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!

Your SAT/ACT score isn't a one-trick pony.

Wondering why your SAT/ACT scores are important? They're used for more than just college admissions.

Get a list here of who uses SAT/ACT scores, and why. You may be surprised how late into life your SAT/ACT scores can follow you!

As a high school student, you might be overwhelmed and scared by the college search process. You're probably asking yourself, "What college should I go to? What college is right for me?"

It’s not easy to choose a college that’s right for you, especially when you have over 2,000 options in the US alone! To find a school that will truly make you happy, you have to be honest with yourself about what components will make up the most fulfilling college experience based on your interests and personality. This article will give you the tools you need to choose a college that’s the right fit for your goals.

Mark Twain famously once wrote in a letter that the “difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

The SAT agrees with good old Mark, and tests students on their ability to recognize when the almost-right word has been subbed in for the right one.

Are you confident in your ability to not be tricked by the SAT's unusual diction questions? Read on for some strategies and tips for this section.

As you study for SAT Writing, you’ll need some sample tests to practice your new skills on. Resist the temptation to just start trying random questions, however. It’s vital that you only use practice tests that will actually help you improve, and those can be a bit tricky to find.

In this post, I'll explain why you should stick to accurate practice tests, what makes for a good practice test, how to use them in your SAT writing prep, and where to find the best practice SATs.

I’ve worked with dozens of students as they studied for the SAT, and the writing section is often the most confusing for them. It tests a lot of grammar concepts you may not have learned in school or else haven’t studied in many years—even if you're an A student in English class, there are probably some rules tested on the SAT that you aren't familiar with.

Happily, the test asks about the same few concepts over and over again, so there aren't that many topics you really need to know. Avoiding just a few of the most common mistakes students often make can really help your score.

Let’s go through these common mistakes one at a time:

The SAT and the ACT are both recently underwent updates: the ACT got a new writing test and some minor content tweaks, while the SAT was fully redesigned.

With all this change, it can be difficult to keep track of everything. I've created some simple charts that outline the basic differences in structure and content for the new SAT vs the ACT.

This post is more of an overview than a detailed side-by-side comparison, however, so for a more in-depth discussion of the differences between the updated versions of the two tests, you should take a look at our full breakdown of the SAT vs ACT here.

Improving your score on the SAT isn’t always easy, but it might be a little easier than you think if you use these tips! They're not necessarily magical, but here are 15 tips and tricks for different sections of the SAT to help you improve your scores with minimal extra study time.

Choose your friends wisely, they say...because they might be getting you into college. Granted, that phrase probably didn't originate in the world of competitive college admissions, but it applies to Dartmouth and Davidson, both of which require peer recommendations along with the traditional teacher and counselor recs.

Your peers can (and are expected to) give a different perspective than your teachers and counselors. This guide will go over the exact requirements for peer evaluations, along with advice on who you can ask and how to ensure a strong peer recommendation for your college applications.

To start, which schools want a peer letter of rec, and what are they looking for?

You wouldn’t wear a tux on a first date or jeans to a wedding. The ACT also tests you on whether or not you understand what level of formality is appropriate in different circumstances.

Read on to learn more about one of the most unusual topics covered on the ACT!

Knowing when to use different verb tenses and forms will be extremely beneficial to you on the ACT English section because these concepts are tested repeatedly on the ACT. Get excited for a fun-filled journey into the vivid, action-filled world of verbs.

 In this post, I’ll do the following:

•  Define the verb tenses and forms that are tested on the ACT.
• Provide information about when to use different verb tenses.
• Detail how to construct verbs in different tenses.
• Explain and demonstrate how verbs are tested on the ACT.
• Provide practice questions to test you on what you’ve learned.

You’re studying ACT English and learning all about important topics like verbs, pronouns, and transitions. Now you just need some practice tests to implement your new skills on!

But before you rush out to take the nearest practice test, make sure it's the right one. Many students use sub-par practice materials—tests that are formatted strangely or full of the wrong types of questions or even just too hard—and it really hurts their progress.

In this post, I'm going to go over everything you need to know about picking out effective practice material and list the very best sources for practice tests.

Scores from the June 6^th 2015 SAT have been released, and they have served to increase the controversy around the test.

Put simply, the scores may be much less accurate than usual tests because the College Board was forced to throw out two of the sections.

Read on to see how students have reacted, how the scores vary from other administrations of the exam, and what your options now are.

Sometimes the SAT Reading section will ask you about literary terms. But how often? And which terms do you need to be familiar with in order to get these questions right? This article will give you the low-down on what you need to know.