Have you ever watched a quiz show, like Jeopardy, and wondered why some contestants just don’t seem to get any questions? It’s not always because they don’t know the answer- it’s because their buzzer skills are lacking. Maybe they buzz in too fast, or maybe they’re too slow. Whatever it is, they struggle- and it’s not for lack of knowledge, it’s for lack of skill.  You can think about the…

Studying for the SAT is all about strategy– and that even includes the way you think about starting your test prep. You can be your class’s valedictorian and still struggle on the SAT if you don’t think about strategy and plan.  And if you’re here, reading the PrepExpert® blog, then you’re probably already thinking about developing your strategy. You’re ready to start studying… but is it time? That all depends…

Math question time: A school club sells tickets to a fundraiser. Student tickets cost $8 each, and adult tickets cost $12 each. The club sells 75 tickets and collects $780. How many adult tickets were sold? If you start by guessing, this question can eat up time fast– and that’s never the move you want to make on the ACT. A better move is to turn the words into a…

If you feel like math is hard, you’re not alone. Nearly 1 in 3 high school students say that they don’t feel like a “math person,” and about 25% more say that while math used to be fine, they no longer feel comfortable with the subject. But you don’t have to be a Leonhard Euler or Paul Erdős to do well on the SAT’s math questions! How well you do…

Did you know that the SAT used to have its own science test? In fact, the SAT used to have several optional subject tests, including tests in literature, foreign languages, advanced math– and yes, science. But as of 2021, these tests are gone, and it doesn’t look like they’re coming back. But that doesn’t mean there’s no science on the SAT. A knowledge of science– specifically how to interpret scientific…

You  may have heard that the ACT isn’t like a subject test in school; it’s a standardized test that asks you about things you’re already supposed to know. So long as you’ve got a handle on what the average high schooler should know, you’re good to go, right? Do you really need to spend weeks studying? After all, you’ve got so much going on. There’s your classes, your sports, your…

If you’re a high school student, the odds are good that you’ve used AI– a new report from the Center for Democracy and Technology finds that 86% of students and 85% of teachers used AI for classroom work during the 2024-2025 school year. AI is everywhere, and there are a lot of concerns about its use. But the thing to remember is that AI is a tool. Use it well,…

Almost 85% of high school students have used AI for coursework– a statistic that has a lot of educators deeply concerned, because not every student (and realistically, probably most students) are not using it to further their learning. When you ask ChatGPT to generate an essay, it certainly generates an essay… but you didn’t write it. You didn’t get anything out of it, you didn’t learn the mechanics of English,…

Every year, tens of thousands of students apply to Ivy League schools. Only a small fraction receive an offer of admission. The difference between those who are admitted and those who are denied often comes down to strategy. Few application processes are as intense as the Ivy League. You might be your high school valedictorian– but so is your competition. On average, Ivy League schools have an acceptance rate of…

If you have a student preparing for the ACT, you have a lot of options for test prep. Some resources are genuinely useful, others are outdated, and many are designed for audiences very different from today’s ACT test takers. The most effective preparation comes from understanding what types of resources exist, how they are accessed, and what role each plays in building skills, confidence, and pacing. Strong ACT prep is…