SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

I’ve spent the past decade teaching SAT prep classes and helping hundreds of students prepare for the SAT Writing section. After taking my class, many of my former students were able to improve their SAT Writing scores by more than 200 points. My experience has taught me that having a disciplined, focused approach to your SAT prep will allow you to maximize your score.

In this article, I have given you the best advice I have for preparing for SAT Writing. Using these methods will enable you to use your study time wisely and master the skills you need to be an SAT Writing superstar.

A series of numbers that follows a particular pattern is called a sequence. Sometimes, each new term is found by adding or subtracting a certain constant, sometimes by multiplying or dividing. So long as the pattern is the same for every new term, the numbers are said to lie in a sequence.

Sequence questions will have multiple moving parts and pieces, and you will always have several different options to choose from in order to solve the problem. We’ll walk through all the methods for solving sequence questions, as well as the pros and cons for each. You will likely see two sequence questions on any given SAT, so keep this in mind as you find your perfect balance between time strategies and memorization.

This will be your complete guide to SAT sequence problems--the types of sequences you’ll see, the typical sequence questions that appear on the SAT, and the best ways to solve these types of problems for your particular SAT test taking strategies.

Statistics questions on the ACT are often simpler than the statistics questions you have seen in class. Most all of the statistics questions on the ACT boil down to finding or manipulating means, medians, and modes of a set of numbers.

If you are already familiar with these terms, you will have a good head-start on these types of problems. But even if you aren't familiar with these terms, most of ACT stats questions require that you understand and apply just a few key concepts (all of which we will go through in this guide).

This will be your complete guide to ACT means, medians, and modes—what they mean, how you'll see them on the test, and how to solve even the most complicated of ACT statistics questions.

Not only is Dartmouth a very competitive school to get into, it also has an unusual requirement on its application: a letter of recommendation from a peer. This Dartmouth peer recommendation is in addition to two letters from teachers and one from a school counselor.

This guide dives a little deeper into what Dartmouth is looking for in a peer recommendation, and how you can get a great one that will impress admissions officers. First, how does Dartmouth describe this special reference letter? 

Having taught SAT Writing to hundreds of students, I understand that this section of the SAT can be confusing and complicated. You have to remember all the grammar rules you were able to avoid learning throughout your schooling. You have to identify subtle grammatical errors that are often committed by gifted writers.

Through my experience teaching, I have identified some general rules for the SAT Writing section that have helped students of all levels improve their scores. 

Brace yourself for some more ACT English fun. Add/Delete questions are a common type of rhetorical skills question on the ACT English section.

These questions ask whether you should add or delete a sentence or phrase within a passage. They test your reading comprehension and ability to analyze sentences within a passage.

Students with documented disabilities who would like extended time on the ACT can request one of two options: National Extended Time, which entails 50% additional time, or Special Testing, which varies by student, includes more than time and a half, and tends to take place over multiple testing days.

This guide will take a deeper look at the options for extended time on the ACT, and how long the test-taking experience is for students with these accommodations. To begin, who qualifies for extra time?

25 to 30% of the SAT math section will involve geometry, and the majority of those questions will deal with polygons in some form or another. Polygons come in many shapes and sizes and you will have to know your way around them with confidence in order to ace those SAT questions on test day.

Luckily, despite their variety, polygons are often less complex than they look, and a few simple rules and strategies will have you breezing through those geometry questions in no time.

This will be your complete guide to SAT polygons—the rules and formulas for various polygons, the kinds of questions you’ll be asked about them, and the best approach for solving these types of questions.

One of the ACT’s absolute favorite shapes is the circle (or at least we assume so, given how often circles show up on the test). You will not be given any formulas on the ACT, so you’ll have to know and memorize the ins and outs of how circles work before test day. And, considering how often circles show up, mastering circle problems is definitely in your best interest.

This will be your complete guide to ACT circles, including areas, circumferences, degrees, arcs, and points on a circle. We’ll take you through what these terms mean, how to manipulate and solve for various aspects of a circle, and how to tackle the most difficult ACT circle questions you may see on test day.

Scholarships are competitive. They represent an investment in you as a student and your commitment to pursuing your goals in college. Donors want to make sure you're putting their money where your mouth is, so to speak.

In order to earn a scholarship, applicants should give committees a clear sense of who they are, what their plans are, and how motivated they are to achieve them. Letters of recommendation for scholarships can go a long way toward testifying to a student's past achievements and potential for future success.

Let's take a more in depth look at what purpose recommendation letters serve in the scholarship application process.

As an English teacher and college counselor working with high school students, I've had the privilege and responsibility of writing letters of recommendation. Starting out, I had a strong urge to help, but no clear sense of what exactly should go into a reference letter. If they all speak to students' impressive qualities and accomplishments, what makes some letters stand out among the rest?

To answer this question, I researched recommendation letters from both sides of the college process, drawing on the advice of high school counselors and teachers and the perspective of college admissions officers. I also read dozens of recommendation letters, from the ones that admissions committees loved to the ones that were cast aside as mediocre, useless, or straight up negative about a student.

This article compiles the most important lessons I learned through this research and my own work supporting students through the college process. Read on for a discussion of what exactly needs to go into the kind of rec letter that effectively advocates for a student and boosts her admissions chances.

You have a general idea of what it means to take out a loan, but calling a loan "unsubsidized" makes it sound a bit suspicious. What is an unsubsidized loan, and how are they different from subsidized loans? Are they good options if you're considering taking on student debt?

Here's the unsubsidized loan definition: a Direct Unsubsidized loan is one type of financial aid provided by the US federal government, or more specifically, the US Department of Education. You can also receive Direct Subsidized loans as part of your financial aid package.

In this post, I'll discuss why these loans exist, before talking in more detail about how loans usually work. With this information, you'll be able to get a full understanding of the details of Direct Unsubsidized loans and whether they may be a good option for you.

In looking over the financial aid packages that colleges provide, you might see some terms that are unfamiliar. You have a general idea of what a loan is—you borrow money now, and pay it back later (plus some extra)—but what's a Direct Subsidized Loan? As it turns out, subsidized student loans are pretty unique (in a good way).

So what is a subsidized loan? How do you define subsidized and compare it to unsubsidized loans?

A Direct Subsidized student loan is one type of financial aid provided by the US federal government, or more specifically, the US Department of Education. You can also get Direct Unsubsidized student loans as part of your federal financial aid package. Before we get into the specifics of subsidized loans, I'll talk a little bit about why these loans exist, and how loans usually work.

If there's a gap between what you actually have to pay for college and your school's price tag, you might be considering taking out student loans. What you might not know is that there are different types of student loans, with different terms and restrictions.

First, we'll cover the basics of what it means to take on student debt. Then, we'll walk you through the differences between two major federal loan types: Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized. If you want a quick overview, just jump to the end of the article for a side-by-side comparison!