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.

SAT and ACT testing has been dramatically affected by COVID-19. Testing opportunities have been few and far between over the past two years, spurring many colleges to announce test-optional admissions policies. While some colleges have said the switch is temporary, standardized testing has been a hot topic for many years and this gives us an opportunity to reimagine the admission process.

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 ninth 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.

Sometimes, the college process feels like climbing a mountain — a little intimidating, with some obstacles you need to navigate along the way. But if you pick your milestones, break it down into smaller pieces, and remember to have some fun along the way, you will make it to the top. For juniors in the middle of college prep, the second part of the year can feel like you’re staring up a mountain — so what do you do next?

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.

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?