SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

When talking about college essays, we tend to focus on the Common Application prompts, and it's true that many students will need to write a Common App essay. However, there are actually quite a few schools, including both public and private universities, that don't use the Common App and instead ask applicants to respond to their own college essay prompts.

Luckily, college essay prompts tend to be pretty similar to each other. In this guide, I'll list all of the college essay questions for popular schools in the US (and a few abroad) and then break down the patterns to help you brainstorm topics and plan how to approach multiple essays efficiently. After reading this guide, you'll be able to strategize which essays you'll write for which colleges.

Georgetown University is one of the most selective universities in the country; less than 17% of students who apply there get accepted. However, understanding the application and what Georgetown admissions officers are looking for when they review your application can give you a serious leg up over the rest of the competition.

In this guide, we go over everything you need to know about the Georgetown University application, including what you need to submit, every Georgetown application deadline, what admissions officers are looking for when they review applications, and how you can make each key part of your application stand out from the pack.

Maybe you’ve taken the SAT or ACT and have gotten a really good score, but aren't sure how to get the most money out of it. Or maybe you haven’t taken the SAT or ACT yet but are wondering how important the tests really are. One way you can make the most of your score is by finding guaranteed SAT scholarships or guaranteed ACT scholarships.

In this post, we will show you some of the scholarships for high SAT scores and scholarships for high ACT scores that you can get. You can earn thousands of dollars in scholarships based just on your scores. Curious to see how? We'll show you where you can get scholarships based on ACT scores and scholarships based on SAT scores.

What are the ACT/SAT scores that Ivy League universities Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale look for? Here, we look at what test scores these eight highly selective schools consider good, as well as what scores are borderline.

In addition to standardized test scores and transcripts, a personal statement or essay is a required part of many college applications. This requirement can be one of the most stressful parts of the process because it's the most open ended. 

In this guide, I'll answer the question, "What is a personal statement?" I'll talk through common college essay topics and what makes for an effective personal statement. 

In this article, I’ll give you a basic understanding of Division I and a complete list of current Division I schools by state.

Are you taking the ACT? Before registering, you should know how admissions officers look at your scores. Do they consider Math, Science, Reading, and English individually, or do they care more about the composite score?

You might be relieved to hear that many colleges “superscore” your ACT scores by taking the best subscores across all your test dates and creating the strongest possible composite score. Read on for the full list of colleges that superscore the ACT, followed by some tips on how you can use this policy to your advantage. 

When’s the latest you can take the SAT or ACT if you’re submitting an early decision college application? You might be surprised by how late some colleges accept SAT and ACT scores—and how early others require them!

Read on to find out the latest dates on which you can take the SAT and ACT, and get specific dates for top colleges.

Your SAT scores are a very 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 talk about colleges that superscore the SAT. After the list, 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.

Do you have a low GPA? Are you wondering what colleges you can get into despite your low GPA?

Out of all the schools in the country, we've compiled a complete list of colleges with low GPA requirements and ranked the best ones. Even if you have a low GPA, that doesn't mean a great education is out of reach for you. Keep reading to figure out what your options are for higher education.

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 13 different schools. Finally, I’ll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 125 full essays and essay excerpts, this article will be a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

Not all admissions processes are created equal. One major point of difference among colleges these days is how admissions officers consider your SAT scores. More and more schools are de-emphasizing SAT scores as part of your application with “test optional” and “test flexible” policies. One college has even eliminated SAT scores completely!

There are now over 900 accredited, bachelor-degree granting institutions that have changed their approach to standardized test scores. Keep in mind that the majority of colleges, especially the more prestigious schools, do still require and strongly consider your SAT scores.

Let’s take a look at the different policies and the schools that no longer require applicants to submit their SAT scores for admission.

Would you like to know where you'll be going to college as soon as possible? If you apply early action, then you might have your plans all set by winter break of your senior year. That's a big leap forward compared to waiting until regular notification in April!

A large number of schools offer an early action deadline in addition to a regular decision deadline. This guide will go over what you need to know about applying early action, along with a comprehensive list of all the schools that offer it. To start, how does early action work?

The NCAA, the major governing body for intercollegiate sports, separates its member institutions by divisions. Division II colleges are generally smaller and have fewer athletic department resources than Division I schools, but they’re larger and more well funded than Division III institutions.

While Division II schools may not have the money or get the publicity of Division I institutions, many Division II colleges have passionate fan bases that show enthusiastic support for their sports teams, especially for those teams that regularly compete for championships.

In this article, I’ll give you a basic understanding of Division II and a complete list of current Division II schools by state.

The NCAA, the major governing body for intercollegiate sports, separates its member institutions by divisions. Division III colleges are generally the smallest and have the least amount of resources for their athletic teams. However, it is the biggest division in terms of number of schools and student-athletes. Many Division III schools take pride in their sports teams, and athletes comprise a significant percentage of the student population.

In this article, I’ll give you a basic understanding of Division III and a complete list of current Division III schools by state.