Paying for college is already stressful and a bit overwhelming - applying for scholarships shouldn’t be too. To help you navigate the process of finding (and applying for) this helpful type of financial aid, we’ve put together this strategy guide with everything you need to know about how to find scholarships that are right for you.

You’ll learn about searching for awards in the right places (perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process), selecting the right scholarships, and putting together high-quality applications.

Let’s get started!

After you take the SAT, your score will be determined by the little bubbles you fill in on your scantron sheet - a sheet where there’s no place to show your work.

It’s normal (even important) to want to take notes and work through problems. Since you won't receive any extra scratch paper in the testing room, your SAT booklet is the place to do it. Here, I’ll go over what, how, and even why you should write in your test booklet. That little stack of paper might end up more helpful than you expected.

Searching for relevant scholarships is perhaps the most frustrating part of the scholarship application process. There are so many awards out there, but it’s hard to know which ones are worth applying to without carefully sifting through an overwhelming amount of information.

To make your search just a little bit easier, we’ve compiled some of the best scholarship websites (and offline search tools!) you can use to find scholarships. Of course, some are better than others - I’ll also go into the strengths and weaknesses of each scholarship search method.

At the end of the post, you’ll find tips for getting the most out of these scholarship search tools. They’re only helpful if you know how to use them effectively and efficiently - these strategies will help you navigate the (sometimes confusing) world of scholarship search tools.

The newly redesigned 2016 SAT debuted on March 5th. If you haven't taken it yet, you may be wondering what to expect: What is the New SAT like? What did students think of the exam? Was it easier or harder than the old SAT? How did it compare to the ACT?

In this article, I’ll discuss the reactions to the new SAT and talk about what it means for you. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

 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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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'.