You generally need to take your ACT by the fall of your senior year at the latest. Most universities want to see your scores almost a year before you’d actually begin your fall university studies. So students should choose their ACT test dates with this in mind. However, for most students, it’s not a good…
How to Know When You’re Ready for GRE Test Day
The whole point of GRE prep is, of course, to be ready for GRE test day. But how do you know when you’re ready? How do you know when you’ve had enough prep? Many people who take the GRE before they’re truly ready have the wrong answer to “Have I done enough prep?” But have…
5 Tips for Improving Your AWA Essay on the GRE
The GRE has three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). For many students, the AWA is the hardest section. Here, you need to write your own essay, rather than simply answering multiple choice questions as you would on Quants and Verbal. Your AWA will be graded on a qualitative scale….
4 Things You May Not Know About the ACT
1. The essay has changed Many students recall the ACT essay as a cakewalk, with prompts debating the merits of school uniforms being about as intellectual rigors as you’d get. Well, those days are now over and the essay is much more difficult and nuanced than that. As an educator I’d argue it is definitely…
Where to Find Good GRE Practice Questions
An important part of preparing for the GRE is practice questions, and lots of them! But where can you find good practice questions for the GRE? Today, we’ll look at a few reputable sources. GRE practice questions from ETS, the maker of the GRE They say there’s nothing quite like the real thing, and this…
How to Design a Study Schedule You Can Stick To
When you’re in college, the work outside of class can be a lot more stressful than the time you actually spend in class. And if you’re not careful, your studies can follow you everywhere, always hanging over you head like a cloud, and never being finished to your satisfaction… or to the satisfaction of your…
Planning on Taking the GRE? How Much it Can Run You?
In addition to planning your GRE prep studies and scheduling the exam, you also need to think about what it will cost to take the test. Fortunately, the GRE’s fee structures are very predictable. All scores have fixed prices and are clearly listed by ETS. Test Registration Costs Registering for the GRE costs $205 USD,…
5 Ways to Increase Your Admission Test Score
Everyone knows that studying is necessary for a good test score. But there are plenty of other tips and tricks to boost your score into the next range. Make yourself more competitive at your dream school by following some of our favorite test prep strategies in this post! 1. Pick the test that plays to…
What Makes an Impressive GRE score?
Everyone wants a high GRE score, but what actually makes a score impressive? What score should you aim for as you prepare for the exam? This varies depending on major and test section Grad programs often have separate standards for different sections of the GRE. Schools for math-heavy fields like business and engineering typically have…
Banish Outdated ACT Prep Resources
Imagine a class where the teacher gives you a stack of notes. He or she tells you that to do well on the test all you need to do is to study the notes. Wanting to do your best, you do just that, carefully memorizing each point. When you sit down to take the test,…
Comparing Old and New SAT Scores
Now that scores are out for the new SAT, we can answer many lingering questions. First off, how does a specific score on the new test correspond to the old test? Secondly, how do the two tests stack up against each other—is one more difficult than the other? And finally, just how many questions can…
Is My GRE Score “Good”?
If you’re preparing for the GRE, you probably already know the minimum score you need to get—most university admission offices set minimums very clearly. You probably also know you shouldn’t simply aim for the minimum score. To make sure you get at least the minimum, you’ll want to aim higher. To keep yourself competitive, you…
Important Facts About GRE Scoring
The road to a top GRE score on test day can be quite a journey. In the final stages of this adventure—actually taking the test, getting your score, and sending it to schools—the exact nature of your score becomes more important than ever. Today, we’ll look at some news you can use about GRE scoring….
5 Ways to Cut Stress After an Admission Test
The months, weeks, and days leading up to a major admission test can be a major source of stress for students. Unfortunately, that stress doesn’t necessarily go away once the test is over. In this post, we cover some of the best ways to manage stress after handing in your test. 1. Breathe deeply As soon…
The 3 Most Popular Grad School Myths
In the education sector, we hear a lot of myths from our students applying to grad school. A lot of this popular perception just isn’t true! In this post, we’ll reveal the facts behind the three most common myths. 1. I can only attend a highly-ranked school for grad school to be worthwhile. There are…
Introducing Magoosh’s LSAT Prep
Over the past seven years, our friends at Magoosh have helped over 2 million students prepare for standardized tests. With an emphasis on accessibility, Magoosh offers affordable, high-quality test prep that you can access from anywhere in the world. Recently, Magoosh launched their own LSAT test prep and an LSAT blog. For a limited time,…
The ACT Essay: A Breakdown
The Prompt The new ACT essay prompts that premiered last fall have been giving even top-scoring students a run for their money. The reason is because the ACT is now asking students to do a lot more in their essay responses. So let’s break it down. The ACT essay prompt consists of three main parts:…
The SAT Essay: A Breakdown
The Prompt On the old test, the SAT essay prompts were pretty simple one sentence phrases that you’d have to evaluate, something like: The best leaders are those who listen to what others have to say. Since this was far too readily gamed, students writing perfect-scoring essays that were cookie cutter and lacked logical consistency,…
Magoosh’s Free Practice Questions for the TOEFL
Are you preparing for the TOEFL? If so, you know how important it is to practice questions that are similar to those you’ll see on the actual exam. But, it can be hard to find quality (free!) materials to study with. That’s where this resource from our friends at Magoosh TOEFL comes in! Magoosh has…
How to Study Like the Highest-Scoring GMAT Test Takers
At Magoosh, we recently completed a study of the top test takers, and have some cool tips to share with you to help you get that top score. We surveyed more than 400 Magoosh students who scored in the top 10% in the GRE, GMAT, SAT and ACT, and found the study habits that correlate…
