SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Location is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a college. So how do you decide whether to go to school close to home or far away? It’s not an easy choice, and a lot of it depends on your personality and what you want to do in college. In this article I’ll go through the positives and negatives of attending college close to home and how you can decide whether it’s the right choice for you.

One of the main factors to consider when choosing a college is the size of its enrollment. This is one of the first things college search websites ask you to specify because it’s an easy way to eliminate a bunch of schools. But what if you aren't sure whether you’re interested in big or small colleges or what the benefits and drawbacks are for each? In this article, I’ll provide a rundown of the characteristics of large and small colleges and the ways they differ from one another.

Size is a really important factor to take into consideration when deciding where to apply to college. Both large and small colleges have their advantages, but it all really depends on what type of school will provide the best learning experience for you on a personal level. In this article, I’ll give you details about the types of experiences you can expect from small colleges and whether you should consider putting them first in your college search.

The ACT English section can be intimidating. You have to know grammar rules that may seem obscure to you, and the ACT folks even expect you to know how to properly use commas. Not only do you have to know your grammar, but also you have to to know how to analyze ACT English passages, and you have to know how to organize them. You're tested on a wide range of skills and you don’t have much time to answer each question. If you’re wondering how to possibly go about studying for ACT English and improving your score, then this is the post for you.

In this article, I’ll give you my top 9 strategies to help you ace the ACT English section. These are meant to be study tips that will require time and diligence. The most important advice I can give you is to keep practicing. Focus your studying on areas that need improvement. However, that's advice that anyone can give. If you can successfully execute the following specific strategies, I guarantee your ACT English success:

Preparing for the ACT English section can feel overwhelming. This section covers a lot of material that is often not taught in school, and the format is probably different from that of any other test you’ve taken.

Even more confusing, there are a ton of different sources for ACT English prep. How do you decide which ones to use? How do you make the most efficient use of your study time? What should you do to prepare for ACT English to reach your target score?

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.