SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Process of Elimination on the SAT: 11 Key Tips

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Posted by Ellen McCammon

SAT

With the guessing penalty eliminated for the redesigned SAT, you should guess on any question you can’t answer, because you won’t be penalized for wrong guesses. However, that doesn’t mean that guessing completely randomly is a good idea. You should always use the process of elimination as much as you are able to increase your chances of getting the right answer.

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Low PSAT Score? Here's What to Do

Did you get your PSAT score back and it was lower than you expected? The good news is that PSAT scores aren’t sent to colleges, so your low score will have no impact on your future applications. However, you’ll need to make some changes if you want a higher score when it comes time for you to take the SAT. 

This guide will walk you through the steps you need to take to get on the right path, including how to identify what errors you made on the PSAT, how to avoid them on the SAT, and how to develop the best study plan going forward. 

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What Do SAT Subscores Mean? Expert Guide

On first glance, your SAT score report may look completely confusing. Altogether, you’ll get a total of 15 distinct scores, or 18 if you take the essay section! While the scores are numerous, they're also helpful. They put your results under the microscope and give you detailed feedback about your performance.

This guide will demystify all these test scores, cross-test scores, and subscores so you can make the most out of your SAT score report. Let’s start with a glossary to help you keep track of all the different score types.

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How to Ace SAT Writing/ACT English for Math and Science People

Are you a math or science person who feels intimidated by SAT Writing or ACT English? Do you think that your natural abilities will prevent you from doing well on the Writing and English sections? This article should alleviate your concerns.

I'll let you know how you can excel on Writing or English even if you're more skilled in math and science. Furthermore, I'll provide you with important tips and strategies that will enable your success.

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Book Review: Princeton Review's "Cracking the New SAT"

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Posted by Vero Lecocq

SAT

Standardized test preparation has spawned a booming business. Stepping into the vast sea of available resources that have resulted can be overwhelming. What follows is a considered review of one particular resource, Princeton Review's Cracking the New SAT, Premium 2016 Edition. The hope is that this review will help you decide whether that particular book is worth your time—and how to approach it if it is.

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Organization Questions on SAT Writing: Tips and Tricks

 The SAT Writing and Language section tests you on where to place sentences within a paragraph and where to place paragraphs within a passage. You may not know exactly how to approach these questions if you've never encountered these types of questions on other tests. Fortunately, organization questions aren't overly difficult if you know how to recognize and approach them.

In this article, I'll do the following:

  • Explain the different types of organization questions on SAT Writing
  • Provide a step-by-step approach to answering each type of organization questions
  • Offer tips to help you answer organization questions on the SAT.
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Can You Write in the ACT Test Booklet?

I don’t know about you, but scratch paper is really useful for me when I’m working through a test. You might know that you’re not allowed to bring paper or notebooks in with you when you take the ACT - you also won't get scratch paper. But are you allowed to write on the ACT test booklet?

The short answer is yes, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Here, I’ll go through exactly when and why you’re allowed to write on the booklet. Then, I’ll tell you how you can use the ACT booklet to your advantage by taking the most effective notes possible.

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Add/Delete Questions on SAT Writing: 6 Steps to Answer

Add/Delete questions require you to determine whether a sentence should be added or deleted from a passage. There are multiple add/delete questions on SAT Writing, so figuring out how to tackle these questions is imperative to improving your Writing score.

In this post, I'll do the following:

  • Explain add/delete questions
  • Teach you the basic constructions of add/delete questions
  • Provide example questions
  • Give you strategies and a step-by-step approach for answering these questions
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What Is an Alternative High School? Is It Right for You?

Will you be attending an alternative high school or are you wondering if it's the right choice for you or your child? For some students, alternative high schools fit their personality and learning style much better than traditional high schools, and they can be a way for these students to achieve success.

What are alternative high schools? How are they different from traditional high schools? Is attending one the right choice for you? How can you find the right alternative high school? Read on for answers to each of these questions and more.

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How Should You Spend the Night Before the ACT?

Planning the night before the test is the last thing you really have to worry about before taking the ACT. But how do you know what to do so that you get the best score possible the next day?

This comprehensive guide will lay out everything you should (and shouldn’t) do before you head to bed the night before the ACT. Follow these tips - covering everything from logistical concerns to last-minute exam prep - to wake up confident, refreshed, and ready.

Let’s get started!

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The 10 New SAT Changes and What They Mean for You


Times, they are a-changin’. Bob Dylan’s 1964 anthem of change may not have originally referred to a college admissions test, but it certainly applies to the SAT overhaul of 2016. The redesigned test features huge changes from its previous version, in terms of its structure, scoring, and content.

Read on to learn about the major updates and what you can do to prepare for them. To start, let’s take a look at the test’s structure and exactly how it’s a-changin'.

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Can You Use Old Practice SATs to Study for the New SAT?

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Posted by Ellen McCammon

SAT

 

Since the SAT has just been redesigned, you might feel like there aren’t very many practice questions around for you to use. The College Board has released four free practice tests, but once you get through those, what should you do?

You might be wondering if you can use old SAT practice tests to study for the new SAT. The answer is yes, you can! I will show you how.

Read on to see why you would want to use old practice tests, what practice tests won’t do for you, and then a how-to guide on the most effective way to use old tests to prep for each section. Finally, I’ll also briefly discuss using the ACT for new SAT prep, since the tests are surprisingly similar.

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Possessives and Apostrophes on SAT Writing: 4 Key Tips

Do you know how to determine if a noun should have an apostrophe? Do you know where to place apostrophes in possessive nouns? Do you know when to use there vs. they're? These are all topics that are tested on the SAT.

The SAT Writing section has questions about possessive nouns and pronouns. In this article, I'll provide you with all the rules and strategies to correctly answer these questions.

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How to Figure Out What SAT Math Questions Are Really Asking

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Posted by Vero Lecocq

SAT Math

SAT Math questions often hit you with a lot of jargon. Some types of questions are prone to being pretty wordy, and many problems just don't make sense—they simply don't click in your brain.

Well, this state of affairs simply will not do. There's got to be a better way of hammering away at these problems. And, lo and behold, the post that follows has arrived to illuminate this path.

This article will walk you through how to figure out what an SAT Math question is really getting at—what it's truly asking under all that banter.

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Can You Take the ACT in College?

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Posted by Vero Lecocq

ACT

 

If you took the ACT in high school, you were probably perfectly content to bid it farewell when you want on to college. If you didn't take it in high school, you were probably just as glad to get a pass on that particular trial. But what if you need to take it after you graduate? Can you take the ACT in college?

Yes! It's absolutely possible to take the ACT in college; there's nothing standing in your way. This article will discuss reasons to take the ACT as a college student, what the process is like, and what makes it different than taking it in high school.

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