SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

What is the absolute best SAT prep course? The truth is that there’s no one correct answer to this. After all, what works for one student might not necessarily work for another student.

In this article, we introduce five of the best SAT prep courses (both in-person and online) and give you their pros and cons to help you determine which class will be the best fit for you. We also provide you with our top four tips for getting the most out of your SAT prep class.

Everyone knows that scores on the SAT can make or break your college admissions chances, but can they measure your innate cognitive abilities? What do they really say about your potential?

In this article, I'll tell you what SAT scores can and can't measure and provide advice about when you might use them to estimate your own capabilities.

If you’re thinking of applying to college, it’s vital that you know what the SAT is and how it will affect your application process.

So what is the SAT? It’s one of two standardized college admissions tests in the US. (The other is the ACT.) It's run by the College Board, a non-profit that also administers the PSAT and the AP (Advanced Placement) program.

Last Thursday, the College Board announced via the Wall Street Journal that it has been testing out a project where, along with students' SAT scores, colleges see each student's "Overall Disadvantage Level," or their "adversity score."

In this article, we'll go over what we know so far about the adversity score and how it might affect college admissions. We'll also give some tips on how to limit what information about you the College Board can use to calculate your adversity score.

We'll keep this article updated as new information comes out on the adversity score, so be sure to check back periodically.

If you took the SAT from 2011-2015, you may be wondering what your percentile score is on the SAT. Is a 1500 on the SAT in 2011 the same percentile score as a 1500 in 2015? Do percentile scores change over time?

In this article, I will explain SAT percentile scores, how they change, and I'll provide the percentile scores for SAT combined scores and section scores for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.

In 2024, major changes were made to the reading and math sections of the SAT. The SAT shifted to a fully digital format, reduced the exam’s total run time, and dropped the question count significantly in both exam sections. 

With these changes also came some necessary changes to how your understanding of certain concepts is assessed on the SAT. That means that some question types that appeared on the 2016 SAT aren’t on the new digital SAT, and some question types that appear on the new SAT weren’t on the 2016 SAT. 

In this article I’ll give you the rundown on how SAT analogy questions have evolved on the 2024 digital version of the SAT, and how they’re different from the 2016, paper-and-pencil SAT.

Are you embarrassed of your SAT score, or think it’s pretty low? Chances are it isn’t even close to the lowest possible SAT score.

In this post, we’ll reveal how rare the lowest possible SAT score is, the lowest scores we have seen, and how to improve on the test, regardless of what your current score is.

What is the range for SAT scores? How do your scores stack up? In this article, I’ll give you a basic rundown of the range of scores you can expect on the SAT and help you put your scores in perspective if you’ve already taken the test.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Heed the wise words of Dr. Seuss, and get reading! The more you practice reading SAT passages, the better you'll perform on the SAT Reading section. This article goes over everything on the SAT Reading section, including the new evidence-based and data interpretation questions, so you know exactly what to expect.

First, how is the SAT Reading section formatted?

Shortly after the conclusion of the August 2018 SAT, rumors started to circulate that there was a problem with the test that gave some students an unfair advantage.

The basic gist of the complaint is that the test given on August 25 in the United States was actually the same exact exam that had been given internationally in October 2017.

This accusation raised the concern that some students would have had a leg up on others, since they may have seen the questions before, either because they took the exam when it was offered internationally or because they used the previous exam’s questions to study for the August 2018 test.

Let’s take a look at what really happened with the August 2018 SAT and what that means for you as a test-taker.

What’s the best possible SAT score and worst possible SAT score you could get? How do you understand SAT scores if you’re used to letter grades like A- or B+, or test scores like 93%? In this guide, we convert SAT scores into much more understandable class grades to help you interpret your SAT score.

What on earth is a CEEB code anyway? As you may know, it's really just an identification number, though there's a bit more to it than that. So the real question becomes: why do I care about CEEB codes? Well, CEEB codes are the identifiers that help get SAT (and other) data communicated to the correct high schools, colleges, test centers, etc. In fact, they're a crucial part of the SAT process.

Now, while CEEB codes are necessary to register for the SAT and to get your scores reported to the right schools and scholarship programs, most online forms have an automatic CEEB code lookup and fill-in feature that lets you skip that process yourself. There are still a few reasons you might need to look up your CEEB code, though. For instance, not all forms are online, and not all online forms have the auto-fill feature, so you may find yourself in need of that number as you communicate with the College Board or a college.

There are multiple SAT test dates a year, and choosing the best one can be tricky. If you choose a test date too early, you may not be fully prepared, but if you choose one too late, your scores may not arrive in time for college application deadlines.

You also need to take your own schedule into account as well. Will there be certain times of the year when you’re extra busy with a sport or club, or times when you’ll be too busy studying for your classes? The SAT is already difficult enough, and you don’t want to make things harder on yourself by choosing a test date that doesn’t fit your schedule.

Fortunately, we’re here to help you choose the best SAT test date for you. This guide covers all the SAT test dates for the 2018/2019 testing year, and we offer specific advice on each test date for sophomore, juniors, and seniors, so you’ll be able to decide exactly when to take the SAT.

SAT Summer camps are cram school for the SATs. They include long hours and intensive sessions, promising students increases in their SAT scores or their money back. They range from online tutoring programs held over the summer (there are a lot of these), day camps like Elite's Summer Test Prep, and month-long residential camps where students live and breathe SAT prep and college admissions, like Columbia University's SummerFuel.

They all promise score increases, and some even guarantee them. But how do you know if you even need an SAT summer camp? Keep reading to find out!

If you've found this article, you might have heard the term SAT Verbal. It's an older, outdated term to describe the SAT Reading and Writing section. However, the content of the SAT Verbal section is still very important today.

The many of the topics and skills from what used to be known as SAT Verbal are now tested in the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section. To do well on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section, you need to understand what SAT Verbal is, what types of skills it tests, and how to practice it.