SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

The SAT is a pretty high-stakes test - it’s an important part of your college applications, which could mean trouble if you get a low score. But can you fail the SAT altogether?

The good news is that officially, it’s impossible to fail the SAT - but that doesn’t mean that a low score doesn't mean bad news. Here, I’ll review everything you need to know about why you can’t really fail the SAT, but why poor marks may as well count as failing.

Worried about your score? At the end, I’ll go over the steps you should take to pull them up.  

If you're preparing for the SAT or have received your SAT scores, you may be wondering what score you need to get into college. What's an average SAT score for colleges?

In this article, I'll explain average SAT scores and what they mean for you. Find out how to calculate the score you need to help reach your college goals.

Are you planning on taking the ACT soon? If so, you're probably wondering, "What's a good ACT score for 2021?" In this in-depth guide, we'll go over the three ways you can  know if an ACT score is good or not. We also explain why it's so important to set a goal score and how the coronavirus pandemic and new school score policies have affected 2021 ACT scores.

The average ACT score for US students is a 20.6. The middle 50% of students score between a 16 and a 25. The following chart breaks down the nationwide average by section:

However, when you’re thinking about college admissions the nationwide average isn’t important: what really matters is the average score of the students you’re being compared with.

If you’re a high achieving student applying to very selective schools you’ll need a score much higher than the national average. If, on the other hand, you’re applying to certain state schools, a 20 is a totally acceptable score.

Calling all student athletes! Are you aiming to go to college as an NCAA athlete? Two important NCAA Clearinghouse requirements have to do with your high school grade point average (GPA) and SAT scores, which are compared on a sliding scale. Let's talk about the eligibility criteria for NCAA athletics, and how you can achieve the scores you need.

First, let's review GPA requirements and how your GPA is calculated.

No matter what time of year it is, there's always an ACT test date right around the corner. What's a good ACT score for 2020? And how can you determine what score you should aim for on test day?

In this comprehensive guide, we introduce three possible ways you can define good ACT scores for 2020. We also take a look at how the definition of good ACT scores has changed in recent years.

Planning to take the SAT soon? Then you're probably wondering, "What's a good SAT score for 2020?" In this comprehensive guide, we break down three different ways you can define good SAT scores for 2020 and explain why it's so important to set a goal score.

We also look at how SAT averages and percentiles have changed (or, rather, not changed) over the past few years and what this means for how we define what a good SAT score is.

Let's get started!

Every year students fight to get the SAT score they want. For many students, completing all the questions before running out of time is a serious challenge. If you're one of those who struggles to finish the test in time, skipping can be a real asset. But how many questions can you skip for a good score on the SAT?

Have you started researching how to apply to college? You may know that most college-bound students take the SAT and ACT. But just how important are they, and when can you get away without taking them?

Let's look at when SAT and ACT scores are important for college admissions, and when they're not.

The SAT / ACT is incredibly important for many students.  It's used to determine admissions into talent programs like Duke's TIP or Johns Hopkins CTY.  It's also a good predictor of future college potential.  

But how do you know what a good SAT / ACT score is for someone in middle school?  Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data sets to find what is considered a good score for middle school students.

Are you a 10th grader considering taking the SAT or ACT? Then you probably want to know what a good SAT/ACT score is for sophomores. While you might think we can simply use raw test score data from 11th graders, this information isn't totally accurate for or relevant to sophomores. Here, I'll analyze two data sets to figure out what's considered a good SAT/ACT score for 10th graders.

The SAT / ACT is a good predictor of future college potential.  During 8th grade these tests are looming ahead, but how do you know what's a good SAT / ACT score for someone at this grade level?  Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data sets to find what is considered a good score for middle school students.

The SAT / ACT is coming up quickly for 9th graders, but using raw SAT / ACT data mostly from 11th graders to see if you're doing well isn't correct.  Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data sets to find what is considered a good SAT or ACT score for 9th grade students.

How many students get a high score on the SAT?  How many students get a perfect score?  Here we look at the number of students and the percentile of these top ranks. Then we find out whether you should retake the SAT if you get these scores.

Note: This guide was created when the SAT used its old 2400 scoring scale. Unfortunately, we don't have the same data for the current version of the SAT (out of 1600 points), but we do have a conversion chart below so you can convert your 1600-scale SAT score to a 2400-scale score and still make use of the information in this article.

Another year, another chance to take the SAT! If you're taking the SAT this year, you might be wondering: just what is a good SAT score for 2018? Is there a particular score I should be aiming for to make sure I get into the colleges I want to go to?

To answer the question of what good SAT scores for 2018 are, this article looks at a few different definitions of what makes a good SAT score, and how this has changed over time. We also explain why SAT score goals should be specific to each student and give you step-by-step instructions for choosing your target SAT score.