Test Prep
Smart parents stop obsessing over the SAT or ACT score itself. They obsess over what each point unlocks: tens of thousands of dollars in merit scholarships at the schools their kids actually want to attend. “At the three schools below, top-tier ACT scores are worth $36,000 to $112,000 in automatic merit aid over four years. […]
Re-reading your notes is the most popular study method. It is also one of the least effective. SQ3R — Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review — is the proven alternative that turns passive reading into active learning. The idea is to work smarter, not harder. There is no need to study the same material for hours […]
TL;DR — 5 WAYS TO STAND OUT Test scores — the lever you fully control. Strong scores often offset class-rank concerns at competitive schools. Work experience — most honor-roll students don’t have real jobs. The ones who do stand out. Leadership — lead one thing well rather than join eight. Recommendation letters — two from […]
Studying for AP Exams Is a Win-Win The season of AP exams is coming! Daunting AP tests can induce panic in even the best and brightest students who’ve spent an entire year (or more) preparing. While they have no effect on grades, AP exams do offer students the chance to earn college credit without the college price tag: a […]
Depending on what college you want to attend, a certain ACT or SAT score will be required to get in. Every college and university accepts both tests and treats them equally, so it’s up to you to decide which one is better for you. It’s recommended to take both a practice SAT and a practice ACT […]
Six emails. All marked CRITICAL. All in my spam folder. By the time I checked, the ACT had cancelled my registration — and the standby deadline had passed too. No exceptions. No refunds. I run a test prep company. I’m the president of the National Test Prep Association. And I still got dinged before test […]
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Nothing worthwhile comes easily.” Stop for just a moment and think about it. Consider times in your life when you’ve really struggled to reach a goal or do something that someone else said you couldn’t. Do you remember that feeling of accomplishment? My bet is that you remember it […]
Last week, we talked about the ways studying in academic courses can raise your ACT and SAT test scores. Whether you’re studying for academic courses or the SAT or ACT, you need to know your learning style. There are three major learning styles: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. Most people have some mixture of all three, […]
If you think the only way to prepare for the ACT and SAT is by studying outside the classroom, think again. While it may not seem like class work would improve your abilities on these standardized tests, there’s information showing that it can. After all, exercising your brain is exercising your brain. Interestingly, some statistics […]
As a student-athlete, you’ve probably learned already that your schedule is not going to look the same as those of your friends who aren’t in sports. You don’t have as much luxury to hang out on weeknights or spend hours on social media. Your minutes are counted, literally, and each one of them counts. It’s […]