Editor’s note: This week, we feature guest blogger Karen Spencer, Director of Educational Counseling for Bright Horizons College Coach. Please read more about Karen below. Ask any high school junior going through the college search process about the one thing that scares them most and you’ll usually hear them say “standardized tests.” The SAT and ACT tests have been around for a long time (the SAT...

Disclaimer: Cramming the night before a test is never the best strategy. These tips are only to help you at the last minute when necessary, not to give you a reason to delay preparing well for a test. The Scenario: It’s Sunday night. You’ve had a long, fun weekend and then you realize you have a history test Monday morning...uh oh…OMG!!!!  You start to feel like it’s the end of the world, maybe co...

Editor's note: This week, we feature guest blogger David Recine, a test prep expert at Magoosh. Please see David's bio below. What tips do you need to follow to ace the SAT? That depends at least partly on your own skills and learning needs. But here are four tips that can help any student get a strong start as they embark on their SAT preparation and chart their own best path to success.

  Editor's note: This week, our guest blogger is Alexis Avila, founder of Prepped & Polished, a tutoring and test preparation company in Natick, MA. Please read his complete bio at the end of this article. The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is the required entrance exam that leads to enrollment in some of the world’s best independent schools. It is undoubtedly an important test, so stu...

The scent of June’s peonies in the air brings the promise of blissful interludes at the beach for our students. But hold on. Keep the cap on the Coppertone for now. Preparing for final exams is now top priority for our weary scholars. “No mas!” a sophomore exclaims. “How the heck am I supposed to get ready for 5 exams in the next few days?” “Planning,” we say, all cool and confident. As Executive ...

The last time I broke out into hives was when a new student I was working with said she was “looking over her notes” to prepare for an upcoming exam. You see, that passive eyeball approach is up at the top of an academic coaches’ list of What Not To Do When Studying For Finals. In between scratching (due to my allergy to ineffective study habits), I explained to my student that if she’s not active...