SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

You know it’s important for you to do well on the SATs because better scores will get you into a better college - top colleges want high SAT scores because they are supposed to indicate insight that a particular student is academically strong. Ultimately, a better college education is supposed to help you be more successful in your career. But do your SAT scores really speak to how competent or prepared you are as a potential student? And does a great college really increase your chances of professional success? These are tough, but important, questions - I’ll address them all here.

First, I’ll talk about what the research says about the relationships between SAT scores, college success, and income. Then, I’ll present some explanations for why these factors are (or are not) related - it might not be for the reasons you think. So what’s the real relationship between your SAT scores, college success, and income? Why do these questions even matter? Read on to find out!

The SAT score is one of the most important parts of your college applications because it's one of the only things that's standardized. When all student applicants are taking the same exam, admissions officers can use it as a barometer to compare students that come from different backgrounds, educations, strengths, weaknesses, and intellectual abilities.

If all students take the same exam, and all admissions officers look at those exam scores in the same way, then it should be easy to figure out what an excellent SAT score is, right? Not necessarily. Like most things, an excellent SAT score is all relative. In this post, I'll talk about different types of "excellent" scores in relation to the entire US, your general peer group, your prospective colleges, and (maybe most importantly) yourself.

Between college applications and standardized testing, you’ve probably heard CEEB codes mentioned at some point during your high school career. You may have even wondered what they were other than mysterious four digit numbers.

This guide will explain everything you need to know about CEEB codes.

Unfortunately, studying for the SAT isn’t much fun. There’s really no way to make reading passages or dissecting math problems super entertaining — and believe me, I’ve tried.

But if you’re looking for a quick break from studying, check out these 8 random SAT test facts. You may even learn something helpful!

Not on our watch.

To do well on the SAT/ACT, you need to commit to a certain amount of study hours. The higher the score you want, or the more points you need to improve, the more hours you need to put in. (Read more about how long exactly you need to study for the SAT or ACT here.)

If total hours is your main goal for studying, then procrastination is what you need to defeat to be successful. So we’ll talk a bit about why procrastination happens, and then give actionable advice for fighting it.

Read in to conquer procrastination once and for all!

Maybe you already know your top college choice. Now you want to know what SAT score you need to get into your dream school. Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. Generally, there is no SAT score requirement that guarantees you admission, especially for the most selective colleges. Conversely, there usually isn’t an SAT score that will automatically disqualify you from admission because schools use holistic admissions. Your application will be evaluated on your GPA, extracurricular activities, recommendations, personal essay, and SAT score.

However, your SAT score will significantly increase or decrease your likelihood of admission, and you can use available statistics to determine the SAT score you need to improve your chances of being able to attend a certain college. Colleges generally say that they don't have SAT requirements, but if you get an 800 and want to go to Harvard, statistically, you have nearly a 0% chance of gaining admission.

In this article, I will discuss SAT score requirements and how your SAT score impacts the college admissions process.

Because the SAT is such a high stakes test, the College Board has implemented a series of rules to ensure that there is no cheating and that all students have as close to the same test-taking experience as possible. Before you take the SAT, you should familiarize yourself with these rules. It would be a shame to spend months preparing and be in the middle of acing your SAT, only to get kicked out of the test and have your score canceled because your phone was on, and you received a text during the last section. That’s an extreme example, but it's possible. Know the rules so you can protect yourself.

In this article, I will discuss SAT rules, the reasons behind the rules, and the possible consequences for violating SAT rules and regulations.

If you're taking the SAT, you're definitely not alone! While colleges use SAT scores as an indicator of smarts and aptitude for college, smart people do not always perform well on the SAT test. In this article, I'll share the SAT scores of some reputedly smart people, former and current Presidents, CEOs, authors, etc. Hopefully, their scores will make you feel proud of your own!

Trying to figure out why your SAT score went down on a retake? Or are you just wondering how much a digital SAT score can drop if you retake the test?

Find out the likelihood of an SAT score decrease, how much your SAT score could decrease by, and how to make sure your score goes up, not down.

If you’ve signed up for the SAT, you’ve probably heard that you need an SAT admission ticket to get in on test day. The College Board makes a big deal about these tickets, and it can be stressful to figure out how to input all your information, get the right picture, and find a way to print the ticket.

Don’t worry! This guide will walk you through exactly what the admission ticket is, how to print it out, and what to do if you lose it.

The SAT is a challenging test for all students, but especially for those whose native language isn't English. Even more so than its counterpart, the ACT, the SAT focuses on high level vocabulary words and reading comprehension.

Most four year colleges require the SAT or ACT from ESL students, often along with the TOEFL or IELTS. This guide is for ESL and bilingual students who have college in their plans and want to know how to prep for the SAT.

Before delving into your approach to test prep, let's discuss what exactly the SAT tests, and why it can be so demanding for non-native speakers of English.

Curious about which states require the SAT? Could requiring the SAT make it more popular than the ACT?

In this post, we'll discuss how state SAT testing could increase nationwide SAT rates, and what to do if you live in an SAT-required or SAT-optional state.

Your SAT/ACT score isn't a one-trick pony.

Wondering why your SAT/ACT scores are important? They're used for more than just college admissions.

Get a list here of who uses SAT/ACT scores, and why. You may be surprised how late into life your SAT/ACT scores can follow you!

Improving your score on the SAT isn’t always easy, but it might be a little easier than you think if you use these tips! They're not necessarily magical, but here are 15 tips and tricks for different sections of the SAT to help you improve your scores with minimal extra study time.

Scores from the June 6^th 2015 SAT have been released, and they have served to increase the controversy around the test.

Put simply, the scores may be much less accurate than usual tests because the College Board was forced to throw out two of the sections.

Read on to see how students have reacted, how the scores vary from other administrations of the exam, and what your options now are.