SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

The wait for PSAT results can be nerve-wracking. It's likely your first time taking an SAT-like test, and the PSAT can give you a sense of what range your final SAT score is likely to be. Plus, if you score high enough, there's a lot of potential scholarship money available.

So when is the wait over? When are PSAT scores released? In this guide, we explain when you'll get your PSAT results, walk you through the complete PSAT timeline, and offer some suggestions on what to do once you have your scores.

If you're coming up on your sophomore or junior year, you're probably wondering when you'll be taking the PSAT and how you should prepare. In this article, I'll tell you when the PSAT is offered this year, how to get ready, and how this relates to your future plans for the SAT.

If you’ve dreamed of becoming a doctor and adding MD to the end of your name, you’ve likely spent a lot of time thinking about how to get there. You’ve heard about the many years of schooling, clinicals and residencies and watched TV shows where doctors are exhausted from long shifts and tough cases.

Earning a medical degree is a long process with big rewards. There are many steps to getting there, and the first is determining what courses to take in college to prepare you for medical school.

We often use the term “pre-med” to define the college courses leading to medical school. But is pre-med a major? Is it something you can select when you declare your major on your college applications or early in your college career?

Affirmative action is one of the most hotly debated topics in college admissions today. With the 2023 from the Supreme Court that colleges and universities can no longer use their full affirmative action policies in admissions decisions, things are about to change in higher education.

If you’re applying to college and wondering what the new Supreme Court affirmative action decision is all about, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll answer the question, “What is affirmative action in college admissions?” and go over real examples of affirmative action in education policies and how colleges have used them historically.  

We’ll also explain how the upcoming changes to affirmative action in public and private schools might affect incoming students, and how to put together stellar college applications no matter what.  

So let’s get started.

If you’re considering taking the ACT or if you’ve already started prepping for it, you’re likely wondering how many questions you’ll face come test day. 

We know, we know—you probably have questions like, “how many questions are on the ACT in general?” and, “how many Math questions are on the ACT?” as well as how many can you expect to see on the English and Reading sections. 

We’re going to break it all down for you!

Registering for the SAT sounds like the easiest part of the process. But signing up is actually much more convoluted than you might think—and some things matter a lot more than others do. Most of all, you want to avoid classic registration mistakes that can cost you dearly.

In this article, we’ll discuss step by step how to sign up for the SAT. We’ll also cover what parts of the 30-minute process really matter and what parts don’t. Finally, we’ll give you some key tips on how to choose the best testing location and how to save money.

You might have heard that getting into college is more competitive than ever. Students are applying to college in ever greater numbers, and many apply to multiple colleges, making the pool of applications even deeper.

As a result, you are likely looking for anything that will help you edge out the competition. Your counselors or friends might have suggested applying early action or early decision to increase your chances of being accepted. But does applying early raise the odds of being accepted to the college of your choice?

While not all schools offer these options, about 450 colleges across the U.S. offer one or both early admission option, according to the College Board. Many popular and competitive colleges fall into this category, offering one or the other, or both. Read on for an explanation of how early decision and early action work, and whether or not they increase your chances for admission.

If you’re in high school, you know all about how important the SAT is for getting into the college of your choice. But do you know the important details that play a part in your success? If you’ve ever wondered how many questions are on the SAT, you’ve come to the right place!

First, let’s clarify that until spring of 2024, everyone had to take the traditional pencil and paper SAT, but once the change to the digital SAT occurred, some aspects, like the number of questions on the SAT, changed. Let’s start with what to expect from the traditional SAT format.

Are you debating who to ask for recommendation letters for college? Letters of rec are a very important part of your application, and strong ones can go a long way toward making you stand out among the competition.

That's why you should choose your recommenders with the same thought and care that you put into your personal essay, SAT or ACT prep, and other parts of your application. Before we dive into the key questions to ask yourself when choosing a recommender, let's review what separates the good letters from the bad ones.

Getting into college is increasingly competitive, and more and more students like you are looking at ways they can increase their chances of being accepted. While it’s not uncommon for kids to wait until later in high school to start worrying about their GPA, we don’t recommend this! Your grades begin calculating with your very first assignment, quiz, and test, so it’s important to think about this early on.

But do colleges look at freshman grades? Do these grades matter as much as grades you earn as a sophomore, junior, and senior? Let’s take a look.

If you're thinking of hiring a private tutor or enrolling in a local class for your SAT or ACT studying, take a moment to consider whether an online prep class might be right for you.

To help you make an informed decision about your prep, we're providing you with a list of the six biggest pros and cons of online SAT and ACT classes. But first, what exactly is an online prep class and how does it work?

Applying to college soon? Curious about what colleges are looking for in applicants, especially when it comes to SAT or ACT scores? Not sure how you stack up against other applicants at your dream school? 

If you feel like you have more questions than answers about what colleges look for in admissions, you're note alone. The college admissions process can be very confusing, and it's easy to feel lost and frustrated. In this article, we'll tell you what colleges look for in admissions and how to make your application the best it can be. We'll cover: 

• What colleges look for in applicants 
• Why SAT and ACT test scores are important 
• How understanding college admissions criteria can help your own college admissions process

Let's dive in! 

Have you ever heard of the summer slide? Sadly, it has nothing to do with a water park or any park, for that matter. Instead, it has to do with the learning loss students experience during the summer months.

If you’ve ever realized in July that you can’t remember any of the facts you memorized for a final exam, you’ve experienced summer slide. If you’ve started a new school year needing a review because you've forgotten the material you learned at the end of the last year, that’s summer learning loss.

So what is summer slide? It is summer learning loss of the knowledge and progress you made during the school year. And yes, it’s very real and affects most kids from elementary school all the way through high school.

Summer learning loss statistics tell us that each summer, kids lose 2-3 months of knowledge they had gained during the school year, which is a lot! Math loss seems to be the greatest, and high school students tend to lose the most knowledge. You might have noticed that since COVID, you feel more behind than ever, so summer slide can really hurt you academically.

In spring 2024, the new digital SAT will replace the traditional paper and pencil SAT we’ve known for years. You might be wondering how the digital SAT will be scored and how this will affect you. Is the scoring more difficult, easier, or the same? And how is the digital SAT score calculated?

Ah, spring. While most students are already celebrating the coming end to the school year, others are busy studying for the March SAT. This raises a critical question: exactly who should take the March SAT? Should you? Or would another test date work better for you and your schedule?

Read on to learn when the upcoming March SAT is, when scores will be released online and to the colleges you choose, and the biggest pros and cons of this popular spring test date.