SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

With tuition rising every year, more and more students are asking themselves, "Is college worth it?" Many people believe that getting a college education is an important part of becoming a successful adult. Others, however, find it difficult to justify the increasing investment necessary to earn a degree. There’s no one path that’s right for everyone, and it can be difficult to think critically about the decision to go to college when you’re feeling pressured one way or another.

There’s no simple answer to this question, but there is a rational way to think about whether college is the right path for you. Just as with any investment, you want to think about the relationship between what you put into it (like money, time, and effort) and what you get out of it (like education, networking, and career opportunities). The more you get out of it as compared to how much you put in, the better the investment.

In this post, I'll go through all the potential benefits and drawbacks of pursuing a four-year bachelor's degree so you have all the information to decide for yourself whether college is worth it. 

If you want to save in a smart way for college (either for yourself or your child), you’ll want to make the most of your money. One of the best savings plans meant specifically for growing a college fund is called a 529 plan, or a qualified tuition plan.

But what is a 529 plan? Like any sort of investment plan, there are several types of 529s, all with their own benefits and drawbacks. In this post, I’ll talk about the basics of 529 plans, why they’re helpful, whether they affect financial aid, and where you can get one.

If you’ve started researching colleges, you’ve probably seen the term “liberal arts school” thrown around quite a bit without really understanding what it means. What is a liberal arts college, actually?  And how is it different from other sorts of colleges and universities?

It’s hard to get a straight answer when it comes to defining a liberal arts college. In this post, I’ll dive a little deeper into defining the liberal arts before explaining what it means to get a liberal arts education. Then, I’ll talk about how these colleges differ from non-liberal arts schools and how that may affect your educational experience.

If you (or your child) are applying to a private or independent elementary, middle, or high school, you may have heard of the SSAT. Often used as an entrance exam, the SSAT is a series of standardized tests that can be administered to students in grades 3-11.

The SSAT, or Secondary School Admissions Test, is a standardized exam often given to students hoping to enter a private or independent elementary, middle, or high school. If you want to boost your chances of getting into one of these schools, working on SSAT practice tests is a great way to do it. Here, I’ll discuss where you can find these practice tests (both official and unofficial), and how you should use them. I’ll wrap up with important SSAT test-taking tips.

There's so much info out there about doing well on the ACT - a lot of it is really helpful when it comes to preparing for the test! But this onslaught of information can get pretty overwhelming, especially when you just want a simple answer to a simple question: how do you pass the ACT? 

The SAT is one of the most important tests you’ll take in high school. When you take a test in class, there are clear guidelines for passing and failing - wouldn’t it be nice to have the same thing for the SAT?

Here, I’ll talk about exactly what it means to pass the test (spoiler: it’s different for everybody) before giving you tips and strategies fo how to pass the SAT and get the score you need.

If you want to do well on the ACT, it's not enough to just study test content. You have to know the test inside and out, including what questions to expect, what reading passages to anticipate, and what topic areas you'll encounter the most.

Being this familiar with the test will help you improve your score in a significant way—it's much more effective than just focusing on test content. In this post, I'll go over everything you need to know about how the ACT is written, including format, content, and question types. At the end, I'll tell you exactly what you can do to successfully incorporate this knowledge into your ACT study plan.

The ACT has just announced its first official partnership with a test prep company: Kaplan. This may be big news for students who are planning to take the ACT - in cooperation with Kaplan, ACT, Inc. will be providing a low-cost (or even free) test prep program called ACT® Kaplan Online Prep Live.

There isn’t a ton of information just yet about the quality of the new test prep platform - students won’t be able to access it for a while - but we do know what the program should include and what it should cost. Free streaming courses are airing live in advance of the program launch - you can read more about what these courses are like towards the end of the post.

Read more to find out what this new test prep partnership will mean for you!

What's more exciting than educating a new generation of students? If you're interested in becoming a teacher and want some information about how to succeed in this profession, you're in the right place. Here, I'll walk you through how to become a teacher, explaining the steps you need to take in high school, college, and beyond.

First, though, I'll touch briefly on the occupational outlook for teachers in the US—this way, you'll be informed about projected job availability and income levels before jumping in.

Paying for college is already stressful and a bit overwhelming - applying for scholarships shouldn’t be too. To help you navigate the process of finding (and applying for) this helpful type of financial aid, we’ve put together this strategy guide with everything you need to know about how to find scholarships that are right for you.

You’ll learn about searching for awards in the right places (perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process), selecting the right scholarships, and putting together high-quality applications.

Let’s get started!

After you take the SAT, your score will be determined by the little bubbles you fill in on your scantron sheet - a sheet where there’s no place to show your work.

It’s normal (even important) to want to take notes and work through problems. Since you won't receive any extra scratch paper in the testing room, your SAT booklet is the place to do it. Here, I’ll go over what, how, and even why you should write in your test booklet. That little stack of paper might end up more helpful than you expected.

Searching for relevant scholarships is perhaps the most frustrating part of the scholarship application process. There are so many awards out there, but it’s hard to know which ones are worth applying to without carefully sifting through an overwhelming amount of information.

To make your search just a little bit easier, we’ve compiled some of the best scholarship websites (and offline search tools!) you can use to find scholarships. Of course, some are better than others - I’ll also go into the strengths and weaknesses of each scholarship search method.

At the end of the post, you’ll find tips for getting the most out of these scholarship search tools. They’re only helpful if you know how to use them effectively and efficiently - these strategies will help you navigate the (sometimes confusing) world of scholarship search tools.

I don’t know about you, but scratch paper is really useful for me when I’m working through a test. You might know that you’re not allowed to bring paper or notebooks in with you when you take the ACT - you also won't get scratch paper. But are you allowed to write on the ACT test booklet?

The short answer is yes, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Here, I’ll go through exactly when and why you’re allowed to write on the booklet. Then, I’ll tell you how you can use the ACT booklet to your advantage by taking the most effective notes possible.

Planning the night before the test is the last thing you really have to worry about before taking the ACT. But how do you know what to do so that you get the best score possible the next day?

This comprehensive guide will lay out everything you should (and shouldn’t) do before you head to bed the night before the ACT. Follow these tips - covering everything from logistical concerns to last-minute exam prep - to wake up confident, refreshed, and ready.

Let’s get started!

Looking through pages and pages of SAT advice, tips, and strategies can get a bit overwhelming. If you’re looking for the information on the most important things to know about taking the SAT, you’ve come to the right place.

Here, I’ll lay out my best SAT advice: five tips to help you excel when you take the test. Read on to get the short and sweet version of everything you need to know.