ACT & SAT Prep and College Admissions Blog

How to Hire the Best ACT or SAT Tutor for You

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Wed, Dec 29, 2021 @ 12:46 PM

Preparing for the ACT or SAT can seem daunting, but remember, these exams are your chance to improve the likelihood of admission to your dream college. In fact, if your GPA isn’t as high as it could be, this could be the chance you have at giving yourself an edge in the admissions process. While many colleges are going test optional, a strong ACT score can only help you show off your academic prowess and readiness to thrive in at the university level. Though the ACT can be challenging, and perhaps you’ve scored less-than-ideally on a practice test, utilizing an ACT tutor can noticeably improve your score. An in-person or online ACT tutor can really kick-start your ACT prep process, providing you with the ACT study plan you need to be effective and efficient when you self-study for the ACT. After all, for every hour you spend with an ACT or SAT tutor, you should spend three hours self-studying.

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Topics: sat tutoring, ACT concepts, SAT test, ACT/SAT study skills

Dealing with Difficult Reading Passages on the SAT and ACT

Posted by Mike S. on Fri, May 18, 2018 @ 09:00 AM

The SAT and the ACT are not designed to be fun tests. That’s probably really obvious to you already! These tests takes forever, have a billion questions, and will turn you into a zombie for the rest of your Saturday.

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Topics: ACT study plan, SAT test, ACT test, SAT study plan, ACT prep, act reading, sat reading, sat prep

Common Wrong Answer Choices on the SAT and ACT Reading

Posted by Mike S. on Fri, Apr 06, 2018 @ 10:00 AM

Many to-be ACT and SAT takers absolutely dread the Reading section for a series of totally fair reasons. The passages can be mind-numbingly boring. Questions about tone and author’s purpose seem cruelly subjective. So many of the questions have various answer choices that seem fine.

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Topics: ACT study plan, SAT test, ACT test, SAT study plan, ACT prep, act reading, sat reading, sat prep

SAT Math: An Overview

Posted by Dhara Shah on Thu, Mar 08, 2018 @ 11:35 AM

Studying for the SAT can seem like a daunting undertaking, but all you really have to do to master it is break it up and take it one section at a time. Today, we will be highlighting the Math section of the SAT.

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Topics: SAT, SAT test, SAT study help, SAT study plan, SAT math

Should You Answer SAT Questions in Order?

Posted by Mike S. on Thu, Feb 22, 2018 @ 11:35 AM

 

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Topics: SAT, SAT test, SAT study help, SAT study plan, SAT writing

The PSAT: Your First Step to SAT & ACT Success

Posted by Method Test Prep on Wed, Sep 06, 2017 @ 11:54 AM

This fall, many high school juniors––and even some sophomores––will take the PSAT. In all likelihood, this will be their first experience with standardized college admissions exams. You may have heard that students’ PSAT results “don’t count” and “don’t matter.” While it’s true for most students that college admissions committees won’t use PSAT scores to gauge their college readiness (that is, after all, what the SAT and ACT are for), the view that the PSAT doesn’t matter at all is both shortsighted and counterproductive. In truth, PSAT scores can provide valuable insight into your strengths and weaknesses; when used correctly, the results can help students take a big first step toward success on the SAT and ACT.
 
But what do we mean when we say used correctly? There are several ways to take advantage of your scores, some more practical and valuable than others. Here are three tips for getting everything you can out of the data on your PSAT report.
 
1. Don’t get too distracted by the overall section scores; instead, focus on the detail. The highest-level scores provided by your PSAT report will be in the form of two numbers, each out of 760: your Math score, and your Evidence-Based Reading & Writing (ERW) scores. (Note that on the SAT, both of these are scored out of 800.) Students and parents tend to obsess over these scores, forgetting about the other numbers the PSAT report provides. While they do suggest something about overall performance, these numbers are not terribly revealing. Instead of focusing on your 540 in Reading & Writing and your 580 on Math, pay closer attention to your subscores, listed on a scale from 0 to 15. These scores reveal more specific areas of strength and weakness. For example, let’s suppose you do score a 580 on the Math. That number alone tells you that you are “above average” (average for juniors is around a 510), but not much else. The subscores, however, can reveal where that 580 came from. Perhaps your “Problem Solving and Data Analysis” subscore was a very strong 12 out of 15, but your “Heart of Algebra” score was an 8. This immediately reveals that you need to direct your focus toward reinforcing your algebra skills, which include interpreting, creating, and rearranging equations and expressions.
 
2. Make a list of topics you need to work on; use the test to isolate examples. It will be easier for you to formulate a prep plan if you translate the information within your PSAT score report into your own summary. Use your subscores to assemble a list of topics that disproportionately impacted your score. Furthermore, take a look at the answer sheet provided on the final page of the report to isolate the specific questions you found difficult. You’ll have your test booklet, so you will be able to see the exact questions you could not answer or that you answered incorrectly. Consider taking pictures of these questions with your phone, or even printing them out and pasting them into a notebook. Now, you have a suite of problems and questions that will form the basis of your prep. And by the way, even if you’re planning on sticking to the ACT, know that the (P)SAT and ACT share lots of content: the subscore categories presented by your PSAT report are just as likely to reveal potential strengths and weaknesses on the ACT.
 
3. Use the scores to establish a baseline and formulate goals. Realistic expectations and goals are are both very important. Assuming you put in a decent effort while taking the PSAT, your scores reflect where you stand without any concerted prep. Now, you can use the report to begin planning. How many topics must you focus on to increase your scores? How much time are you prepared to dedicate to SAT or ACT prep? Do your initial scores suggest you may benefit from a prep course setting (students who score around average are more likely to benefit from multi-student group courses than are students whose scores are on the extremes), or would small-group or private tutoring be more productive? Is your goal to increase your score by 50 points, or by 300 points? On which section can you focus to maximize the points earned for the time spent studying? The answers to all of these questions lie within your report: you simply have to use the data at your fingertips.
 
Remember: though the PSAT may seem inconsequential, the information it provides can be extremely helpful in raising your scores. Using the PSAT to develop positive and proactive momentum can mean the difference between productive, meaningful prep and last-minute frantic cramming. So take advantage of all the PSAT report has to offer––when all is said and done, you’ll thank yourself for doing so.
 
-Evan Wessler, Vice President of Education––Method Test Prep

 

 
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Topics: ACT/SAT, ACT, SAT test, ACT test, SAT study help, ACT study help, ACT/SAT study skills, ACT-Math practice, PSAT

The ACT, the SAT, or Both?

Posted by Mark Skoskiewicz on Thu, Oct 04, 2012 @ 04:12 AM

If you just started your junior or senior year of high school, then you have a lot of big decisions coming up in your life! In addition to all your tough classes and rewarding extra curricular activities, you have to juggle the college admissions process. After your high school transcript and personal essays, test scores are the final big piece of the college admissions puzzle. So how can you get the score that will get you into your dream school?

The big decision to make is whether you are going to submit ACT scores, SAT scores, or both. First, check out the requirements of the colleges you will be applying to. Many schools only require that you submit either an ACT or an SAT score, but some are still strict about which one they prefer.

If the choice is yours, then you can consider which test is more suited to your style of thinking and test-taking. Putting some time into deciding which test to take will pay off when you get your highest possible score; there are some big differences between the tests.

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Topics: ACT/SAT, SAT test, ACT test, High School Test Taking, College Admissions