Avoid these top three mistakes I see all the time in my work as an elite test-prep expert and your road to the doors of that dream school will run a LOT more smoothly.
Do you have to write the essay on the SAT or ACT?
Do you have to write the essay on the ACT or SAT? I’m usually here to tell you that skipping something you COULD use as an opportunity to shine is a mistake…but maybe not this time. Read on to find out if you’re one of the lucky ones who really CAN forget about writing the SAT Essay section or the ACT Writing component.
What's New on the Common App, 2020-2021
The 2020-2021 Common App has some important changes, and being aware of them will help you put your best foot forward in your college applications! This post is your COMPLETE resource guide to acing the Common App and opening the door to that dream school.
The Testing Timeline: The SUREST Path to the ACT and SAT Scores That Open Doors
So you want the best possible SAT or ACT scores you can get, huh? AND you’d like to stay sane while achieving them, so you can enjoy that dream school when you get there? Your road map to navigating the overwhelming, stressful testing and college processes needs the SUREST tool to success: a Testing Timeline.
SAT and ACT Test Dates 2020-2021
To plan a successful 2020-2021 college application cycle (read: to get into that dream school in 2021), you need to start making a testing plan now. So here’s your complete ACT and SAT testing calendar for 2020-2021—every test date with information about which tests (ACT, SAT, and SAT II Subject Tests) are available, registration deadlines, and score availability dates. Get planning!
"Test-optional" applications: can YOU skip the SAT or ACT entirely?
So…we’ve taken a look at what “test optional” REALLY means, and how it affects the way your application is evaluated. Now that you have a little more information about what makes this decision complicated, let’s cut to the chase: how do you decide if YOU can skip the SAT or ACT? I’ll walk you through it.
Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors AND Seniors: Here's Your Quarantine/Post-Quarantine College Admissions To-Do List
We may be having a very weird semester, but time hasn’t stopped. Your future is still coming—so how are you getting ready for it? In this post, I’m giving every high school class a to-do list for using your quarantine time to set up the most successful college process and transition possible. Tackle this list and you’ll have a leg up when things do get back to baseline.
Expert Guidance For Uncertain Times: FREE Webinars on Test Prep in the Time of Covid-19
We’re living in very uncertain times—Covid-19 is changing test prep, with new adjustments being announced every week, but it’s not changing the fact that college admissions deadlines are fast approaching! I can’t get hand sanitizer back on the shelves, but I CAN make sure you have all the information you need to navigate this uniquely challenging situation and stay on track to your dream school. So welcome to my webinar series—it’s the latest news, expert analysis, and the chance to ask me YOUR questions, and it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE.
Are SAT II Subject Tests DEAD?
SAT II Subject Tests are no longer a consistently required part of every college application—which means they might not have to be part of your testing timeline at all! But it also introduces a complicated decision: how do you decide if YOU should take SAT 2s? In this post, I’ll explain what factors make Subject Tests necessary, important, a good opportunity…or something you can skip.
How To Make Online Test Prep Work For You
Online education, distance learning, remote instruction—whatever you call it, it’s our new normal for right now. How will you make the switch without letting it derail your prep for ACTs, SATs, and even just your classes? For the last decade, I’ve been helping students in nine time zones across six continents get the scores they need to get into their dream schools—so let me explain.
Test Prep in the Time of Coronavirus: Advice From an Expert
The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting lives around the globe—and it’s also disrupting test prep and college admissions. In this post I’m passing you all the news you need and giving you my expert analysis of how it will affect your test prep and what you can do to stay ahead of the curve.
ACT Section Retesting: What You Need To Know
The rules for ACT retesting have changed—and it’s major! Let me walk you through what’s changing and when—and what it means for your testing timeline and strategy.
Sticking To Your Test Prep Plan Through The Winter Of Your Test Prep Discontent
This is the time of year where people start changing up their test prep plans—or just bailing out on them altogether. I’ve been talking my students through this “winter of their test prep discontent” for more than a decade, and across to the other side to where the results they need lie. In this post, I’m doing the same for you.
ACT vs SAT I vs SAT II: What's the Difference?
We may be test ninjas here at Ivy Lounge, but everyone has to start with the basics! This post will get you up to speed on the crucial foundational knowledge about the ACT, SAT I, and SAT II—so you can get on your way to an overall testing strategy!
The Right (AND WRONG) Ways to Use SAT Practice Tests
Real SAT practice tests are a finite resource. Let me explain why that matters…and how to make the most of the valuable practice tests you have!
2019-2020 SAT and ACT Test Dates
Wondering what the full schedule of test dates looks like for the SAT, SAT II Subject Tests, and ACT in 2019-2020? Wonder no longer.
Adversity Score No More: Meet the SAT "Landscape"!
Worried about the new SAT Adversity Score and how it affects your testing strategy? Well, here’s an update you need: it’s been replaced by a new College Board innovation that affects your college applications, but differently. Meet the Landscape…and let me brief you on what it is and what it means for you.
Summer's Over: It's Time to Get Serious About Studying Again
No matter what year you are in high school, if you're anything like my students, now is the time for a wake-up call: summer vacation is over...it's time to get serious about testing and the college process again! I'm breaking down the year ahead for every grade level!
What's New On The Common App 2019-2020
The Common App makes changes every year—some big, some small. This year, several of those changes affect user experience. Let me fill you in on what’s changing for the 2019-2020 application year and what’s staying the same—and then I’ll walk you through the Common App step by step!
What's the SAT Adversity Score?
If you follow testing and college-process news, you may have heard of the SAT’s new “Adversity Score.” But what is it, really? And how will it affect YOUR testing strategy? I’m breaking it down for you.
