The Wall Street Journal reports that The College Board (the New York-based nonprofit that supervises the SAT) intends to give every student that takes the SAT an adversity score in an attempt to capture their social and economic background. How it works This figure is calculated using 15 indicators including the crime rate and poverty…
Top Tips to Improve Your SAT Score
When you’re prepping for the SAT, the last thing you want to do is waste time. And there are a lot of time wasters out there: from bad materials to tutors only familiar with the old test (it changed in 2016, people!), it seems like there are more potential landmines cropping up every day. But…
Affordable Online Test Prep [Episode 198]
We are now getting calls from applicants who plan to plan to apply in the summer, fall, and winter to matriculate in 2018. A few have all their ducks lined up – test score in place, school visits planned, a GPA they’re proud of, and maybe they’re just rounding out their profile to put icing…
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…
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…
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 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,…
ACT vs SAT: Pros And Cons
Which test should you take? The SAT or the ACT? An already tough question even without the added wrench of the brand new SAT (premiering in March 2016) thrown into the equation. So if you are planning on taking standardized tests in the spring of next year or later, make sure you read on to…
Why Is The SAT Scored From 600 To 2400?
There are only a few times in your life when you’ll look at test scores and see a number like 1200 or 2000. Wait, wait—there’s only one time, really: that’s the SAT. Ninety-nine percent of the tests you take are scored as a fraction or a percentage, so what gives? What’s the point of putting…
The Test Prep Guru Speaks
In honor of Thanksgiving, we’ve decided to repost one of the podcast episodes that our listeners have been most grateful for. If you didn’t hear it the first time or you just want to review, now is the perfect time to listen to our highly informative (and super-popular) interview with Bhavin Parikh, CEO and founder of Magoosh, the…
Magoosh’s New eBook: Lightening the SAT Math Load
For some high school students, SAT math is the bane of their existence. You need to learn all these foreign strings of numbers and letters, and then magically recall them once you’re sitting in a hot room for hours with your entire future weighing down on your tired shoulders. Yeah – SAT math…not the funnest…
Big SAT Changes Favored More by Adcom than by Students
Kaplan asked 403 admissions officers from top schools and 684 high school students their opinions on the new SAT. Survey results show that the admissions officers are more supportive of the changes than the college applicants. 79% of officers support the changes, up from 72% last year. Big changes include reverting back to the 1600…
18 SAT Lifehacks [An Awesome Infographic]
Thanks to our friends at Magoosh SAT for putting together this SAT lifehack infographic to make sure you safely avoid any test-day nightmares. Take some time to browse this list of SAT prep lifehacks and master the 18 unexpected tips you’ll need for a higher SAT score! Good luck!
What if I Need to Retake the SAT?
Some treat taking the SAT over again as though it were the same thing as walking down the aisle to take one’s marriage vows for the second time. If stigma should be attached anywhere, it should be on not re-taking the SAT—a second time, third time, and a fourth time. I’m not saying become an…
ACT, SAT, PSAT…What’s the Difference?
When we compare standardized tests to each other, there are usually two points of view that people take: either they’re all the same, or you have to prepare for each one separately. The truth—surprise, surprise—is actually somewhere between those two ideas. But that’s boring to write about (who actually likes compromising, anyway?), so I’m not…
How Does the Essay Affect Your SAT Score?
Although the SAT essay is going to be optional before long (when the test changes in 2016), as of right now it’s a must. So, love it or hate it, your essay will influence your SAT score, and the admissions offices at the colleges you’ll apply to will see that score. So let’s answer one…
GMAT, GRE, SAT, and All Things Test Prep
GMAT, GRE, SAT… If one of these tests graces your future, tune in to our interview with Bhavin Parikh, CEO and founder of Magoosh, the leading online test prep company. Listen to the recording of our conversation with Bhavin for great test prep advice and the lowdown on Magoosh. 00:02:17 – The story behind Magoosh…
Writing an Interesting SAT Essay in 25 Minutes
A common mistake students make on the SAT essay is thinking that if they stick to a formulaic approach, they will get a good SAT score essay-wise. The thing is using a “cookie cutter” approach to the essay can often result in a dull, predictable—and not at all convincing—essay. What is this approach, I speak…
Review of BenchPrep’s Online Test Prep Site
I just logged into the BenchPrep test prep website and am welcomed with their greeting of “Gain an unfair advantage on test day”; I like this – a test prep site with an edge! Let’s continue exploring… After you sign in and choose your test (see list below), you’ll then choose your target test date….
So You Aced the PSAT: Should You Still Study for the SAT?
Man, what a feeling. You take the PSAT at the start of junior year and have a higher score than almost anybody you know. You’re set, right? In the clear. Don’t even have to worry about the SAT—it’s pretty much the same thing right? Alright, so this doesn’t happen to everybody. After all, only 10%…
