SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Creating your own essay skeleton can go a long way towards helping you prepare for the SAT or ACT essay. Having an essay template ready to go before you take the test can reduce feelings of panic, since it allows you to control at least some of the unknowns of a free-response question. It can even be helpful to look at other people’s essay skeletons to get an idea what your own essay template should look like.

But when does using an essay skeleton go from a great idea to a huge mistake? Keep reading to find out.

It's 17-19 days after your SAT test date, so you log into the CollegeBoard website, eager to see how you did. You look at your essay score and see...“9.”

You check for more detail in your score report and see that Grader 1 gave you a 5, Grader 2 gave you a 4...and that's it.

So how are SAT essays graded, and how can you use this information to your advantage? Read on to find out!

Rumor has it, the longer your SAT essay, the higher your score. Could this be true? Does essay length affect your score?

Let's unpack this belief and talk about the best strategies for scoring high on the SAT essay.

If you’re wondering what AP exams will look like this year, you’re not alone. As a result of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, there are several changes to AP exams in 2021 that AP you need to know about.

In this guide, we’re going to answer your pressing questions about changes to AP exams in 2021. We’ll explain everything you need to know about new AP exam guidelines for 2021, including how AP exams will be administered, AP 2021 dates and official schedule, the status on whether colleges are accepting AP scores for credit and placement, and three tips for how to prep for AP exams in 2021.

Let’s begin!

The Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are both high school programs that offer college-level courses and the opportunity to earn college credit.

So what's the difference between AP and IB? Does one look more impressive than the other? Which will improve your odds of getting into a top school the most? We will introduce you to both programs and explain which one will look more impressive on your college applications.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the top five most popular college majors are business, health profession-related majors, history or social science majors, psychology, and biology. But what if none of those pique your interest? What if you want to major in something more off-the-beaten-path, or even just get a broader idea of what options you have for potential college majors? We're here to help!

We've compiled a list of 14 unusual yet cool college majors, ranging from bagpiping to puppetry. After looking through our list of the most unusual college majors, you'll also learn which colleges allow you to design your own major, and what the pros and cons of getting an unusual major are.

A lot of students wonder if there's a specific AP English reading list of books they should be reading to succeed on the AP Literature and Composition exam. While there's not an official College-Board AP reading list, there are books that will be more useful for you to read than others as you prepare for the exam. In this article, I'll break down why you need to read books to prepare, how many you should plan on reading, and what you should read—including poetry.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably seriously considering getting a college degree because of how it can benefit you in the long run. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher have 3% lower unemployment rates and 40% higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma. The job market is also getting more competitive: According to the US Census Bureau the percentage of Americans over 25 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher rose from 29.9% to 36.0%.

But because of academic, financial, familial, or other reasons, maybe you don’t feel ready to go to a four-year university just yet. In these instances, it might be a good idea to study 2 years at community college then transfer to a four-year school later. In this article, we’re going to examine all the ins and outs of transferring from community college to university, including: 

• The benefits of transferring from community college to university
• When you should transfer community college credits to university 
• How to go about transferring from community college to university
• How to decide which university would be best for your needs

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

It’s the roadmap to your essay, it’s the forecast for your argument, it’s...your introduction paragraph, and writing one can feel pretty intimidating. The introduction paragraph is a part of just about every kind of academic writing, from persuasive essays to research papers. But that doesn’t mean writing one is easy!

If trying to write an intro paragraph makes you feel like a Muggle trying to do magic, trust us: you aren’t alone. But there are some tips and tricks that can make the process easier—and that’s where we come in.

In this article, we’re going to explain how to write a captivating intro paragraph by covering the following info: 

• A discussion of what an introduction paragraph is and its purpose in an essay
• An overview of the most effective introduction paragraph format, with explanations of the three main parts of an intro paragraph
• An analysis of real intro paragraph examples, with a discussion of what works and what doesn’t
• A list of four top tips on how to write an introduction paragraph

Are you ready? Let’s begin!

Many international students hoping to study in the United States are interested in scholarships for international students. But can international students get financial aid in the US?

The truth is that it's often very difficult for international students to get substantial financial aid. However, it is possible to not only get financial aid as an international student, but to get a very generous aid package that pays for most or all of your university expenses. In this article on financial aid for international students, we go over all your options and explain where to spend the most time looking for scholarships and which routes will likely not get you the financial aid you're hoping for.

Preparing for AP exams can feel like a Sisyphean task. On top of keeping up with the demanding coursework and all your other obligations, you have to prepare for a three-hour, multi-part exam?

Yes, you do—but more importantly, you can! If you don't know how to study for AP exams, this is the guide for you. I'll cover all the major steps to AP success, including content review, exam skill-building, and prepping for triumph on test day.

Looking for fun and challenging trivia questions and answers? We've got them! Use our list of over 150 questions to change up your game nights. We've organized the trivia questions into eight categories, including movies, science, history, random trivia questions, and trivia questions for kids.

Community college can be a great option for many students who are ready to step into higher education but aren’t ready to go to a four-year university for financial, academic, or a host of other reasons. 

But how do you know if going to a community college first is right for you? In this article, we’re going to give you an honest assessment of the benefits and drawbacks of going to community college before pursuing a four-year degree. So if you’re asking yourself, “Should I go to community college first? Is it bad to go to community college then transfer?” this article will help you out! We’ll cover the following in this article: 

• What a community college is
• Reasons for going to community college first, then university
• Reasons to go to vocational school first
• Reasons to start at a four-year college
• A visual comparison of community college vs vocational school vs 4-year college

Let’s get started!

If you want to spell that color between white and black, how do you spell it? Is it grey or gray? Why are there even two spellings to begin with? And how can you be sure you're using the correct one? Read on to learn the answers to each of these questions!

Last names, also known as surnames, can tell us a lot about our family history and cultural identity. Our surnames can help us trace our family trees, but they can also tell us about the history of how people traveled across the world, built their communities, and contributed to society. 

It turns out that there’s actually a lot to know about last names...including why some last names are more popular than others. (There’s more to it than you might think!) We’ll go over: 

• The history of how last names came to be
• Why some last names are more common than others 
• The most common last names in the U.S. 
• The most common names in the world 

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!