If your child is beginning the college application process, you’ve probably encountered the phrase “test-optional.” At first, it sounds simple: “If the college is test-optional, my child doesn’t need to take the SAT.” Not necessarily. Test-optional means students can decide whether they want their SAT or ACT scores considered. And at some colleges, particularly selective … Read more
Coordinate geometry problems are common on the SAT, and two formulas can make many of them much easier: the distance formula and the midpoint formula. The distance formula tells you how far apart two points are. The midpoint formula tells you the point exactly halfway between them. Once you understand what these formulas are actually … Read more
Some SAT grammar rules are easier to understand when you stop thinking about grammar and start thinking about patterns. Parallel structure is a perfect example. The basic idea is simple: When parts of a sentence are doing the same job, they should usually have the same grammatical structure. If a sentence starts a list with … Read more
You’re taking an SAT practice test when suddenly your inner critic decides to join the party. “I have no idea how to do this.” “I’m going to get a terrible score.” “What if I completely mess up on test day?” And before you know it, one difficult question has turned into a full-blown disaster movie … Read more
If your child has a disability that affects how they take tests, you may be wondering whether the SAT offers special accommodations. The answer is yes. Students with documented disabilities may qualify for testing accommodations through the College Board’s Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) program. These accommodations are designed to give students appropriate access … Read more
Factoring can sometimes feel like you’re being asked to take an algebra expression apart and somehow know exactly where all the pieces belong. Luckily, certain expressions follow patterns. Once you learn to recognize those patterns, factoring becomes much easier. For the SAT, three useful patterns to know are the difference of two squares, perfect square … Read more
Yesterday you studied. Today you study. Tomorrow you will study. That’s verb tense in action. Verb tense tells us when something happens, and the SAT expects the verbs in a sentence or passage to make sense together. The basic idea isn’t too complicated. The tricky part is that the SAT may give you several different … Read more
Preparing for the SAT is a lot like learning to ride a bike. At first, it feels awkward. You might wobble, make mistakes, or even fall a few times. But if you keep adjusting and learning from what happens, you eventually find your balance. The same is true for SAT prep. One of the most … Read more
If you’re the parent of a high school student, you’ve probably heard a lot about the SAT. But one of the most common questions parents ask is surprisingly simple: “What subjects are actually on the SAT?” The answer is much simpler than many people expect. The digital SAT covers just two main subject areas: Let’s … Read more
If you’ve taken a practice SAT, you’ve almost certainly seen questions about linear functions. Why? Because straight-line relationships show up everywhere—from graphs and word problems to systems of equations and modeling real-world situations. The good news is that almost every linear function question comes back to just a few important formulas. Once you understand what … Read more