SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

After you take your AP exams, you’ll need to wait roughly two months to receive your scores. That’s a long time! Is there any way to get your AP scores early? In most cases no, the College Board won’t release any early AP scores. However, some people claim to have found a sneaky workaround that could get you your AP scores a few days earlier than anticipated.

Read our guide to learn about the safe way to potentially get early AP scores, what you should definitely avoid when trying to get AP scores early, and what your options are if you need your AP scores by a certain deadline.

Many people are familiar with the idea of all-girls' schools for elementary, middle, and high school, but did you know there are also women-only colleges?

In this article, we discuss what women's colleges are and why you'd want to apply to them. We'll also go over the top 17 women's colleges in the US and explain why these schools made the cut.

Getting into elite schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and others is a goal of many high school students. How exactly to accomplish this is often a mystery to students and parents going through the admissions process. Lots of unhelpful and vague advice abound, especially from people who have never gained admission themselves to these schools.

In high school, I got into every school I applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and Stanford, and I attended Harvard for college. I also learned a lot about my classmates and the dynamics of college admissions in ways that were never clear to me in high school. Now, I'm sharing this expertise with you.

I've written the most comprehensive guide to getting into top schools. I'm going to explain in detail what admissions officers at Ivy League schools are really looking for in your application. More importantly, I'm going to share an actionable framework you can use to build the most compelling application that's unique to you.

GPA is a measurement of your academic success in high school that colleges will consider very strongly in the admissions process. But what is a GPA scale?

Different high schools may use different GPA scales, and it's important to know how these scales work so that you get a better idea of where you stand. In this article, I'll tell you what a GPA scale is and the types of scales you might see used at your high school.

One of the first thoughts you might have after getting back your ACT or SAT score is how well you would have done on the other test. Luckily, SAT to ACT conversion (and ACT to SAT conversion) is possible!

In this post, we provide conversion charts from the test makers themselves to help you with score conversions between both the current and old versions of the SAT and the ACT. We also look at whether certain colleges go easier on the SAT or ACT—and what you can do about it.

What is SAT School Day? Does your school participate in SAT School Day, or have you heard of high school students being able to take the SAT during school hours? How does this work? How is SAT School Day different from other SAT test days? And can these SAT scores be sent to college? We’ve answered all your SAT School Day FAQ in this guide!

Trigonometry and radians are important parts of the digital SAT Math section! Do you love SOHCAHTOA and ${π}$ angle measurements? Do you hate trigonometry and radians and don't know what SOHCAHTOA or ${π}/{2}$ means?

No matter how you feel about SAT trigonometry, there is no need to stress. In this guide, I'll let you know everything you need to know about trigonometry and radians for the SAT Math test and guide you through some practice problems.

Whether you're on a budget or just want to see what kinds of ACT Math study materials you can access for free, you've come to the right place. Though the internet is chock-full of ACT resources of dubious quality, we've collected and put together only the highest quality free ACT Math study material available.

So let's jump right in!

Note: For guides and reviews of the best for-pay ACT study, check out our list of ACT study links, which includes all official practice tests, and our top picks for ACT prep books.

The ACT is scored on a scale of 1-36. But how exactly do you end up with a composite score on this scale when you answer a lot more than 36 total questions? In this article, we'll walk through the steps needed to calculate your ACT composite score, including how to calculate your raw scores and convert these into scaled scores.

On the 4.0 scale, an unweighted 4.0 GPA means perfection. You need straight As in every class—not even one A- is allowed. In college applications, this carries a lot of weight. You're essentially telling the college, "High school classes are a cinch. I've taken a tough course load, and I'm more than prepared for what college has to throw at me."

In high school, I got a 4.0 GPA with a course load featuring 10 AP courses. I got straight As and 12 A+'s. This strong course load, along with a strong application, got me into Harvard and every college I applied to.

While it's flattering to say, "Well, Allen's just a smart guy," in reality I relied a lot more on high-level strategy and effective academic habits. These were the same strategies I applied to my undergraduate work at Harvard and that led me to graduate summa cum laude with a 3.95 GPA. This is the guide I wish I had my freshman year of high school.

You’ve taken the SAT/ACT and are ready to send your scores to colleges. But did you know that not all colleges require official score reports? That's right—many colleges are now letting applicants self-report their scores directly on their applications (and only requiring an official score report if they choose to enroll).

But what does self-reporting test scores mean? We answer this critical question here and also give you a list of popular colleges that allow self-reporting. Additionally, we'll go over how to self-report scores using the Common Application and Coalition Application.

Got a passion for more than one field of study? Then you might be interested in studying two fields simultaneously with either a double major or dual degree. What is the main difference between a double major and a dual degree? And how can you figure out which option will be a better fit for you?

In this dual degree vs double major guide, we go over the fundamental difference between the two academic paths, define each option in detail, and take a look at the most important similarities and differences between the two. We also offer you some tips to help you determine whether a double major or dual degree will work better for you based on your preferences and goals.

College interviews are becoming increasingly common, especially among selective colleges. Many students go to interviews ready to answer questions but forget that it's important to ask interesting questions as well.

In this article, I'll establish the basics of how to prepare for college interviews and explain what questions you should and shouldn't ask during an interview, so you feel totally ready on the day of.

If you've taken an ACT practice test, you've probably wondered how the questions you answer on each test section translate to a final score out of 36 points. What is a raw ACT score? What about a scale score? How does one score affect the other?

In this article, we explain what the equating process for the ACT is and give you info on how your raw scores translate to scale scores for each section of the test.

Because final class grades in high school are usually given as either letters (A-, B+, etc.) or percents (87, 92, etc.), you might be a little stuck on how to convert these marks into the decimals that are used to calculate your GPA. No worries—this article is here to help! Keep reading to see how to translate all your grades into GPA-ready numbers.