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.

The City University of New York system is the lesser-known member of New York State's public university system. Unlike New York's SUNY colleges and universities, however, all the CUNY schools are located in NYC.

In this article, we'll go over a list of CUNY schools in NYC and CUNY locations along with what to consider when choosing which CUNYs to apply to.

If you want to get accepted to any college in the U.S., you need to know its admissions requirements. That includes whether you’ll have to submit SAT or ACT scores! Many colleges have adopted test optional admissions policies over the past several years…but what about top schools? Is Harvard test optional? Are Ivy League schools test optional?

We know all the changes can be confusing, but we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll walk you through Harvard’s current testing policies and the testing policies at top 25 universities. We’ll also explain whether test scores still matter at test optional schools and how to make decisions about standardized testing. 

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in. 

As you study for the ACT, it's easy enough to calculate your ACT composite target score. But where does your essay score fit into all this? What's a good ACT Writing score? Read on to find out how to figure it out!

The College Board now offers the PSAT 8/9 to eighth graders and high school freshmen as the first hurdle in the group of tests they call the "SAT Suite of Assessments." The PSAT 8/9 is a precursor to the PSAT 10, the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT.

But when is the PSAT 8/9 offered? And should you even bother taking it? In this article, we'll give you all the details!

At the beginning of the school year, you may be focusing on your classes and not thinking much about college applications or the SAT. However, October can be a great time to take the SAT. For juniors, it's a way to get in that first SAT with plenty of time for retakes, and for seniors, it gives you a final chance to get a great SAT score before college application deadlines.

But is the SAT October test date the right test date for you? In this article, we explain everything you need to know about the October SAT, including when you need to register by and when you (and colleges) will receive your scores. We also walk you through every question you should ask yourself before deciding on the October SAT test date.

Business is a great college major, especially for those who are creative, innovative, and see themselves as leaders. A business major is the best of both worlds because a student will leave school with a degree that is both broad and practical. Like any other major, the school you attend will give you an advantage as you set out on your career one day.

Attending a school with a strong business undergraduate program will give you a leg up in your experience, potential job offers and even your starting salary, so it's important to choose wisely. Your future is a marathon, not a sprint, so take your time to research and visit schools if you're set on majoring in business and attending one of the top undergraduate business schools.

You’ve heard of this strange, mysterious thing called “SAT/ACT Tutoring.” Okay, maybe it's not all that mysterious to you, but it was a cipher to me when I was in high school. Was SAT tutoring like homework, but with supervision? Why should I waste my precious free time with a tutor when I could just do everything myself? What actually happens during SAT/ACT tutoring?

In this article, I'm going to talk about what we at PrepScholar believe the best tutors do during the course of SAT/ACT tutoring. These are the best practices that we employ to get our industry-leading results.

This is in no way a guarantee that every tutor will follow every one of these guidelines, of course, but it gives you an idea of what to look for. We will answer all the questions I had as a confused high schooler…and more! As a bonus feature, I’ve included things that good tutors should absolutely NOT do during ACT/SAT tutoring sessions, so that if you encounter them, you can run in the other direction.

If you're politically active, you may want to go to a college where the students, faculty, and administration share your values. You'll be more likely to find student groups that are aligned with your interests and beliefs, and you'll probably have a more enjoyable college experience.

In this article, we'll give you a list of over 70 of the most liberal colleges in the United States. Furthermore, we'll detail the traits of liberal colleges, explain possible advantages and disadvantages of attending liberal colleges, and advise you how to find liberal colleges that could be a good fit for you.

Big changes are coming to the SAT! In addition to some important changes being made to the test format and content, there’ll also be changes to when and how you get your SAT scores back. We know, we know…this is probably a little stressful for you if you’re getting ready to take the SAT or if you’ve already taken it and you’re waiting on your scores. Hang in there—we’re here to help!

One of the most important questions you’re probably wondering is: when do Digital SAT scores come out?

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the switch to the Digital SAT and answer this and all the great questions you have about it, including:

• When will the SAT go digital?
• How are Digital SAT scores different from paper-and-pencil SAT scores?
• When will Digital SAT scores be released?
• What to do if you haven’t gotten your Digital SAT scores back
• What to do after you receive your Digital SAT scores

Let’s dig in. 

Before you sign up for any AP class, it's helpful to get an idea of whether you'll be able to handle the workload (and the exam!). AP Psychology is a popular AP class that's offered at many schools, so you might have the chance to take it at some point in your high school career.

But is AP psychology hard? Or is it a walk in the AP park? I'll tell you which factors go into judging the difficulty of an AP class and examine what they tell us about the AP Psychology class and exam specifically.

Want to challenge yourself this summer? Interested in showing colleges some of your academic interests? If so, you might have heard about the Summer Institute for the Gifted.

In this post, we'll explain what the Summer Institute for the Gifted is all about; we’ll cover logistics such as application materials, cost, and dates; and we’ll help you decide whether it's a good fit for you.