SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

The SAT Reading section presents you with challenging tasks. Not only will you have to sustain your focus over a long 65-minute section, but you'll also have to search actively for evidence in each passage to back up your answers.

The test may be time intensive and full of tricky "distractor" answers, but you can learn to avoid the common pitfalls with the right approach. This guide will discuss the best strategies for reading the passages effectively and achieving a high score on the new SAT Reading. To start, let's go over what the redesigned passages are going to look like on your test.

The college admissions process is a long one, encompassing most of a student's high school career. One of the most important parts, the SAT or ACT standardized test, is also one of the most challenging. But you can really benefit from early planning and deciding ahead of time when you should take it.

It's always a good idea to begin early, but to decide on specific test dates, you'll need to factor in circumstances like your personal schedule, your admissions deadlines, and the classes you're currently taking. All of these make a big difference in when it’s best for you to take the SAT or ACT.

In this guide, we'll debunk a common myth about the best time to take the test, discuss the most important factors for determining when you should take the SAT or ACT, and go over the best testing plan for most high school students.

When trying to plan an SAT study schedule, you must first know when exactly you'll be taking the SAT. In this article, we give you all SAT test dates, deadlines, and score release dates for the 2017-2018 testing year. We also provide you with our top four tips for helping you choose the best SAT test date for your schedule.

If you've only got a month before test day, don't freak out! Although it's not a ton of time to prepare for the SAT, it can be enough if you use your time wisely.

In this guide, we share with you our best advice on how to study for the SAT in a month. We'll begin by analyzing the feasibility of studying for the SAT in a month and then go over the critical steps you must take in order to get your plan going. Finally, we’ll leave you with 12 high-impact tips you can use during your studies and on test day to help you get the SAT score you need for college!

NOTE: This article largely assumes you’ll be conducting a self-guided study plan. Those who'd prefer a helping hand should take advantage of our expert SAT tutors as well as our completely customizable SAT prep course!

One of the most important things to remember on SAT test day is to take your photo ID with you to the test center.  If you don't have an appropriate photo ID with you, you may not be allowed to take the SAT! But how do you know what types of IDs will work? What should you do if you don't have a photo ID?

In this article, I'll answer these questions and explain all of the SAT ID requirements so you can make sure to arrive on test day with an acceptable ID in hand.

The security of standardized testing materials is critical in preserving the relevance and fairness of the test as a whole. Since so many students around the world take the SAT, it can be difficult to prevent leaks, but the College Board does have many measures in place to keep confidential questions from being released to the public. In this article, I'll go over the specifics of the SAT security measures, explain the most recent breaches in test security, and review what all of this means for you. 

Disclaimer: we're not going to tell you how to cheat on the SAT. We do not advocate cheating by any means!

What we will tell you about, however, are some high-profile cheating scandals that have occurred in the recent past. While these scandals involved flagrant violations of ETS rules and regulations, we'll also reveal some little-known actions that can raise some red flags around your scores and jeopardize your chances of college admission.

But first, let's take a look at the scandals.

In many regards, College Board has made the SAT a lot more transparent. As of March 2016, the majority of the test has a very clear and consistent format - with one exception. In recent months, some students encountered an unexpected 20-minute experimental section at the end of their tests.

This guide will explain everything we know so far about this experimental section and how it differs from the experimental section on tests past. Read on to learn about this extra material and what it means for your test prep. 

Are you taking the SAT soon but aren't sure what to expect? Not to worry! This guide will give you an in-depth look at the SAT syllabus and what to expect on the exam.

For each section of the SAT, I'll explain the format of the section, the types of questions you'll see, and the skills it tests. At the end of this guide, I'll also go over the top tips you need to know when preparing for the SAT to help you achieve your highest score.

This guide is fully updated for the digital SAT!

While the new SAT is out of 1600 and the old SAT is out of 2400, the two aren't directly proportional; you can't just multiply your old SAT score by 2/3 and expect the result to be how you'd do on the new SAT.

The only way to know for sure how you'd do on the new test (besides taking the new SAT exam) is to use the College Board's data to convert your score from old to new SAT. To find out if you’d score higher on the new SAT and why that might be the case, read on!

Standardized tests have a reputation for presenting questions in formats that are tricky and confusing. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to get past all that and take a shortcut to the correct answer? This article provides expert SAT hacks to help you solve SAT questions that might otherwise leave you stumped!

If you're planning to take the SAT, you need to upload a photo of yourself when you register online. Do you know the photo requirements? Did you know that if your picture doesn't meet the SAT photo requirements, you may not be allowed to take the SAT on test day?

In this article, I'll thoroughly explain how to make sure that you use an appropriate SAT picture. Also, I'll let you know how to upload your photo, and finally, I'll give you some important tips to remember so you don't have any unforeseen issues test day.

No doubt you’ve heard one piece of advice more than any other when it comes to test-taking: “If you need to guess on a multiple choice test, always pick C.”

But is the popularity of this strategy an indication of its efficacy? Do you have a better chance at gaining points if you guess C on your SAT questions in comparison to any other guessing strategy? And if not, what can you do to improve your odds when guessing?

Let’s look at the facts.

The SAT is one of the most important tests you’ll take in high school. When you take a test in class, there are clear guidelines for passing and failing - wouldn’t it be nice to have the same thing for the SAT?

Here, I’ll talk about exactly what it means to pass the test (spoiler: it’s different for everybody) before giving you tips and strategies fo how to pass the SAT and get the score you need.

Getting your SAT/ACT dream score will likely take a considerable time investment. The vast majority of high school students have to spend many hours of studying before they're able to get their desired score. However, your time is limited. You have school, homework, studying, and extracurricular activities. How will you be able to put in the necessary test prep time on top of your other responsibilities?

In this article, I'll let you know how you can balance SAT/ACT test prep with school. If you follow my advice, you'll be able to effectively incorporate test prep into your schedule.