Preparing for the SAT or ACT involves more than just understanding content and mastering strategies; it also includes conditioning yourself for the marathon that is test day. Full-length practice tests play an indispensable role in this preparation, helping you build endurance, manage time, and simulate the actual testing environment. Here are three reasons why dedicating time to taking full-length practice exams is essential for achieving your best score ..read more

Choosing the right college can be a daunting task, with thousands of options available across the United States. However, for students looking for specialized programs or unique college experiences, there are several standout institutions worth considering. In this blog post, we'll explore six specialized college programs that cater to different interests, backgrounds, and career goals. From Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to all-women's colleges, military academies, gap year programs, direct admit pathways, and direct access programs, each offers a distinct educational ex ..read more

As an SAT® and ACT® tutor, I hear a wide range of concerns from students hoping to significantly improve their test scores. Among the most common of these is that they feel lost when they reach the tests’ trickiest questions, a fear of which can squelch students’ confidence at the most inopportune times ..read more

Receiving your March SAT® scores can feel like a moment of truth in your academic career—a culmination of your hard work and preparation for the test. To be sure, it’s a significant milestone in your journey to college, but it’s not the final say on your future. As you reflect on your SAT results today, there are certain pitfalls you should avoid to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success ..read more

Picture this: It’s 9:45 A.M. on a Saturday, and you’re sitting in an off-balance, tablet-arm desk chair in a high school thirty minutes from your house. You’re in one of five rows of such chairs, accompanied by thirty other students who are furiously scribbling graphite onto a bubble sheet. A fluorescent light hums overhead. You’re two hours into a three-hour ACT test, and every stimulus in the room is at once an annoyance and a tempting reprieve from the Reading section passage in front of you. You do a double take—you’re on line 18, but you couldn’t recall a thing about the passage right n ..read more

We don't often take the opportunity to shamelessly self-promote, but occasionally doing so actually helps us better inform the students, parents, and educators we work with ..read more

In recent years, there has been a significant evolution in the landscape of college admissions policies, particularly regarding the role of standardized testing. What began as a movement towards "test optional" or "test flexible" policies has recently seen a shift back towards emphasizing standardized test scores in admissions decisions. But what does "test optional" really mean, and how does it affect students ..read more

High school students have great opportunities to obtain free college credits even before graduating high school! Today, high schools provide many opportunities for students to accelerate their learning through various high school programming. Earning college credit in high school is beneficial for multiple reasons ..read more

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Major Decisions: A Counselor's Guide to Choosing the Right College Major ..read more