SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

In 2022, the College Board announced that the SAT will soon be administered exclusively on a computer. The new digital format of the standardized exam will begin in March 2023 for international students; U.S. students will begin taking the digital SAT in March 2024. After the transition, pencil-and-paper tests will no longer be offered.

The change is a welcome one for many test takers, but how will the new format affect your test prep? One strategy is clear: if you’re planning to take the digital SAT, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking the right kind of practice exams. Let’s take a deep dive into digital SAT practice tests so you’ll be prepared for the online version of the exam.

The College Board offers a program called SAT School Day, which, as the name suggests, allows schools to offer the SAT to students during the week, generally for free.

In some states, all high school juniors are required to take the SAT under this program, while in others only some are. Read on to learn more about this program and what it means for you.

Whether you're building your own SAT prep program or just supplementing a class, finding SAT practice tests and questions can pose a serious challenge. This article will go through every type of practice SAT test, how to best use them, and, most importantly, where to find them.

The most recent edition of the College Board's official SAT prep book is The Official SAT Study Guide (2020 edition). What's the book like? Is it helpful? In this review, I'll break down the strengths and weaknesses of this newest edition of the official guide, discuss how students feel about it, and tell you whether it's ultimately worth buying.

If you're a high school student planning on taking the PSAT, you'll be taking the redesigned PSAT. This new version of the test started in October 2015 was administered to all students across the country.

We'll let you know all about the PSAT format, scoring, and content and what you need to know to be prepared. Not only is the 2015 PSAT an important step in prepping for the SAT, but it also qualifies you for National Merit distinctions and scholarships.

Let's dive into the changes in format, scoring, and content being made to the redesigned PSAT and what these changes mean for your test prep.

The SAT underwent some major revisions in 2016, and one of the biggest changes is that its previously required essay is now optional. This can be confusing for some students and parents. Should you take the essay? Will colleges require the essay or not? Will taking the essay make your application stronger?

Read on for answers to all these questions. This guide will explain what the SAT essay is, what the pros and cons of taking it are, and how you can make the best choice for you.

The SAT was redesigned in 2016—a huge revamp that has been linked to the Common Core and attempts to re-secure market share lost to the ACT. This may leave you wondering: what about SAT Subject Tests? Are they changing? Will there be new SAT Subject Tests modeled after the main SAT redesign?

In a word, no. At least, not now.

So what does this mean? Well, for starters, it means that SAT Subject Tests will now be even more different from the regular SAT than they were before the SAT redesign.

In this article, I'll go over the implications of the "mismatch" between the redesigned SAT and the SAT Subject Tests. How are the formats different, and how should you approach these differences? I'll also go over how the SAT redesign has changed how Subject Test content overlaps (or doesn't) with the regular SAT. Finally, I will engage in some wild speculation (okay, fine, evidence-based speculation) about where the SAT Subject Tests may be going in the future.

The CollegeBoard has once again completely revamped the SAT — the changes debuted in March 2016 (tests can have debuts right? Right). We have an overview about all of the changes that have been made, but how do the changes apply to the SAT essay questions in particular? Read on to find out more about the new SAT Writing prompts.

In order to study effectively for the SAT, it's important to use practice tests that test the same strategy and content as the SAT does. With the major 2016 SAT overhaul, this means turning to updated, more recent materials.

Official College Board practice tests are the gold standard when it comes to prep materials. Here, you'll find free links to all official SAT practice tests, essays, answer keys, and scoring guides, along with tips and strategies for how to use them.

You might notice, though, that there's a limit to how many free official SAT resources are available. For those who want to prep with other high-quality SAT practice problems and tests,we offer you some useful alternatives to official practice tests.

In March 2016, the SAT underwent a complete redesign, concentrating more on testing reasoning skills than on obscure vocabulary knowledge. 

So how do you study for the SAT now that there just aren't that many practice tests available? After all, there’s nothing quite like taking actual official SAT tests to get you ready for the real thing. The good news is that many of the questions that appeared on the old SAT format are still completely relevant and a great resource for practicing your skills!

The College Board recently partnered with Khan Academy to provide free SAT prep resources. There are a lot of resources offered, and they can be a great help if you know how to use them correctly.

This guide will explain exactly what prep materials Khan Academy offers, what they’re best for, when you should rely on other prep materials, and tips for getting the most of out Khan Academy's resources.

Understanding how the SAT scoring system works is an important part of preparing for the test. After all, how else are you supposed to measure your progress and set goals?

The SAT underwent some big format changes in 2016, which means that the scoring system most people were familiar with was radically overhauled. Here, I’ll cover how the scoring system has changed on the SAT, how this has affected the highest possible SAT score, and what this means for test takers.

You might have heard over the last year that a new version of the SAT is coming out in spring of 2016. You might have a choice between taking the current old SAT or the new SAT -- depending on when you time your test. You're probably wondering, "when should I take the SAT?"  Well, here's our definitive guide.

Note: The old SAT is no longer available. If you took the previous version and aren't sure whether to take the new one, check out our guides to deciding, depending on whether you got a high score or a low one. 

If you're in high school, you may be wondering whether you should take the SAT or the ACT. In general, the two tests have gotten much more similar since the SAT was revamped in 2016, but there are still a few differences that may sway you towards one or the other.

In this guide, I've outlined some of the key factors you should keep in mind when deciding which test to focus on and created a quiz that can help you determine which test will be better for you.

In 2016, the SAT changed drastically from the old SAT. In terms of content, no other SAT changes in the past few decades have been this dramatic. If you're familiar with the old SAT, here's what you must know to do well on the current version of the SAT.