There are plenty of lists out there with the “Do’s of SAT and ACT Prep,” but what about the “Don’ts?” Here are the top seven mistakes students make preparing for and taking the SAT and ACT.
Reading List for Those Taking the SAT/ACT and Applying to College
Looking for further reading? Try one of these titles for more information on standardized testing, admissions, and financial aid. SAT and ACT Testing The Official SAT Study Guide, by The College Board In-depth test-taking strategies and eight practice tests. The Real ACT Prep Guide, by ACT Extensive test review and three practice tests with detailed […]
What is SAT ” Score Choice”?
Among the many new things you will encounter as you prep for the SAT is a score reporting option called Score Choice. Score Choice can be confusing, but never fear–we’ve got the explanation right here!
ACT and SAT Math Tips: The surprise inside every equilateral triangle
Remember when you were a kid and the box of Lucky Charms had a toy buried inside? Yeah, hold on to that memory, because thanks to advertising laws, most cereal manufacturers stopped offering such promotions in 2008. I sure wish law makers would at least allow cereal manufacturers to put toys in cereals with low […]
Diction-Error-y
Some of the hardest SAT multiple-choice Writing questions involve diction, or an author’s choice of words. These questions usually appear in the Identifying Sentence Errors and have seemingly perfect grammar. The problem, however, is a word or phrase that just doesn’t make sense. Consider an example: 26. The purpose of the Heimlich Maneuver, which was […]
SAT Reading Tips: Related Answers in Sentence Completion Questions
Humans are programmed to make logical connections, which is never more evident than in our classification of words. We group words by topic and meaning from an early age. For example, consider your early associations with the word dog. It is likely that as a small child just learning to talk, you learned other words […]
Should you Retake the ACT or SAT?
After all the tough questions on the ACT or SAT, you have another one to answer when your scores arrive: Should you take the test again? There isn’t a universal right answer to this one. The best choice depends on you and the colleges you’re applying to. When you’re making your decision, consider these questions: […]
Inflated GPAs: When Test Scores and Grades Collide
On the day SAT scores are released, I wait for the one phone call that never fails: that from a distraught parent who cannot understand why her daughter with a 4.5 GPA received a 1350 on the SAT. Teachers and administrators at her daughter’s school may be quick to jump on the test anxiety bandwagon, […]
ACT English and SAT Writing Tips: Ambiguous Pronouns
I must apologize for my absence: Hurricane Matthew chased me from home for over a week and then kept me busy for another week when I came back. I am happy to settle back into a routine today, so let’s get right to it: Ambiguous pronouns. Ambiguous means unclear or open to more than one […]
SAT Essay Tips: Pre-Planned Ammunition
Soldiers do not go into battle without ammunition, and you should not go into the SAT without essay ammunition. The College Board uses essay questions that tend to have consistent themes, such as success, adversity, happiness, ethics, and technology. Because these themes appear so frequently, it is useful to have a few pre-planned examples that […]