SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Figuring out the best ACT test date for you isn’t always easy, especially if you’re stuck debating between two or more upcoming ACTs. Before you choose a date, ask yourself: which date will work best with your schedule? Will you have any obligations or extracurriculars around that time? When are your college application deadlines?

This guide introduces all upcoming ACT test dates for the 2018-19 testing year and also offers specific advice on the best possible dates for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Interested in attending a Jesuit college? You’ve probably come across a few in your college search and didn’t even know it. Jesuit colleges are private colleges affiliated with the Jesuit order (a form of Catholicism). However, you don’t need to be a Jesuit or a Catholic in order to attend one of these schools—or to get the most out of your experience at one.

If you’re strongly considering going to a Jesuit college, you're probably wondering just how good these colleges really are, academically speaking. In this guide, we introduce our picks for the top 11 Jesuit colleges in the US. We then offer some tips on whether you should attend one or not.

Before we go over our list of Jesuit colleges, though, let's briefly go over what a Jesuit college is.

As you apply to college, it's important to understand how high of an SAT score you will need to aim for on test day. This raises the question: what are good SAT scores for colleges? And not just any colleges, but your colleges specifically?

In this article, we’ll examine the SAT scores needed for college and how these scores can vary due to differences in factors such as school prestige and competitiveness. We’ll then show you how to look for average SAT scores for colleges and how to set your own SAT goal score.

Getting ready to take the PreACT? Then you might be wondering whether you should prep for it—and what resources you can use. Is there a PreACT practice test you can take? What kinds of PreACT resources does ACT, Inc. offer?

Keep reading to learn why it’s a good idea to lightly prep for the PreACT, and get a comprehensive list of the best PreACT practice tests and materials you can use in your studying.

If you’re planning to take the ACT, it’s a good idea to take the PreACT, too. This test is essentially a practice ACT for high school sophomores. But exactly when is the PreACT? Are there multiple PreACT test dates you can choose from? We answer these questions and more in this guide. In addition, we give you a few key tips on how to prep for the PreACT.

You’ve sent out your applications and can't stop envisioning yourself at your top-choice school. But then the unthinkable happens: you get a college rejection letter. You start to wonder: what went wrong? What do I do now? Is it still possible to attend my top-choice school?

The truth is that I've been in this exact same situation. In 2008, I got rejected from my top-choice school, Stanford. Though the rejection letter hurt, on the plus side, it taught me a lot about what I did wrong, both in my application and my overall high school career.

In this article, I use my own rejection experience as a guide to explain how likely a college rejection is for you, how to avoid getting rejected from college, and the steps to take in case your top-choice school just isn’t that into you.

A solid vocabulary is essential to getting a high SAT score. But what methods can give you the quality SAT vocab practice you'll need to succeed on test day? After all, just reading a lengthy list of vocab words doesn't necessarily mean you'll know how to use them in a sentence or be able to remember what they mean on during the exam.

We explain how important vocab is on the SAT and how it’s tested. More importantly, we give you our top four vocab study methods as well as our picks for the five best resources to use for quality SAT vocabulary practice. Read on to learn what these are!

Whether you’re taking the SAT, the ACT, an SAT Subject Test, the PSAT, an AP exam, a final, or any other test for high school, it's essential to know what to do beforehand so you can give yourself the best shot at getting a high score.

In this guide, we introduce our top 11 tips for what to do before a test, from how to study for a test the night before to how to relax before a test using deep breathing.

A lot of students immediately think of vocabulary when they hear the word SAT. But are SAT vocab words really that important for doing well on the test? Kind of. If you’re aiming for a high score, you’ll definitely want to spend some time learning key SAT words.

In this guide, we give you a comprehensive list of 262 of the most common SAT vocabulary words. We also explain how vocab is tested on the SAT, what types of questions you’ll see, and how to get the most out of your vocab prep.

Although the PSAT and SAT share many similarities, their score ranges are actually pretty different. Unlike the SAT score range, which reaches a maximum of 1600, the PSAT score range only goes up to 1520. But why? What are the score ranges for each PSAT section? Can you use the PSAT scoring scale to predict your SAT score?

In this article, we’ll introduce the current PSAT scores range and PSAT score distribution. We'll then compare PSAT score ranges with SAT score ranges before concluding our analysis with a list of approximate PSAT score cutoffs for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Planning to take the ACT in the 2017-18 school year? In addition to studying for the test, you'll need to know what score to aim for. What is a good ACT score for 2018? What's a good score for each section? Has the definition of a good ACT score changed over time?

We’ll start by looking at what are considered good ACT scores for 2018 using the average score and percentiles. After, we'll go over how to set an ACT goal score and then examine historical ACT score data to see whether the definition of good ACT scores has changed in recent years.

The best way to attack the ACT is to use an ACT study plan. With a study plan, you can manage your prep time more easily, figure out your weaknesses, and hone the skills you need to get the score you want on test day.

We give you four top-notch ACT plans to choose from, based on your ACT score goals. Before we take a look at those, though, let’s go over the benefits of having an ACT schedule and the steps needed to find the right ACT study plan for you.

Many juniors and even sophomores take the PSAT every fall to prepare for the SAT. But the PSAT isn’t a college admission test, so do you actually need to prep for it? The reality is, PSAT prep can strongly benefit you, especially if you're hoping to nab a National Merit scholarship or get a high score on the SAT. 

In this article, we explain why PSAT prep is important and go over how to prepare for the PSAT using five simple steps. In addition, we discuss what kinds of resources are ultimately unnecessary for quality PSAT preparation as well as how PSAT prep differs from SAT prep.

To do well on the SAT, you’ll need to have an SAT study plan. This plan tells you what, when, and how to prep for the SAT. It also helps you manage your time so that you’re not focusing too much (or too little) on certain topics and skills.

In this guide, we give you four SAT study plans to choose from, based on your SAT score goals. Before we dive into those, though, let’s go over the benefits of having an SAT study schedule and the preliminary steps you'll need to take to get your SAT plan off the ground.

At PrepScholar, we've written the best online ACT prep guides available, covering everything you need to know to improve your score on the ACT. They're all available right here on our blog, and we think they beat any book you can purchase. What's more, they’re completely free!

This guide—our Ultimate ACT Prep Guide—collects all of our most important ACT study guides and articles in one place. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to ace the ACT and improve your college admission chances.

We'll start off by briefly going over how to use this guide. Then, we'll go section by section through the most critical pieces of information you'll need to know to get a high ACT score. Here's an outline of what this free ACT study guide includes: