SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

When it comes to your college applications, you probably aren’t too worried about your ACT scores— unless, that is, you think your scores will be too low.

Don’t panic just yet! Like most things in life, ACT scores are all relative — there’s no such thing as a bad ACT score in a vacuum.  In this post, I’ll talk about what it means to have a “bad” score in relation to the entire US, your general peer group, your prospective colleges, and (maybe most importantly) yourself.

This article would be a pretty short one if there were a single answer to the question of what qualifies as an excellent ACT score. Like most things in life, however, what you might consider an excellent score depends on your perspective.

In this post, I’ll talk about different ways to understand what counts as excellent test performance. I’ll start off with excellent scores in relation to the general population before discussing more nuanced comparisons: what does it mean to have an excellent score when considering your peer group performance, your target schools, and your own strengths and weaknesses?

Many students worry that a bad SAT score will be the kiss of death for their college applications. The SAT is an important part of the admissions process, so you obviously don’t want to submit a crummy score—but how do you know whether your score is all that bad to begin with?

If you're worried about low scores, understanding where your scores stand in relation to other students’ is the first step to improvement. In this post, I’ll talk about comparing your own scores to those of the general population, your peer group, your target schools, and even your own potential scores. I'll finish off with strategies to bring up scores no matter your goals or study timeline. With this information, you'll be well-prepared to make necessary steps in improving your SAT scores.

The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the one application you’ll need to submit in order to be considered for all forms of federal aid. If you’re interested in financial aid at all (even if you’re thinking about private funding sources or school-based aid), it’s of the utmost importance you submit one of these applications.

The application itself seems daunting at first, but with a little bit of forethought and a few hours of your time, you’ll be able to complete it successfully! I'll start off this post with some info about the FASFA, before moving on to step-by-step instructions on how to apply for FAFSA. Finally, I'll give you some tips on what you should be doing after your submit your FAFSA.

Ready to get some financial aid? We'll present everything you must know in order to apply most successfully.

You know it’s important for you to do well on the SATs because better scores will get you into a better college - top colleges want high SAT scores because they are supposed to indicate insight that a particular student is academically strong. Ultimately, a better college education is supposed to help you be more successful in your career. But do your SAT scores really speak to how competent or prepared you are as a potential student? And does a great college really increase your chances of professional success? These are tough, but important, questions - I’ll address them all here.

First, I’ll talk about what the research says about the relationships between SAT scores, college success, and income. Then, I’ll present some explanations for why these factors are (or are not) related - it might not be for the reasons you think. So what’s the real relationship between your SAT scores, college success, and income? Why do these questions even matter? Read on to find out!

The SAT score is one of the most important parts of your college applications because it's one of the only things that's standardized. When all student applicants are taking the same exam, admissions officers can use it as a barometer to compare students that come from different backgrounds, educations, strengths, weaknesses, and intellectual abilities.

If all students take the same exam, and all admissions officers look at those exam scores in the same way, then it should be easy to figure out what an excellent SAT score is, right? Not necessarily. Like most things, an excellent SAT score is all relative. In this post, I'll talk about different types of "excellent" scores in relation to the entire US, your general peer group, your prospective colleges, and (maybe most importantly) yourself.

For many students, loans are vital to being able to afford an education. The cost of a college education in the US is cost-prohibitive for many families, and loans help to close the gap between what school costs and what families can actually afford. As of last year, over 40 million Americans are working to pay off student debt.

Learning how to get student loans sounds daunting and burdensome, but if you’re smart about how and where you get your loans, taking on debt can be a manageable option. Here, I’ll walk you through all the steps to getting student loans, including calculating your own need, finding loans, applying for loans, and managing repayment. 

First, though, I'll talk a little bit about how student loans work. 

When you take out a loan, the expectation is that you'll pay back all the money you've borrowed (plus interest, of course). It usually takes pretty catastrophic circumstances for a federal student loan to be canceled, like your school shutting down before you can get your degree.

The Perkins loan program is different, in a good way - it offers loan forgiveness/cancellation in a wide variety of other, happier circumstances. In an effort to encourage graduates to pursue certain public service careers, the loan program offers loan forgiveness, or cancellation, to borrowers in certain professions. If you have a Perkins loan and enter one of the fields I outline below, you could have up to 100% of your loan canceled. Read on to learn more about cancellation eligibility & the loan cancellation process!

If you're thinking about going to college, you probably know by now that an education is, well, expensive. It's not just tuition you're worried about—there are so many other costs associated with forging out on your own, especially if you'll be living away from home for the first time. The best way to tackle these expenses? First, you have to educate yourself about the reality of college costs.

In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through all the expenses you'll need to consider when you go to college, both obvious and not-so-obvious. Then, I'll discuss factors that affect how much money you and your family actually pay out-of-pocket—it's not as hard as you think to get a first-rate education for a bargain.

Looking to gain a little more independence and real-world experience? Hoping to develop some useful professional skills? Getting a job as a teenager is a great way to work towards these goals. In this post, I'll talk a little bit about why you should (or shouldn't) get a job, before telling you what you should be looking for in your first part-time position. Read to the end for tips & strategies on finding the best job for you!

If you're brainstorming different methods of funding your college education, you've likely considered working your way through school. The federally-funded Work Study program exists to make this option a little more viable. You don't receive a loan or a grant - instead, you get a job that exists partly because this program subsidizes your wages.

Work-study awards are unique components of many students' financial aid packages. Because these awards are so different from your typical loan, grant, or scholarship, you might have questions about how they work, exactly. In this post, I'll go over everything you need to know about Work Study.

There are a lot of great federal aid options out there, for every type of student. The Perkins loan may just be one of many types of federal loans, but it comes with a lot of perks that make it worth an in-depth look. I'll go through all the information you need about this loan program, before telling you how to get your own Perkins loan. 

You have a general idea of what it means to take out a loan, but calling a loan "unsubsidized" makes it sound a bit suspicious. What is an unsubsidized loan, and how are they different from subsidized loans? Are they good options if you're considering taking on student debt?

Here's the unsubsidized loan definition: a Direct Unsubsidized loan is one type of financial aid provided by the US federal government, or more specifically, the US Department of Education. You can also receive Direct Subsidized loans as part of your financial aid package.

In this post, I'll discuss why these loans exist, before talking in more detail about how loans usually work. With this information, you'll be able to get a full understanding of the details of Direct Unsubsidized loans and whether they may be a good option for you.

In looking over the financial aid packages that colleges provide, you might see some terms that are unfamiliar. You have a general idea of what a loan is—you borrow money now, and pay it back later (plus some extra)—but what's a Direct Subsidized Loan? As it turns out, subsidized student loans are pretty unique (in a good way).

So what is a subsidized loan? How do you define subsidized and compare it to unsubsidized loans?

A Direct Subsidized student loan is one type of financial aid provided by the US federal government, or more specifically, the US Department of Education. You can also get Direct Unsubsidized student loans as part of your federal financial aid package. Before we get into the specifics of subsidized loans, I'll talk a little bit about why these loans exist, and how loans usually work.

If there's a gap between what you actually have to pay for college and your school's price tag, you might be considering taking out student loans. What you might not know is that there are different types of student loans, with different terms and restrictions.

First, we'll cover the basics of what it means to take on student debt. Then, we'll walk you through the differences between two major federal loan types: Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized. If you want a quick overview, just jump to the end of the article for a side-by-side comparison!