SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Should you be worried about a low grade you got in middle school hurting your future college applications? Do middle school grades count for college? With college admissions getting more competitive and students preparing for college earlier and earlier, many people wonder if colleges look at the middle school grades of applicants.

Will that C you got in 6th grade math hold you back from getting into your dream school?

In this guide, we explain if colleges look at middle school grades, which grades colleges are most interested in, and everything you can do as a middle school student to prepare for the college application process.

Just as there are noteworthy examples of excellent college essays that admissions offices like to publish, so are there cringe-worthy examples of terrible college essays that end up being described by anonymous admissions officers on Reddit discussion boards.

While I won't guarantee that your essay will end up in the first category, I will say that you follow my advice in this article, your essay most assuredly won't end up in the second. How do you avoid writing a bad admissions essay? Read on to find out what makes an essay bad and to learn which college essay topics to avoid. I'll also explain how to recognize bad college essays—and what to do to if you end up creating one by accident.

The SAT / ACT is a good predictor of future college potential. During 8th grade these tests are looming ahead, but how do you know what's a good SAT / ACT score for someone at this grade level? Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data sets to find what is considered a good score for middle school students.

The SAT / ACT is coming up quickly for 9th graders, but using raw SAT / ACT data mostly from 11th graders to see if you're doing well isn't correct.  Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data sets to find what is considered a good SAT or ACT score for 9th grade students.

There are numerous scholarships out there for students entering college, and each has its own special set of guidelines. A recommendation letter for scholarship from teachers, counselors, and other important people in a student's life can serve as powerful testaments to a student's past and future achievements.

As an English teacher and college counselor, I put a lot of time into crafting personalized letters of recommendation for students applying to scholarships. In this article, I discuss what exactly should go into an effective scholarship recommendation letter, along with the importance of tailoring your letter to the scholarship at hand. 

So how exactly should recommenders frame their letters to best help their students win a scholarship? And what purpose do reference letters serve as scholarship committees sift through applications?

You know you need to take the SAT. Maybe you’ve even registered. But what now? How do you prepare?

If you’re not sure where to begin or how to prepare for the SAT, this is the guide for you. First we’ll go over what you’ll need to do to prepare for the test. Then, we’ll discuss some methods you might use for preparing for the SAT. We’ll wrap up with some resources that you might find helpful.

This guide is fully updated for the digital SAT!

Hopefully, you have the perfect teachers in mind to ask for your letter of recommendation. Once you've asked these teachers, how do you actually get their letters to your colleges?

This guide will go over everything you need to know about submitting your recommendation letters, whether you're using the Common Application, a customized school application, and/or Naviance. To start, what are the options for submission?

At many high schools, AP courses are the toughest classes you can take. Extremely competitive colleges are looking for students who are willing to challenge themselves, so they're more likely to admit students who have taken at least a few APs.

In this article, I'll go over how many AP classes Ivy League schools expect you to take and how these expectations can change based on the conditions at your high school.

Is it a good idea to take the PSAT as a sophomore? Here's a spoiler: Absolutely. Affirmative. A resounding yes.

When you take the PSAT as an 11th grader, there are some pretty high stakes attached in the form of National Merit distinctions and scholarships. Therefore, it's definitely a good idea to do a trial run before you sit for the one that counts for so much.

Let's talk about all the reasons it's a smart and strategic idea to sit for the PSAT as a sophomore.

Are you a high school student or the parent of one and are wondering how high school students should spend their summers? Summer is a great time to relax and recharge, but it’s also an excellent chance for students to get work experience, do an activity they enjoy, and boost their chances of getting into a top college.

Read on for everything you need to know about summer activities for high school students and how to choose the best option.

SAT Summer camps are cram school for the SATs. They include long hours and intensive sessions, promising students increases in their SAT scores or their money back. They range from online tutoring programs held over the summer (there are a lot of these), day camps like Elite's Summer Test Prep, and month-long residential camps where students live and breathe SAT prep and college admissions, like Columbia University's SummerFuel.

They all promise score increases, and some even guarantee them. But how do you know if you even need an SAT summer camp? Keep reading to find out!

Running out of time on any test is extremely frustrating. For me, it’s always a fight between my anxiety arising from racing the clock and the feeling of "if only I had more time, I could do better!" (spoiler: no matter which feeling wins, I lose). It’s even worse on tests like the SAT and ACT because they’re so lengthy: if you run out of time on a section, you don't get the relief of "Well, at least I'm done with the test" because you have to move right on to the next section.

Since you can’t actually stretch out time (probably?) and, except under special circumstances, can’t get extra time, you'll need another solution to help you avoid running out of time on the ACT. So what strategies can you use? I’ll discuss the top misconception students have about running out of time on the ACT Reading section and give you strategies to avoid running out of time.

The DBQ, or document-based-question, is a somewhat unusually-formatted timed essay on the AP History Exams: AP US History, AP European History, and AP World History. Because of its unfamiliarity, many students are at a loss as to how to even prepare, let alone how to write a successful DBQ essay on test day.

Never fear! I, the DBQ wizard and master, have a wealth of preparation strategies for you, as well as advice on how to cram everything you need to cover into your limited DBQ writing time on exam day. When you're done reading this guide, you'll know exactly how to write a DBQ.

You registered for the SAT, but as test day draws near, you find that you don’t want to take the test anymore! You may want to take the ACT instead, or maybe you decided to opt out of the SAT altogether and apply to colleges that don’t require you to report SAT scores. But what can you do?

Well, first, don't panic!

We at PrepScholar noticed how hard it was to find this information online, so we put it all together for you in one place.

Here are some things you need to consider:

1. Can you cancel the SAT test?
2. Can you get your money back?
3. Will this go on your permanent record?
4. Do you need to cancel your SAT to change your test date?

Many high school students are curious about what it means to be a college legacy. Exactly who counts as a legacy? How much does it help you when it comes to admissions? And what if you’re not a legacy? In this article, we discuss what a college legacy is, which top schools favor legacies, and what you should do—regardless of whether or not you’re a legacy!