SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

If you've applied or are currently applying to Ivy League schools, you've likely heard the phrase "Ivy Day." Ivy Day, or Ivy Admissions Day, is when all the Ivy League schools announce their admissions decisions for regular decision first-year applicants. This year, Ivy Day is April 6, 2021. This date is slightly later than usual, and we'll explain why later on in the article.

Keep reading to learn more about what to expect on Ivy Day, how to predict future Ivy Day dates, and what to do with your admissions decision(s) once Ivy Day is over.

What is a need aware college? Does a college being need aware mean they won't accept students who need financial aid? What colleges are need aware? 

There are a lot of misconceptions about need aware colleges and how they handle applicants who need financial aid. Having the wrong information can lead students to skip applying to schools that could still very well accept them and offer generous aid packages. Read this guide to be fully informed on need aware colleges.

Have you heard of the Brown University PLME program and want to learn more about it? As the only BS/MD program in the Ivy League, the PLME program can be a great way to attend excellent schools for both undergrad and med school without worrying about med school applications down the line. However, the Brown PLME program is quite unique in its academic requirements (or, rather, lack of requirements), and it's definitely not the best choice for everyone. How can you know if it's right for you? Read this guide for everything you need to know about the PLME program, including what it is, the Brown PLME acceptance rate, the questions to ask yourself before applying, and what your application needs to shine.

New York University, or NYU, is a big school with more than 50,000 students and 18 schools and colleges. It’s also pretty tough to get into—only 16% of students who applied to NYU in 2018 were accepted. 

If NYU is your dream school, don’t lose hope: you can get in as long as you start working toward your goal as soon as possible. Along with focusing on your extracurriculars and grade point average, you’ll want to make sure you’re acing your standardized tests, too! Does NYU require the SAT essay?

But NYU’s testing policy can be a little confusing. In this article, we’ll give you an overview of NYU’s standardized test requirements. Specifically, we’ll take a closer look at whether NYU requires you to submit the SAT essay.

Let’s get started!

Demonstrated interest is one of the trickier parts of the college admissions process. Knowing what demonstrated interest is and how to use it to your advantage can help boost your admissions chances, especially at competitive schools. 

In this article, we’ll answer all your questions about demonstrated interest, including: 

• What demonstrated interest is, including the basics of how to show interest in a college
• Why demonstrated interest is important to the college admissions process
• How to show interest in a college in four ways 
• How to demonstrate interest in a college to maximize your chances of getting into your top schools

Ready? Let’s dive in. 

Have you heard of the CLT exam and are wondering which schools accept it? The CLT has been growing in popularity every year since it was launched, and currently it is accepted by nearly 200 colleges. What colleges accept the CLT test? This guide lists every school that accepts the CLT, and we also give an overview of what the CLT is and why certain schools accept scores from it, while others don't.

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 at least 10 times smaller than this!

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.

Did you put the wrong major on your college applications? Maybe you changed your mind about your major after you submitted your applications, or maybe you just clicked the wrong major and didn't realize it until it was too late. What now? Will it impact your application? Will you be able to change your major later? If you're thinking, "I put the wrong major on my college application," don't worry. This guide is here to solve your problem.

Have you heard about demonstrated interest colleges and learned that colleges love to admit students who really want to attend their school? Demonstrated interest can be an important part of the application review process, but only at certain schools. Which colleges care about visits, and what are the colleges that track demonstrated interest?

This article lists all the colleges that consider demonstrated interest. Does USC track demonstrated interest? Does Harvard track demonstrated interest? You'll get the answers to those questions in this guide, and you'll also learn what demonstrated interest is, why it matters to schools, and how you can use it to your best advantage.

Does your major affect your acceptance into colleges? Can choosing a less popular major give you a better shot at getting into your dream school? If so, what major is easiest to get into college with? 

There are a lot of misconceptions about the role your intended major plays in college admissions and which majors are "best" for people hoping for a higher admission chance. This guide will explain everything you need to know on how your major affects your admission, which majors are typically the most competitive and least competitive, and if it's a good idea to choose a major based on acceptance rates.

Over one million high school students use the Common App each year to apply to colleges. The Common Application website can seem confusing at first, but we're here to simplify things. Looking for Common App instructions? Want to learn how to add colleges to Common App profiles? Just want to know what the Common App looks like before you dive in? We answer all those questions and walk you through each section of the Common App so you can create the strongest college application possible.

Did you know that there are alternative exams to the SAT and ACT? The Classical Learning Test, or CLT exam, is an alternative college entrance exam accepted by some schools. If you’re interested in taking a college entrance exam that bills itself as affordable, convenient, and innovative, the CLT exam might be worth your time. 

Because this alternative exam option may not be as familiar to you as the SAT/ACT, this article will help you understand the CLT test and what it covers. We’ll talk about:

What the Classical Learning Test (CLT) is

• Why someone should take the CLT
• When the CLT test dates are
• How the CLT compares to the SAT and ACT
• What you should know about the CLT format

We’ll wrap everything up with four expert tips for taking the CLT exam. Let’s get started!

Asking someone to write you a letter of recommendation for your college applications can be nerve-wracking. However, having a "brag sheet" to hand your recommender can make them more likely to accept. It may also encourage them to write about awards and personal strengths you want colleges to know about. 

Brag sheets are a great tool that not enough high school students make use of. But we're here to help! This guide includes everything you need to know about brag sheets, including what you need them for, what they should include, and an example of a great brag sheet.

Yep, you read that correctly: in May 2020, the University of California Board of Regents voted unanimously to stop requiring the ACT and SAT as part of admissions applications. In other words, if you're applying to a UC school, you won't have to submit your ACT or SAT scores.

Before you get super excited, there are some caveats you should know about. That's why we're breaking down the changes — and answer your FAQs! — below.

If you're applying to one or more of the UC schools, you want to make sure you get the application right. This step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to know about the UC application, from the time you decide to apply to a UC school to when you submit the final piece of the application.

Keep reading to learn when the most important UC application deadline is, which documents you need to submit to complete your application, if you need a separate application for each UC school, and how you can make sure every part of your application sets you apart from the crowd.