Test Prep Tips

By Carl F., IvyWise Master Tutor We’ve all been there: staring at an “impossible” problem on the ACT or SAT, unsure how we will ever solve this test troll’s riddle and make it safely to the other side of the bridge. Worse, you’re absolutely positive that getting this question right is the difference between your goal score and the one that’ll have you miss the cut for your ideal college.

By Joey, IvyWise Tutor With students from around the world continuing to seek higher education in the US, determining applicants’ English proficiency has remained a top priority for colleges and universities. After decades of relative stability in the field of standardized English testing—ETS’s TOEFL is accepted by everyone, with the IELTS, the PTE, and others popular as well—the landscape shifted dramatically in 2015 with the introduction of the Duolingo English Test (DET). Users of the world’s most popular language-learning app asked the company to certify the knowledge they had gained, and Duolingo responded with an exclusively online exam that has since exploded in popularity.

For students studying a foreign language, learning doesn't have to stop just because class is no longer in session. In fact, summer break is the perfect opportunity to engage with a language more informally in order to continue to learn and develop language skills outside of the classroom. Often, after a lot of classroom learning, a language learner will start overthinking the language, or get lost in the weeds and lose touch with the fundamentals of basic comprehension and expression.

Summer can be a time for sleeping in, seeing friends and family, and almost forgetting you were a student for a bit. But it’s also an opportunity to work on projects you didn’t have time for during the school year. The real question is how to balance the summer with relaxing and being both personally and academically productive.

You’ve spent all year working hard and mastering the difficult topics covered in AP Calculus. The AP exam is just around the corner and you want to be as prepared as possible. The exam is broken into two sections: Multiple Choice and Free Response.

The spring semester is a popular testing time for college-bound students and is often the first time that high school juniors crack open an SAT or ACT prep book. What’s important for younger students to realize, however, is that starting test prep early – even in 9th or 10th grade – can help students have the best chance of reaching their goal scores and mitigate the stress caused by too much testing at once. In reality, when to start test prep depends on a lot of factors.

Preparing for mid-term or final exams this December can be a stressful process, as some students' grades can depend heavily on these comprehensive tests – and grades are the most important factor in the college admissions process. There are a number of ways, however, that students can approach their exam prep in order to alleviate anxiety and perform their best on test day. Students need to understand that preparing for final or mid-term exams is a marathon, not a sprint.

Making good grades as well as preparing for the SAT and ACT exams can be daunting, and often the last thing that students want to think about as fall and winter breaks approach. However, staying engaged can help you prevent burnout and meet your academic and score goals this fall. Homework and test prep don’t have to be boring.

Academic support is critical for success inside of the classroom. For many students struggling with complex coursework, like math, it’s important to seek out resources that will help you improve your math grade. There are several different steps you can take, such as practicing, working with a tutor, or watching videos in your spare time.

By Priyam, IvyWise Master Tutor The secret recipe for AP exam success is simple: one part content knowledge and one part standardized test savvy. While many students take AP exams at the culmination of their AP course, others might self-study for an exam. Whether you’re prepping for the AP exam as part of your course curriculum, or you’re taking the exam on your own, it’s important to make sure that you not only know the content and how to review it, but know how to take the tests.

Many students will be taking semester-end finals exams this month and with holidays, and other testing dates for the ACT and SAT, students can find it hard to focus on these last tests before a nice break. So how can students best prep for their academic testing in December? For many students, the end of term exams taking place in December can lead to a very stressful time.

Fighting Summer Brain Drain: Tips From An Expert Tutor Summer “brain drain” or the “summer slide,” the theory that over the summer break students stop learning and even lose some of what they’ve learned during the school year, is a real phenomenon that’s been documented by researchers for the past several decades. However, there are a number of simple ways in which students can keep their brains active in order to prevent losing any of the gains they’ve made over the previous academic year. Continuing to learn during times of educational lulls can seem like a tall task: how can I simulate classroom learning outside of school?

A portion of this resource addresses SAT Subject Tests. In January 2021, the College Board announced that both SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay portion of the current SAT exam would be discontinued. For more information on how this impacts college admissions, click here.

The ACT is an important exam and your score will be used not only for college admission purposes, but also to determine qualification for scholarships and even course placement. Your performance on the ACT Math section may be particularly important for admission into a technical school or a quantitative major. So if you choose to take the ACT, how should you prepare for the math section?

It’s a question on every applicant’s mind: how much will test scores impact my chances of admission to my top-choice universities? For international students, this level of wonder and interest is often leveled up a notch. Many students from abroad have a few additional steps to complete when applying to US universities, including English proficiency exams such as the TOEFL.

The science section on the ACT can make many students nervous, especially those who dislike science, and can lead those students to falsely believe they should avoid the ACT altogether. However, the key is knowing how the ACT science section operates and coming to a firm understanding that the ACT does not necessarily test the depth of your scientific knowledge, but rather analytical skills in a scientific context. What Does the ACT Science Section Test?

If you are planning to apply to a college or university in the US, chances are you’re going to have to take either the ACT or the SAT. At IvyWise we advise students to prep for test – not both. So how do you decide which one is the best fit for you?

The spring semester is the testing season! Whether you're a sophomore preparing to take your first standardized test or a junior retaking the SAT or ACT to achieve your goal score, test prep and performing well is on the minds of many students this month. There is one thing that remains consistent for students of all ages, however: test anxiety.

As most families preparing for the college admissions process are already aware, the SAT as we know it is now gone. Apart from students who get a makeup examination because of test-day weather, the last administration of the SAT in its current form was in January. Now, juniors preparing to apply to college must choose: Take an unfamiliar SAT in March or take the ACT instead.

The MBA admissions process is highly competitive, and for many applicants, especially those who are applying after years in the workforce, navigating the MBA admissions landscape can be difficult. There are a number of questions that come up time and time again when applicants are weighing their MBA options and our expert MBA admissions counselor is here to answer them. How can MBA applicants identify their best-fit MBA programs?

By IvyWise MBA Admissions Counselors There are a number of resources out there that provide tips for applying to graduate school, but what about graduates who are years removed from academia? For many people, the MBA path isn’t apparent until after they have been in the workforce a few years, and, actually, the ideal time for most people to think about attending business school is with a few years of professional experience under their belts. Many working professionals don’t prepare ahead of time for the rigorous application process that exists at most top-tier business schools.

The SAT and ACT are the most often used exams for college admissions in the US, and given that they are standardized, they must be taken under strict time constraints. Students can struggle with the limited amount of time per question, leaving points on the table when they’re unable to finish certain sections. Simple pacing strategies, however, can help students improve their test performance and overall scores.

The two most commonly asked questions by students regarding ACT or SAT test prep are: “When is it too early to begin test prep?” and “How much prep is too much prep?” While the answers to these questions vary per student based on college admissions goals, academic and extracurricular priorities, and personal SAT or ACT test goals, it’s important to keep a couple of key points in mind so that students are spending their time in the best way possible and not overdoing test prep.

The earlier that you start the college admissions process, the better, and there’s a lot that high school students can do now to stay on track for the college admissions process and tackle their winter college prep goals. All four years of high school count in the college admissions process, not just the last two. Things like grades, courses, activities, summer experiences, and more can be planned and executed starting freshman and sophomore year in order to better prepare students for the actual application process come senior year.

If you plan on attending graduate school, whether it’s business school, law school, medical school, or some other graduate program, you’ll most likely need to take one of several graduate admission exams as part of your application. Preparing to take graduate admission exams long after your initial undergraduate admissions process can seem daunting, but the sooner you get started the sooner you can be on your way to a rewarding graduate school experience. The entrance exam that you take will depend on the graduate degree you are seeking and, in some cases, the specific school or program to which you apply.

A portion of this resource addresses SAT Subject Tests. In January 2021, the College Board announced that both SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay portion of the current SAT exam would be discontinued. For more information on how this impacts college admissions, click here.

Standardized tests are a controversial factor in the college admissions process, and with so many opinions on the value of these college entrance exams, misinformation can run rampant. From the value of one test over the other to how to prepare and how scores affect a student’s chances of admission, there are many myths out there about the SAT and ACT. In order to have success in the college admissions process, parents and students need to first separate fact from fiction.

A portion of this resource addresses SAT Subject Tests. In January 2021, the College Board announced that both SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay portion of the current SAT exam would be discontinued. For more information on how this impacts college admissions, click here.

The SAT has changed! For an updated SAT vs. ACT comparison, click here!

IvyWise counselors Nat and Eric offer advice on when and how students should start planning for standardized testing and discuss the important distinction between test-optional' and 'test-blind' on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! According to NACAC, 58.

With an increasing number of new technologies and an expanding global population, self-studying is on the rise. Education is no longer confined to just the classroom, and some would argue that the classroom model is outdated and does not meet the intellectual needs of individuals in such an interconnected society. Being an autodidact, or self-teacher, has become increasingly feasible due to MOOCs (massive open online courses), Internet encyclopedias, and more colleges and universities offering courses online.

Setting academic and college prep goals now is a great way to get students excited about their college prep and alleviate some of the stress commonly associated with planning for college. While it may not be time to apply to college yet, starting to think about academic and college prep goals now will make it easier for students to identify solid goals by the time application season rolls around. It will also allow them to relax over any upcoming breaks, rather than stressing about what they need to accomplish before school is back in session.

Whether you’re a freshman still adjusting to your first year of high school, or a college-bound junior ready to hit the ground running, it’s important to set academic and college prep goals for the fall as soon as school starts back up. Goals not only help keep students on track with their college prep, they also help students learn more about who they are, what they’re interested in, and how they can better pursue those interests. Goals can also help students stay motivated during a particularly busy or stressful time.

For many high school students, spring semester means standardized test season. Like it or not, these tests are a big component of college applications, and while a perfect score alone won’t get you into your dream college, it is important to do well on these tests in order to have the greatest chance of admission. With changes coming to both the SAT and ACT within the next year, it’s crucial for current sophomores and juniors to know what to expect and how to prepare.

While it can be tempting to simply count down the days until summer break, spring semester is a prime time for high school underclassmen to prepare for the college admissions process, and for college-bound seniors to close out the year on a high note. Believe it or not, seniors, you are not off the hook just yet! Here are some tips for high school students to ensure a productive and successful spring semester.

Students across the US will take the PSAT/NMSQT this October, and for many, this will be their initial introduction to the rigors of college entrance examinations. Before heading into the test, 10th and 11th graders need to know what to expect and how the PSAT/NMSQT can impact their college preparation strategy. Use these tips for the PSTA to get started!

For many rising seniors, the end of their junior year marks the beginning of the long, and often stressful, college application process. While the full Common Application and school specific supplements aren't released until August, some essay topics have already been revealed, and many students are taking the initiative to begin working on their application essays even before summer kicks off. While it's a great idea to get started as early as possible, there's much more than just essay brainstorming to complete the summer before senior year.

Online instruction has been growing in popularity over the years because it can connect people from all over the world – and right now it’s necessary as students continue their studies after school closures due to the current coronavirus pandemic. As students connect to instructors online, the demand for virtual tutoring and test prep is growing. But is it effective?

A portion of this resource addresses SAT Subject Tests. In January 2021, the College Board announced that both SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay portion of the current SAT exam would be discontinued. For more information on how this impacts college admissions, click here.

IvyWise counselors Christine, Nat, and Eric discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting higher ed and how the Class of 2021 can navigate the altered application cycle this semester on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! It has been well over a year since the pandemic's onset and information and responses are still continuing to evolve.