SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Choosing whether to take the SAT or ACT for college admissions has always been tough. But now that the SAT is switching over to a digital format, there’s even more to consider! 

In this article, we’ll give you the info you need to choose the best college entrance exam option for you. We’ll: 

• Explain how the transition to the digital SAT, or DSAT, impacts your decision-making
• Provide a complete comparison between the DSAT and the ACT (nifty chart included!)
• List the reasons you might prefer the ACT over the DSAT, or visa versa 
• Give you a quick, five question quiz to help you decide whether the DSAT or ACT is right for you

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

Note: ACT, Inc. is running a small pilot in December to test out a digital version of their test, so some of this is subject to change and will be updated as we know more. The ACT is currently set to be offered in both paper and online versions but otherwise stay the same.

Your SAT scores are an important part of your application, especially as the applicant pool gets bigger and more competitive every year. So how can you make sure colleges will consider your very best scores?

This article will discuss the colleges that superscore the SAT. After giving you a list of every college that superscores the SAT, I'll talk about how you can use this information strategically as you prepare to apply to college. To start, let's briefly review what "superscoring" means.

The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I'll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 11 different schools. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 177 full essays and essay excerpts, this article is a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

Whether you're currently studying to take the ACT or took it in 2016-2022, you might be curious about how your ACT percentile compares to students who took the ACT in past years.

In this article, we'll go over what percentiles are, how percentiles work on the ACT, and why ACT percentiles matter. We also lay out ACT percentile charts for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 so you can see how your score compares to historical ACT scores.

Have you taken the SAT recently? Are you wondering whether your score is bad? Or maybe you just want to know the score to beat before you take the SAT for the first time?

In this article, we'll explain what a bad SAT score is, both in terms of the national averages and the colleges you might be interested in.

The SAT suite of exams is officially switching from a paper-and-pencil format to a new, digital format in 2024. That means big changes are in store for educators and students. 

In this article, we’ll answer your questions about the digital SAT so you’ll know what to expect from the new format. We’ll cover:

• A complete timeline for when the new digital SAT and PSAT will be implemented in schools
• How the digital SAT and PSAT will be different in terms of content and format
• How the digital exams will be scored, and how it’ll be different from the paper versions
• Materials students will need to take the digital SAT and PSAT

Let’s get started!

Thinking about a career in medicine? I highly recommend trying out some medical experiences in high school before committing to a pre-med track. Many of my high school friends who hoped to go into medicine ended up changing their major during college when the pre-med courses got too difficult.

Doing a medical internship, summer program, or community service project in high school can help you decide if medicine is the right track for you before you waste time and money going pre-med in college. This guide will explain what experiences are open to you as a high school student, what those experiences involve, and how you will benefit from them.

Are you wondering about the kind of SAT scores you need to get into nursing schools? Applying for undergraduate nursing programs is simpler than you might think, but it's important to make sure you understand exactly what's expected of you.

This article will explain everything you need to know about applying to nursing school, including the different types of nursing programs that are available, the current average SAT/ACT scores for nursing school students, and what you need to do to make your application stand out. We'll also go through some examples of great nursing schools so you can see their SAT requirements.

Read on to find out the SAT nursing scores you need and to get tips for a successful nursing school application!

You might be interested in going to a small college, but just how small is "small," exactly? In general, schools that are considered "small" have fewer than 5,000 students in total. However, quite a few schools are actually less than 1/10 that size!

In this article I'll describe the characteristics of small colleges and then provide a list of the smallest colleges in the nation by category. That way you can decide if going to a small school really is the right decision for you.

The SAT score release dates are always tense for students. Did you get the score you were aiming for? Do you have to take the SAT again? Checking scores immediately when they come out gives you the most time to plan ahead.

In this article, find out when you'll receive your SAT score report depending on your test date, and learn the fastest way to check your SAT score.

What is the highest possible score on the ACT, and how rare is it to get one? Whether you're just now diving into your ACT prep or have been at it for a while, you're probably wondering what the best score is. In this guide, we'll explore the odds of earning the maximum ACT score and give you tips and advice for reaching it.

Aside from grants and loans, private scholarships are some of the best ways to help fund your college education. There are thousands of scholarships out there for high school seniors, all with different eligibility requirements, deadlines, and award amounts, so it's definitely worth your time to do some research.

To help you find scholarships—and free money!—for college, we've compiled a list of some of the best college scholarships for high school seniors based on availability and award amounts. These scholarships are generally flexible (so you'll be able to use them at any accredited college you attend), and they also don't have any geographical restrictions (so you're eligible to apply no matter where you live in the US).

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The December SAT is your final chance to take the SAT of the year, and for many colleges, it's the final SAT they accept before application deadlines. But is it the best SAT date for you?

There are important pros and cons to the December SAT, and we'll go over each of them in this guide. We'll also explain key December SAT dates, such as what day the test is on, when you need to register by, and when you (and the schools you apply to) will receive your scores.

Applying to college early can be a good idea for a lot of reasons. Acceptance data shows that students who apply through early action have a slightly higher chance of being accepted. And once accepted, you can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the rest of your senior year.

But is early action the same as early decision? And if you're accepted through early action, is it binding? Let’s take a look at what early action is, how it works, which schools offer early action, and just how soon you have to get your applications in.

The SAT is offered seven times a year, but which SAT test dates will work best for you and your schedule? What essential factors should you consider before creating an SAT schedule? What are the best SAT dates for juniors? For seniors?

In this comprehensive guide, we offer you the most current info on SAT test dates (domestic and international) for 2023-2024. We also give you our top tips for choosing the best SAT test dates for you as well as tons of resources to help you navigate the complicated web of SAT/ACT test dates.