SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

At long last, you get your SAT or ACT scores back, and now you have to make an important decision—do you retake the test and aim for a higher score? What are your chances of improving your score?

The answer can get complicated, depending on how many times you've taken it before and what your score target is. Read on to develop the best testing plan for yourself.

Starting in March 2016, there will be a newly redesigned SAT. The new SAT only has two sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math.

While most people are focused on the changes to the Reading and Writing section, there have been a few changes to the SAT Math section that are important to know. What are these changes? How will your SAT study strategy need to change? I'll delve into that and more in this guide.

The ACT Reading section is challenging for many students because of the intense focus required to answer questions accurately in such a short time frame. Quickly getting to the root of each question is tough, but it's definitely a skill that you can learn with practice. This guide will present an example-driven step-by-step process for interpreting ACT Reading questions and give you the inside scoop on some of the sneakiest tricks the Reading section has up its sleeve. 

The night before the SAT can be stressful, to say the least. Maybe you’re not sure about the best way to prepare yourself during these final hours - all you know is that you want to do the best you can on the exam.

Well, we’ve made it easy (and stress-free) for you to do what you need to do the night before the test. Here, I’ll lay out everything you should and shouldn’t do before you head to bed in order to ensure your best possible score. Follow these tips - including everything from logistical concerns to exam prep strategies - to wake up confident, refreshed, and ready.

Let’s get started!

Getting ready to apply to college? If you are, I’m sure you’ve heard of the ACT and/or SAT. If you’re unfamiliar with the basics of the ACT, make sure to learn about what the ACT is before continuing reading this article. Just how important is the ACT for your college applications? It is one of the most important pieces of your college application (if not THE most important piece).

In this guide, I'll explain why test scores are a key part of your application and how to determine the ACT admission requirements for your target schools.

You probably already know that college costs can be pretty intimidating. If you’re on a budget when it comes to paying for your degree (and most people are), knowing how to save money in college can make a big difference.

Here, I’ll talk a little bit about what college expenses you should be prepared for so that you have a better idea of what to expect. Then, I’ll discuss strategies for saving money before you get there, in addition to strategies for saving as a college student. 

Let’s get started!

It seems obvious that each ACT / SAT question must have exactly one answer, and this answer must be clearly and objectively correct. However, as we’ll explain below, that simple fact alone disqualifies vast swaths of reasonable questions that you otherwise see in everyday tests at school.  This obvious fact also leads to a little-known secret that, when applied correctly, guarantees the cracking of each question. You don’t have to trust me—read through this guide and ask any perfect or near-perfect scorer. They’ll agree on the secret.

Are you preparing for the SAT or PSAT? Maybe you’ve heard of Khan Academy and are wondering what it is and if it can help you raise your score. In cooperation with the College Board, Khan Academy recently released free materials to help students prepare for the SAT.

This guide will answer all your questions about the Khan Academy SAT content including what it is, if it’s really free, what resources it provides, and how it differs from other official SAT prep materials. By reading this guide, you'll learn exactly what information Khan Academy offers and how you can use it to study more effectively and boost your SAT score. 

 If you’re like the average student, you’re probably bemoaning the ever-rising cost of college. School seems almost impossibly expensive, and yet every year sticker prices tend to go up.

You know that getting a degree is important for your future career prospects, and you understand that you can apply for financial aid, but you just don’t get how schools can set these sky-high prices. Did college tuition always cost so much? And if not, why has it risen to its current rate?

Do you have great extracurriculars?  Maybe you’re captain of the football team or president of a top debate team.  Your approach to college admissions will be quite different than a typical student’s, and your SAT / ACT prep process should be uniquely tailored to you. In this article, we talk about what unique opportunities you have in test prep and what traps you should avoid.

The digital SAT's Reading and Writing section contains questions that test your knowledge of grammar and writing style. By learning the grammar rules that are tested on SAT Reading and Writing, you'll be preparing yourself to do exceptionally well on this section, and you'll be one step closer to achieving your target score.

In this article, I'll explain the most important SAT grammar rules and provide related examples from the official practice tests.

In a way, single variable equations are some of the most common and least common types of questions on the SAT math section. Why? Because it’s rare to find more than one or two single variable equations per test, and yet knowing how to solve and manipulate single variable equations is a basic requirement for solving most all SAT math questions.

Even though you won’t often see single variable equations by themselves, it is crucial that you know how to set up, use, and manipulate them. You cannot solve the more complex expressions like quadratics, multiple variables, and so on, without first understanding single variable equations.

This guide will be your complete walk-through of single variable equations for the SAT--what they are, how you’ll see them on the test, and how to set up and solve them.

Are you a college admissions officer or employer wondering how to use ACT scores to select the best applicants? Standardized test scores are often used to predict a person’s intelligence and probability of future success; however, many inferences that are based on ACT scores are often inaccurate.

Keep reading to learn what information ACT scores can tell you, what information they can’t tell you, and how to use them to your best advantage.

Not so happy with your score on the Old SAT? You might be thinking about retaking the test. Unfortunately for you, the redesigned version of the SAT – in this post, we’ll just call it the “New SAT” – debuted in March of this year. Which means if you retake the SAT, you’ll be taking a totally redesigned test. So you may be wondering, "Should I take the New SAT?"

This post will help you decide if your Old SAT score is really not good enough for the colleges you hope to apply to. Next, we will explain some potential challenges with studying for the New SAT, and help you decide if it’s the right step for you. Don’t sign up for the New SAT before reading this post!

Here at PrepScholar, we get a lot of questions about every aspect of the ACT. To help, we've compiled this ACT FAQ to address all of your questions about the test – whether you haven’t even cracked open a prep book to study for it yet or if you’ve taken it four times and are wondering which scores to send to colleges.

Read on to get the answers to all of your burning ACT-related questions and links to the best articles on our site to help you prepare for the ACT.