SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Did you take the ACT and get a lower score than you expected? Do you think there may have been a scoring error? Maybe you filled in a section incorrectly or your exam wasn’t graded properly? Scoring errors on the ACT are rare, but they are possible, and there are ways to identify and correct these errors.

This guide will go over the steps you need to take in order to verify your scores, as well as what you should do to improve your score on future ACTs if there was no grading error.

The best way to attack the ACT is to use an ACT study plan. With a study plan, you can manage your prep time more easily, figure out your weaknesses, and hone the skills you need to get the score you want on test day.

We give you four top-notch ACT plans to choose from, based on your ACT score goals. Before we take a look at those, though, let’s go over the benefits of having an ACT schedule and the steps needed to find the right ACT study plan for you.

Deciding when to take the SAT can be stressful because the best test dates aren't the same for everyone. Levels of preparation, goal scores, and other academic conflicts should all be considered in devising the most logical testing schedule for each student. The following is a full description of the pros and cons of each SAT test date in the 2017-2018 school year for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. You can use this guide to come up with a game plan that works for you!

At PrepScholar, we've written the best online ACT prep guides available, covering everything you need to know to improve your score on the ACT. They're all available right here on our blog, and we think they beat any book you can purchase. What's more, they’re completely free!

This guide—our Ultimate ACT Prep Guide—collects all of our most important ACT study guides and articles in one place. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to ace the ACT and improve your college admission chances.

We'll start off by briefly going over how to use this guide. Then, we'll go section by section through the most critical pieces of information you'll need to know to get a high ACT score. Here's an outline of what this free ACT study guide includes:

Choosing an ACT test date can be difficult because what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else. Ultimately, whether a test date is good for you depends on how soon you want to start prepping, what your goal scores are, and whether you have any obligations around that time.

In this guide, we give you the pros and cons of all upcoming ACT test dates and explain which dates work well—as well as which ones don't work so well—for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Getting into college is a great feeling — but having to spend money on SAT/ACT test prep? Not so great. Let’s be honest: most people would rather put their ACT or SAT money toward something a little more exciting.

But the good news is, you don’t need to spend all of your cash on test prep, as long as you know which resources to use and how to spend your money wisely. In this guide, we give you 12 tips and resources that are guaranteed to help you save money on test prep.

If you're an international student or non-native English speaker applying to college in the United States, then this guide is for you! To get into college, you'll likely have to take two admissions tests: the TOEFL and the ACT.

This guide is specifically geared toward students interested in taking the TOEFL and ACT (if you're taking the SAT, then check out this guide instead!). Read on to learn what colleges require, how the TOEFL and ACT compare, and what you can do to prepare for both.

Whether you've already taken the ACT or are busy preparing for it now, you've likely wondered at some point: is the ACT curved? Does a 32 on one ACT equal a 32 on another?

In this article, we’ll investigate the rumor of the ACT curve and explain what it really means. Then we'll examine the function of this curve as well as how it's changed over time, before finally explaining what the ACT curve means for test takers and how you can use it to your advantage.

If you’re not sure what sections are on the ACT, we can help! In this guide to ACT sections, we’ll give you a quick summary of all the sections of the test. Then, we’ll take a closer look at each section. Finally, we’ll discuss which ACT test sections—and scores—are most important for you.

Standardized test materials must be kept under lock and key to ensure fairness and scoring accuracy during each administration. The ACT is no exception to this rule, and ACT Inc. has many regulations in place to prevent the distribution of confidential test questions to the public. In this article, I'll go through all of the ACT test security rules, what security breaches have occurred in recent years, and what this means for students in general. 

Are you preparing for the ACT but aren't sure which topics the exam covers? We're here to help! This guide will give you an in-depth look at the ACT syllabus and explain exactly what you can expect to see on the test.

For each of the five ACT sections, I'll explain the format of the section, the types of questions you'll see, and the skills that section tests. Afterward, I'll also go over the top three tips you need to know when studying for the ACT to help you achieve your highest score.

ACT practice tests are invaluable for any level of ACT preparation, from those just beginning their study to those who have studied for months already. There are limits, however, to what ACT practice tests can do.

Read on to find out what things ACT practice tests are good for and what they just can’t accomplish.

Practice tests are key to good ACT prep, but just taking full-length practice tests isn’t enough to guarantee a good score. In this article, we'll go over the three major pitfalls that many students stumble into when attempting to use ACT practice tests.

Taking official ACT practice tests under realistic testing conditions is vital to good ACT prep, but after a certain point you can hit a wall and stop getting any benefit out of it. In this article, we’ll discuss the frequency with which you should take ACT practice tests.

It’s extremely important to take full-length practice tests under realistic conditions when studying for the ACT. However, you need to make sure you’re getting the full benefit by spacing out the practice tests correctly. In this article, we'll discuss both the earliest and the latest you should consider taking full ACT practice tests.