SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

6 Top College Interview Tips: How to Prepare Effectively

Many of the top colleges either recommend or require interviews. To give yourself the best opportunity to make a good impression in your interviews, and to improve your chances of getting accepted to these schools, you should absolutely prepare for your interviews.

In this article, I'll explain exactly how prepare for a college interview, and I'll give you detailed college interview tips that should make you more comfortable and confident during the interview process.

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ACT Test Security Protocols: What to Expect

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ACT

Standardized test materials must be kept under lock and key to ensure fairness and scoring accuracy during each administration. The ACT is no exception to this rule, and the organization has many regulations in place to prevent the distribution of confidential test questions to the public. In this article, I'll go through all of the ACT test security rules, what security breaches have occurred in recent years, and what this means for students in general. 

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Taking the ACT in 7th Grade: Should You Do It?

It’s just a short while before school ends for the day. You settle in to enjoy a discussion about sea monkeys in your 7th grade Science class when all of a sudden, one of your classmates starts complaining about having to take the ACT. What is she talking about? Who would want to take the ACT in middle school, and who even cares about 7th grade ACT scores?

If you’re a parent, you may have heard or read about programs designed for early-achieving students. But it can be hard to figure out if those programs are for students who do well on the ACT, or if the students get to take the ACT if they do well in school.

Fear not—I’ll clear up the confusion in this article as I go over the pros and cons of taking the ACT in 7th grade and the programs you can get into with high 7th grade ACT scores.

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What Is the SAT Experimental Section?

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Posted by Rebecca Safier

SAT

In many regards, College Board has made the SAT a lot more transparent. As of March 2016, the majority of the test has a very clear and consistent format - with one exception. In recent months, some students encountered an unexpected 20-minute experimental section at the end of their tests.

This guide will explain everything we know so far about this experimental section and how it differs from the experimental section on tests past. Read on to learn about this extra material and what it means for your test prep. 

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Should You Take TOEFL or IELTS? 4 Factors to Consider

If you need to take an exam to prove your English language skills, the TOEFL and IELTS are two of the most popular options out there. But should you take TOEFL or IELTS? What is each test like? Do schools prefer one exam over the other? Which one will you get a higher score on?

Read this guide for a full breakdown of TOEFL vs. IELTS and answers to all these questions!

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ACT Photo Requirements: How to Pick the Right Picture

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Posted by Justin Berkman

ACT

 

If you're planning to take the ACT, you need to have a picture of yourself on your admission ticket. Do you know the ACT photo requirements? Did you know that if your picture doesn't meet the requirements, you may not be allowed to take the ACT on test day?

In this article, I'll thoroughly explain how to make sure that you use an appropriate ACT picture. Also, I'll let you know how to upload your photo, and finally, I'll give you some important tips to remember to prevent any unanticipated problems on test day.

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ACT Syllabus: What's on the Exam and How to Prep

Are you preparing for the ACT but aren't sure which topics the exam covers? We're here to help! This guide will give you an in-depth look at the ACT syllabus and explain exactly what you can expect to see on the test.

For each of the five ACT sections, I'll explain the format of the section, the types of questions you'll see, and the skills that section tests. Afterward, I'll also go over the top three tips you need to know when studying for the ACT to help you achieve your highest score.

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SAT Syllabus: What's on the Exam and How to Prep

Are you taking the SAT soon but aren't sure what to expect? Not to worry! This guide will give you an in-depth look at the SAT syllabus and what to expect on the exam.

For each section of the SAT, I'll explain the format of the section, the types of questions you'll see, and the skills it tests. At the end of this guide, I'll also go over the top tips you need to know when preparing for the SAT to help you achieve your highest score.

This guide is fully updated for the digital SAT!

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PSAT Test Dates 2017

Attention, 2017 juniors! Do you know when you’ll be taking the PSAT? Do you know the best way to prepare for the test?

This guide is for anyone planning to take the PSAT in the fall of 2017. We have the predicted PSAT test dates, along with some key study tips. To start, let’s discuss what you need to know about how your school will administer the PSAT.

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New SAT Scoring Advantage

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SAT

While the new SAT is out of 1600 and the old SAT is out of 2400, the two aren't directly proportional; you can't just multiply your old SAT score by 2/3 and expect the result to be how you'd do on the new SAT.

The only way to know for sure how you'd do on the new test (besides taking the new SAT exam) is to use the College Board's data to convert your score from old to new SAT. To find out if you’d score higher on the new SAT and why that might be the case, read on!

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ACT Practice Tests: What They Can and Can't Do

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ACT

ACT practice tests are invaluable for any level of ACT preparation, from those just beginning their study to those who have studied for months already. There are limits, however, to what ACT practice tests can do.

Read on to find out what things ACT practice tests are good for and what they just can’t accomplish.

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ACT Subscores vs. SAT Subscores: How to Compare

Both the ACT and SAT subscores provide students with detailed information about their weaknesses and strengths in categories more specific than English, Reading, Math, Science, and Writing (ACT) or Reading, Writing, Math, and Essay-writing (SAT). Understanding the implications of that detailed information, however, can be difficult, due to the sheer number of scores.

In this article, we'll discuss how subscores can be useful to students and whether or not subscores on one test can indicate how a student would do on the other.

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How to Take Both the SAT and ACT...and Who Should Take Both

The SAT and ACT may both be college entrance exams, but the way they test students on their college readiness is subtly different. Most students will do better on one test than the other, so why would you want to go through the hassle of taking both exams? And is it even feasible to do so? We’ll answer those questions in this article.

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3 Dangers of ACT Practice Tests

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ACT

Practice tests are key to good ACT prep, but just taking full-length practice tests isn’t enough to guarantee a good score. In this article, we'll go over the three major pitfalls that many students stumble into when attempting to use ACT practice tests.

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How Often Should You Take Complete Official ACT Practice Tests?

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ACT

Taking official ACT practice tests under realistic testing conditions is vital to good ACT prep, but after a certain point you can hit a wall and stop getting any benefit out of it. In this article, we’ll discuss the frequency with which you should take ACT practice tests.

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