SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Rebecca Safier

Rebecca graduated with her Master's in Adolescent Counseling from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT.

Recent Posts

Best SAT Math Prep Books (2024): Expert Reviews

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Aug 29, 2023 12:00:00 PM

SAT General Info

While there are many different SAT prep books, they all have one thing in common: they all claim to be the best. How can you figure out which one will actually help you succeed on the SAT?

This guide will give you my recommendations for the best prep books for the Math section of the SAT. Some of these books are best for strategies and thinking through the problems, while others are best for practice problems. A few are geared toward top scorers, while some will help you improve a low score fast.

Before delving into the list, I have to make one disclaimer:

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How to Get a College Application Fee Waiver: 3 Approaches

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Aug 21, 2023 6:00:00 PM

College Admissions

Most college application fees fall in the $40 to $50 range, with some costing as much as $90 (ahem, Stanford). For many students and their families, these fees present a serious obstacle along the already pricey path to college. If application fees are burdensome to you, you might qualify for college application fee waivers.

Just like SAT and ACT fee waivers, these college fee waivers allow you to send off your applications for free. This guide will go over how you can qualify for and use college application fee waivers; it'll also review how much college apps usually cost and how much you can save with fee waivers.

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What's a Good PSAT Score for a Freshman?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Apr 25, 2023 10:00:00 AM

PSAT Info and Strategies

If you're gearing up for a high PSAT score your junior year, then you might choose to take the PSAT as a freshman for practice. Taking the PSAT in 9th grade will help you identify your current scoring level and figure out how you can improve for the future.

As a freshman, you can choose between two tests: the PSAT/NMSQT that 11th graders take or the PSAT 8/9, a version of the test specifically geared toward 8th and 9th graders.

These two tests have comparable but slightly different score ranges. This article will go over the scoring and percentiles of both so you can know what would make a good PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 8/9 score as a freshman.

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What's a Good PSAT Score for a Sophomore?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Apr 19, 2023 4:30:00 PM

SAT/ACT Score Target, PSAT Info and Strategies

You wouldn't go for your driver's license test before ever getting behind the wheel, right? In reality, you'd practice your three-point turns and parallel parking first so you're ready and know what to expect when the real test comes.

Just as you suspected, this scenario is an analogy for the PSAT. Rather than sitting for it junior year without a practice run, you can improve your performance if you've already taken it in 10th grade. Taking the PSAT as a sophomore is a great, low-pressure way to familiarize yourself with the test, gauge your level, and figure out where you need to improve.

With this in mind, we'll look at what PSAT scores are good for sophomores and how to improve them even more for junior year. But first, let's consider how the PSAT is scored.

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What's a Good PSAT Score for a Junior?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Mar 29, 2023 4:00:00 PM

PSAT Info and Strategies

The PSAT is an important test on the road to college. Your scores predict how you'll do on the SAT. Plus, top scorers can earn distinctions and scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

So how do you know whether your PSAT scores are good? While what counts as a good score varies depending on your personal goals, we can give a more objective answer to this question by considering PSAT score percentiles. But first, let's review how the PSAT is scored.

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NCAA ACT Scores: What You Need to Qualify

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Dec 10, 2022 9:30:00 PM

SAT/ACT Score Target

If you're a student athlete who wants to play in NCAA Division I or Division II sports in college, then this article is for you! We'll review NCAA's eligibility criteria for your GPA and ACT score, which NCAA compares using a sliding scale. More importantly, we'll give you the tips and strategies you need to achieve the NCAA ACT scores required for passing the clearinghouse.

First, let's quickly review how your grade point average, or GPA, is determined.

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Colleges With Late Application Deadlines: Complete List

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Dec 4, 2022 8:30:00 AM

College Admissions

If you're wondering whether there are any colleges with late application deadlines, you're in luck! Lots of colleges have application deadlines in February or later, and many more keep rolling admissions open until all their spots have been filled.

Here, we give you a full list of colleges with late application deadlines. But before diving into this list, let's consider an important question: what exactly is considered a normal deadline?

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Does Your PSAT Score Qualify for National Merit?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Nov 14, 2022 4:30:00 PM

PSAT Info and Strategies

Are you gearing up to rock the PSAT this fall and wondering what score you need to qualify for National Merit? This guide will give you 51 different answers to that question.

Don't worry, it's not a complicated response. It's just that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) compares test takers on a state-by-state basis. To become a National Merit Semifinalist, you have to score in the top 1% of students in your state.

This guide will fill you in on all qualifying cutoff scores from coast to coast (plus Alaska and Hawaii) for the PSAT. But first, let's review exactly who qualifies for National Merit.

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When To Apply For College: Complete Timeline

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Oct 23, 2022 5:30:00 PM

College Admissions

Many students start college in the fall after they graduate high school, but their planning and applying starts years before. Application deadlines may be in the fall or winter of senior year, and completing each step on the path to college might start as early as freshman year.

This article answers all your questions about when to apply for college: when do you complete each step of the process, and when are your college deadlines? After reading this, you'll know exactly when to apply to college and what steps are needed.

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Complete List: BA/MD and BS/MD Programs in the US

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 22, 2022 9:00:00 PM

College Admissions

Do you dream of becoming a doctor? If you're set on going to medical school, then a combined BS/MD or BA/MD program might be for you. The majority of these combined programs allow motivated high school students to go right from undergraduate to medical school without having to go through another application process.

While there aren't a ton of spots available in combined programs, there are schools throughout the country that offer them. Before we look at those, however, let's review what BA/MD and BS/MD programs entail, as well as the pros and cons for high school and young undergraduate applicants.

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What is Early Decision? Should You Do It?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 20, 2022 11:30:00 AM

College Admissions

If you've heard the term early decision in college admissions, you've probably heard it with the word "binding." What exactly does binding early decision mean, and why do schools offer it?

This guide will clear up all your questions around early decision, from what it means to how it works. To begin, what is early decision and what makes it different than other college application options?

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What is Early Action and Early Admission?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 20, 2022 11:00:00 AM

College Admissions

Shakespeare once wrote, "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late." If you're someone who likes to get things done ahead of schedule, then you might consider applying about two or three months sooner than regular deadlines under an early action program. Early action lets you apply early to one or more colleges, and you find out if you got accepted earlier too.

This guide will go over the ins and outs of early action and the schools that offer it. Read on to figure out whether applying early action is right for you.

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PSAT Practice Tests (Updated)

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 19, 2022 12:00:00 PM

PSAT Info and Strategies

If you're looking for PSAT practice materials, you've come to the right place. This guide contains all free PSAT materials, which you can download—including 10 PSAT practice test PDFs.

Unfortunately, since the PSAT's 2015 makeover, the College Board hasn't released a ton of practice tests. Luckily, though, you can still use old PSAT practice tests effectively to prepare. Before getting to the practice questions, we'll go over some of the changes made to the PSAT in 2015. If you care about your PSAT score, read carefully so you don't waste your time studying the wrong things!

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Colleges That Superscore ACT: Complete List

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 6, 2022 11:00:00 AM

ACT General Info, College Admissions

Are you taking the ACT? Before registering, you should know how admissions officers look at your scores. Do they consider Math, Science, Reading, and English individually, or do they care more about the composite score?

You might be relieved to hear that many colleges "superscore" your ACT scores by taking the best subscores across all your test dates and creating the strongest possible composite score. Read on for the full list of colleges that superscore the ACT, followed by some tips on how you can use this policy to your advantage.

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What Is Rolling Admission? When Do You Apply?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier | Sep 4, 2022 2:00:00 PM

College Admissions

Who needs deadlines? Colleges with rolling admissions invite you to submit your application within a general time frame, usually ranging from the fall to the spring.

While these schools don't have a set deadline, your timeline for applying still matters. This guide will explore the rolling admission policy and how it affects your college planning. First, what is this application option all about?

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