--- title: College Admissions News and ACT / SAT Strategy | sat prep description: sat prep | Stay current with the latest college application and admission news, as well as proven ACT and SAT strategies. --- # COllege Admissions News and ACT / SAT Strategy Stay current with the latest undergraduate college admissions news and proven ACT and Digital SAT strategies. Browse by All ACT ACT/SAT sat prep ACT/SAT study skills college tips college advice sat tutoring ACT prep sat tutors college student College Admissions High School Test Taking SAT college education college questions study skills ACT test SAT study plan college freshman advice SAT test College Applications SAT online tutoring college entrance college timeline ACT overview SAT math digital sat sat online studying for the SATs undergraduate student common questions ACT study plan ACT-Math practice SAT study help SAT study tips college tips for studying for the SATs ACT Science ACT math Reading Comprehension SAT practice tests SAT self-study admissions essays applying to college college admissions process college tuition sat reading test taking strategies ACT concepts ACT study help ACT tutoring AP tutoring Choosing a College Digital ACT SAT reading comprehension SAT writing act online act reading ap classes ap test prep college admissions essay cost of sat tutoring math skills sat help sat tutor cost sat tutor hourly rate studying for the ACT ACT english COVID sat Campus bound College Rankings GMAT Managing Stress Online Reputation Management PSAT SAT classes SAT redesign Standardized exams Study plans Uncategorized Writing Section act coronavirus admissions data chemistry chemistry subject test college ROI college athletics college coach college essay writing advice college essays college freshman questions college prep college recruiting college resume collegebound admissions cost of college desmos extracurriculars improve academic performance interview preparation logs in ACT-Math math new student FAQs process of elimination sat chemistry test standardized tests study abroad study tips studying for standardized exams submitting test scores test anxiety test optional test prep strategies tips for studying for the ACT writing an essay This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Posts about sat prep: [SAT math](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-math) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [digital sat](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/digital-sat) [desmos](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/desmos) If you’ve spent any time preparing for the digital SAT, you’ve noticed that there is a calculator right in the interface for the math sections. It’s tempting to use, especially if you don’t fully trust your mental math skills or you’re not completely comfortable with harder algebra and coordinate geometry questions. But should you use it? And if so, when? While calculators can sometimes be useful on the SAT and can sometimes shave a few seconds off a problem, they can also lead test takers astray. Rounding the values for 𝝅 or √2 may lead to incorrect responses, and typing numbers and operations too quickly can hide key concepts and result in careless mistakes. For tests like the SAT, where there’s no partial credit and you can’t show your work, the calculator can be both a blessing and a curse. [SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat) [SAT test](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-test) [SAT study tips](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-study-tips) [studying for the SATs](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/studying-for-the-sats) [tips for studying for the SATs](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/tips-for-studying-for-the-sats) [Reading Comprehension](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/reading-comprehension) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [SAT reading comprehension](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-reading-comprehension) [digital sat](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/digital-sat) Two years ago, when [College Board](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat) announced that the new Digital SAT would abandon dreaded long-passage reading comprehension questions in favor of a shorter, quicker, mixed verbal section, thousands of high school sophomores and juniors breathed a collective sigh of relief. Six paragraph science passages, plot-free fictional excerpts, and paired historical texts with flowery opaque language would all be retired with few lamenting their absence from the new exam. After all, these new passages were going to be easy! One and done! How could it possibly be difficult to guess the main idea of a five-line passage? [ACT/SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/actsat) [ACT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act) [SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat) [ACT prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act-prep) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [digital sat](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/digital-sat) Earlier this spring, we at MyGuru declared that [test optional college admission policies were coming to an end](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/end-of-optional-acts-sats) 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](https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/06/stanford-to-resume-standardized-test-requirement) (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 [sat tutoring](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-tutoring) [SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [SAT online tutoring](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-online-tutoring) [sat online](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-online) [digital sat](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/digital-sat) This year, [College Board](https://www.collegeboard.org/)—the organization responsible for designing and administering the SAT—has made several massive changes to the format of the test. While the SAT has always improved and refined the exam, this year’s changes are going to change the ways high school students all over the world prep for the standardized exam. If you’re planning to apply to college in the near future, then you’ll want to make sure you’re fully prepared for the new SAT. [ACT/SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/actsat) [ACT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act) [SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat) [ACT prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act-prep) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [digital sat](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/digital-sat) With [Harvard](https://college.harvard.edu/resources/faq/which-standardized-tests-does-harvard-require) and [Caltech](https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-restores-standardized-test-requirement-for-undergraduate-admission) 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](https://www.myguruedge.com/high-school-tutoring/act) or [SAT](https://www.myguruedge.com/high-school-tutoring/digital-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. [sat tutors](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-tutors) [College Admissions](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-admissions) [ACT/SAT study skills](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/actsat-study-skills) [college tips](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-tips) [college entrance](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-entrance) [college timeline](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-timeline) [ACT prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act-prep) [sat prep](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/sat-prep) [college](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college) If you really want to get a high SAT score, perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that “talent” or “IQ” matters far less than you think. There are not really “math people” or “natural readers.” What matters is the amount and quality of your SAT prep, which of course is influenced in large part by how passionate and genuinely interested you are in doing well on the SAT or ACT. So if you want to get a 99th percentile SAT score or a 34 on the ACT, it’s possible that you can do it. ### Follow this blog