Let’s be honest—figuring out where to apply to college can feel like a lot. There are hundreds (okay, thousands) of schools, everyone has opinions, and suddenly it feels like a huge life decision. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This is one of those moments where a little structure can calm everything down—just like … Read more
Sup! Let’s be honest. The SAT Reading & Writing section can feel like a mystery. One question asks about the main idea, the next asks about grammar, and suddenly you’re wondering what’s even going on. If test anxiety or SAT anxiety has ever made this section feel overwhelming, here’s the good news: it’s not random … Read more
One of the most useful grammar rules on the SAT Reading and Writing section is also one of the simplest: if a piece of a sentence can be removed without changing the core meaning, it’s considered non-essential information. Once you understand how to spot it—and how to punctuate it—you can pick up easy points on … Read more
On the SAT Reading and Writing section, questions about transitional words are really tests of reasoning. The test isn’t asking which word sounds best; it’s asking whether the connection between two ideas makes sense. When you approach these questions as logic problems, they become far more predictable—and much easier to solve. The One Question You … Read more
One of the most reliable grammar patterns on the SAT involves dependent clauses—and once you understand how they work, comma questions in this category become very predictable. The key idea is simple: some clauses can stand alone as sentences, and some can’t. The SAT is testing whether you can tell the difference and punctuate accordingly. … Read more
One of the most useful things to understand about SAT grammar is that the test really only cares about sentence structure, not fancy punctuation rules. Once you see that, a lot of punctuation questions suddenly stop feeling mysterious. A great example of this is the comma + FANBOYS rule, which works hand-in-hand with periods and … Read more
If you’re a parent wondering how much weight colleges place on SAT scores these days, you’re not alone. The landscape of college admissions has shifted a lot in the past few years, and it can be tough to keep track of what matters and what doesn’t. As a tutor who’s been walking families through this … Read more
SUP! The Reading and Writing section is full of punctuation traps, and colons (:) and dashes (—) are two of the sneakiest. Nail this one rule, and you’ll pick up easy points every time. Let’s break it down with the exact pattern the SAT loves to test. The One Rule You Need Colons and dashes … Read more
If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a punctuation question on the SAT wondering whether to pick a period or a semicolon, here’s the truth: it doesn’t actually matter—at least not grammatically. On the SAT, these two punctuation marks serve exactly the same purpose. Once you realize that, this whole category of questions becomes much … Read more
What Is Perseverance? Perseverance is like being a determined turtle—you may not be the fastest, but you keep moving forward no matter what. It means sticking with something even when it gets hard, boring, or downright frustrating. It’s the voice in your head that says, “Don’t quit now!” when everything else wants to give up. … Read more