SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Deadlines are stressful. Why not get rid of them? Some colleges do just that. Rather than having a fixed application deadline, they open up a period of time for you to submit your application.

Rolling admission doesn't mean you won't have any timeline, though. This guide will go over what rolling admission means as you apply to schools, plus a complete list of colleges with rolling admissions.

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!

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.

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 with waiting for regular notifications in March or 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 and give you a comprehensive list of all schools that offer it. To start, how does early action work?

Should you be worried about a low grade you got in middle school hurting your future college applications? Do middle school grades count for college? With college admissions getting more competitive and students preparing for college earlier and earlier, many people wonder if colleges look at the middle school grades of applicants.

Will that C you got in 6th grade math hold you back from getting into your dream school?

In this guide, we explain if colleges look at middle school grades, which grades colleges are most interested in, and everything you can do as a middle school student to prepare for the college application process.

In addition to standardized test scores and transcripts, a personal statement or essay is a required part of many college applications. The personal statement can be one of the most stressful parts of the application 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. 

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.

Trying to save money on college applications? Good news! There are actually quite a few colleges that allow you to apply for free. In this article, I'll provide some general information about application fees along with a comprehensive list of all the schools that offer free applications.

Many high school students are curious about what it means to be a college legacy. Exactly who counts as a legacy? How much does it help you when it comes to admissions? And what if you’re not a legacy? In this article, we discuss what a college legacy is, which top schools favor legacies, and what you should do—regardless of whether or not you’re a legacy!

Are you worried that your college plans will be derailed by an underwhelming GPA? Don't be discouraged and don't give up on your dream of college! You can still go to a great school, even if you have a low GPA.

Whether you are just starting high school or already at the application stage, read on to see the many things you can do to either raise your GPA, boost the rest of your application, explain your circumstances, or even find an alternate route to a degree.

If you're interested in going into the entertainment industry in any capacity, be it directing, writing, producing, animation, editing, or otherwise, you should consider attending film school. I wrote this article to share my knowledge as a USC film school alum and to help you get accepted to film school as well!

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.

Not sure where to begin your college research? There are tons of online resources to help students match up with the right schools. In this article, I'll outline ten of the best sites to conduct your college search and then explain how to get started researching colleges using three of the best sites. Within each section, the sites are ordered from the absolute best to those that are still good but not #1.

The college interview process can be nerve-racking. This interview gives the college you're applying to another opportunity to evaluate you and help determine whether or not to offer you admission. However, your college interviews won't be nearly as scary if you know what to expect.

In this article, I give you the 14 college interview questions you absolutely must prepare for. I explain why you're being asked these questions and how to provide great answers. Furthermore, I offer advice on how to prepare for your interviews so that when the time comes, you'll be ready to ace them.

In 2005, I applied to college and got into every school I applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. I decided to attend Harvard.

In this guide, I’ll show you the entire college application that got me into Harvard - page by page, word for word.

In my complete analysis, I'll take you through my Common Application, Harvard supplemental application, personal statements and essays, extracurricular activities, teachers' letters of recommendation, counselor recommendation, complete high school transcript, and more. I’ll also give you in-depth commentary on every part of my application.

To my knowledge, a college application analysis like this has never been done before. This is the application guide I wished I had when I was in high school.

If you’re applying to top schools like the Ivy Leagues, you’ll see firsthand what a successful application to Harvard and Princeton looks like. You’ll learn the strategies I used to build a compelling application. You’ll see what items were critical in getting me admitted, and what didn’t end up helping much at all.

Reading this guide from beginning to end will be well worth your time - you might completely change your college application strategy as a result.