, learn more about an activity you're interested in, and gain leadership experience for your college application! But what are good clubs to start in high school? In this article, I'll give you a list of dozens of clubs you can start!

Whatever your ACT Math prep plan, whether you're doing self-study, a class, or working with a tutor, you need to be working with real ACT Math practice materials. The ACT Math test will be unlike any other Math test you've taken. You need to work with the real material to get used to the pacing and style of this unique test. In this guide, I'll let you know where to find free and paid official ACT Math practice tests.

Do you have messy handwriting? If so, trust me, you're not alone. Given only 40 minutes to plan and write an essay, most students end up with at least slightly sloppy handwriting. How does bad handwriting affect your ACT Writing score? Can you end up with a lower score? Can you end up with a score of zero? I've got the answers to these questions along with more ACT Writing advice.

You know your SAT score is important for college admissions and even things like scholarships, but how does your SAT score get calculated? I'll show the steps to calculating your final SAT score so you can get an accurate idea of how well you're doing on the exam.

Taking the ACT is stressful—some test you've never seen before will affect where you go to college. As a high school student, I felt anxious taking the ACT because I hadn't done any practice and had no idea whether I'd reach my target score.

One way to mitigate nerves surrounding the ACT is to try to predict your ACT score. If you find out your estimate is close to your target score, you'll feel relieved. If it's low, at least you'll know you need to do more preparation before taking the test.

What is the best ACT score predictor? What should you do with your estimated ACT score? In this guide, I'll walk you through the different ways to predict your ACT score and explain the pros and cons of each. I'll also let you know how to use your estimated score to your advantage.

Gemini traits are more varied than those of other astrological signs. While most signs have one very prominent trait (for example, Capricorns are notoriously ambitious), Geminis, those born between May 21 and June 21, can be social, talkative, and whimsical, but they can also be indecisive or nosy. Some Geminis love to be the center of attention; others love to gossip. They're typically passionate yet easy-going beings who are always down for an adventure or intellectual conversation.

If you hang out with a Gemini, only one thing's certain: you'll never be bored.

While you may have been told you need zero science knowledge to answer any ACT Science questions, this is NOT true. There are typically around four questions per test that you cannot answer without previous background knowledge. That's the difference between a 31 and a 36 on the Science section!

In this article, I will give an overview of the 18 topics that will NOT be explained in the ACT Science passages that the ACT expects you to know. The ACT assumes you know these topics from school and science class. To gather this info, I dissected dozens of previous ACT Science test sections to find the concepts you have to know. As far as we can tell, we're the only ones who have taken the time to research this.

If you've gotten bad grades in science classes in school, this article will give you a refresher on the only concepts you need to know.

The college application process can be stressful, but don't worry, if you hope to attend a four-year university and have a low ACT score, there is quite possibly a college for you!

In this article, I list the universities with the lowest 25th percentile ACT scores for their admitted students. The 25th percentile ACT score signifies that 25% of admitted applicants to the school received an ACT score at or below that number. The 75th percentile ACT score signifies that 75% of admitted applicants to the school received an ACT score at or below that score (25% scored higher). I will also explain why you shouldn't always judge the colleges by their low 25th/75th percentile ACT.

Applying to college is a nerve-wracking process, but have no fear: if you want to go to college even with a low SAT score, there is most likely a school for you!

In this article, I'll list the colleges with the lowest 25th percentile SAT scores for their admitted students. The 25th percentile SAT score means that 25% of admitted students to that university scored at or below that number; the 75th percentile SAT score means that 75% of admitted students scored at or below that score (25% scored higher). I'll also explain why their low SAT criterion doesn’t necessarily mean the university is bad.

You're in an IB Diploma Programme or a few IB classes, and you have slaved all year (or two years) studying for your SLs and HLs. You sat for the exams - where you probably developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, you can relate a little too well to this video, but you are hoping you did a little bit better on your IB exams. So when do you get your scores? How do you get your scores? What does your score mean? I will answer all of these questions and more in this article.

IB students around the globe fear writing the Extended Essay, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress! In this article, I'll get you excited about writing your Extended Essay and provide you with the resources you need to get an A.

If you're reading this article, I assume you're an IB Student getting ready to write your Extended Essay. If you're looking at this as a potential future IB student, I recommend reading our other introductory IB articles first: What is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program? and What is the IB Curriculum? What are IB Diploma Requirements?