Can AI Really Help You Prep for the SAT/ACT? 4 Practical Guidelines (and 4 Videos)

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in education right now, and SAT/ACT prep is no exception. Some students are using AI to generate practice questions, explain answers, or map out study schedules. Others are worried it will replace tutors or make the test “too easy.” The truth is more nuanced: AI can be useful in a few specific ways, but it can also waste time (or teach you the wrong thing) if you don’t put guardrails around it.

The “Math Person” Myth: 4 Mindset Shifts That Make SAT/ACT Prep Easier

If SAT or ACT prep has ever made you think, “I’m just not a math person,” you’re not alone. But that belief is one of the most expensive mistakes students make—not because ability doesn’t vary, but because the story you tell yourself shapes how you practice, how long you stick with problems, and how you respond when you miss questions.

Over the past 8 years, as the SAT has undergone two massive updates, the ACT has generally remained static in the turning world of college admissions. Any changes to its format have been comparatively minor, making it relatively straightforward to prepare for. But, as of July 15th, 2024, the ACT has announced some fairly extensive changes that will be rolled out in 2025-26. In this article, we will summarize those changes and consider how they might impact a student’s decision to take the ACT vs. the SAT.

Earlier this spring, we at MyGuru declared that test optional college admission policies were coming to an end for high school students applying to top American universities. As part of the upcoming 2024-25 application cycle beginning this fall, most of the Ivy League and a notable number of elite universities across the United States are once again requiring an ACT or SAT score. Now, Stanford has quietly announced (in a classic Friday news dump) that it too will be reinstating a standardized testing requirement for undergraduate applicants, but beginning in 2025, making this the final test optional application cycle for the Cardinal. This particular decision is important for two reasons:

1. It pushes the timeframe for application policy changes back a year
2. It puts Stanford in direct opposition to its California public university rivals

Since 1959, the ACT has helped high school students demonstrate college readiness and qualify for scholarships. But in February 2024, ACT (which is also the name of the organization that designs and administers the exam) launched its biggest change in years: offering a digital version of the ACT as an optional alternative to the classic pencil and paper exam format.

With Harvard and Caltech joining the ranks of selective colleges and universities requiring a standardized test once again as part of the 2024-25 application cycle, MyGuru is more than comfortable asserting that all high schoolers planning to attend college should once again plan to take either the ACT or SAT. While many applicants will see this as a negative (who wants to take a test on a weekend, right!?), this return to standardized testing requirements has been supported by each of the institutions reinstating the exams with data illustrating that test optional policies have actually harmed the at-risk and lower income students that they purportedly were intended to help.