As the new (aka “redesigned”) SAT nears, College Board has begun to release official practice tests for the exam. While it’s not yet clear how accurately these tests will reflect the new exam, how you would score them or what your scores would mean, they are still your most important asset if you are preparing for the new exam now.
Remember to take each test timed and review missed questions carefully before moving on to a new test. Keep a record of the questions you’ve missed and how to solve them so that you can go back and review them over time.
You can also find these four tests online for free, however. They’re available here with answer explanations, although these explanations are often less than optimal.
There is also a fifth exam—this one is technically a redesigned PSAT, but it’s nearly identical to the new SAT. The only difference is that it’s a little shorter. You can find it here.
The College Board has promised to release another four tests as 2015 moves along. Whether or not they actually release any more remains to be seen, but I will update this information and let you know right away if they do.
The ACT essay is changing. The new (aka “enhanced”) essay, which will first debut on the September 2015 exam, looks very different from the former essay. It lasts 40 minutes (up from 30) and features a prompt and three “perspectives” on it. Your task is to write an argument that responds to the prompt while addressing and evaluating the three perspectives.
You can see what the new essay and scored examples look like here. The ACT has also released a second prompt as part of a new practice test, available here. For additional practice, check out theseten sample essay question prompts I’ve written.
Here’s how you can ace the new essay:
1) After evaluating the prompt and all three perspectives, come up with your own argument. This argument should have some bearing on the three perspectives, but it should represent your own take on the prompt. The argument will usually agree in some way with one or two of the perspectives and disagree with the others.
2) Leave 3-5 minutes at the beginning to plan your essay and at the end to review it.
3) The ideal structure is an introductory paragraph that clearly and succinctly states your central argument and how your examples will support it, followed by two to three paragraphs that argue (using detailed examples) for your thesis and against counterarguments, followed by a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis and how your examples successfully supported it.
4) You must refute possible counterarguments. The ACT looks for this on every essay. This is a sophisticated technique that helps strengthen your argument. You should respond to any counterarguments presented in the three perspectives as well as ones you think of on your own.
5) Make sure to mention how each of the three perspectives relates to your argument. Do this as you introduce the various parts of your argument in the middle two or three paragraphs.
6) Make your examples very detailed by including dates and proper names, but always make sure the examples are used to support your argument. It’s OK to fudge some of the details – the test makers are not allowed to grade you on the truth of your claims. It’s probably not a good idea, however, to declare that Pearl Harbor occurred in the 1700s.
7) Make sure each example addresses a different perspective or argument – don’t simply repeat the exact same point twice through two separate examples.
8) Use sophisticated vocabulary when appropriate. A well-used, sophisticated vocabulary word can add a lot of bang to your essay. Make sure you are using all words correctly, however!
9) Use a varied sentence structure. Don’t start every sentence with the same word, and make sure to vary grammatical structures between sentences. One trick to help is to throw in an occasional rhetorical question. “How would the early Monicaros have felt if they too lacked freedom?”
10) Make sure each new paragraph begins with a strong and clear transition.
11) Use active sentences rather than passive sentences. “He ate the cereal” is better than “the cereal was eaten.”
12) Avoid using “I.” While you’re technically allowed to use “I”, your essay will sound more formal and authoritative without it.
13) Similarly, avoid overtly political or religious arguments. Although these technically shouldn’t influence your reader’s evaluation, remember that your reader is a human with religious and political views.
14) Consider using a hypothetical for your final sentence: IF the position you take was done (everything would be great) or if it was not done (everything would be disastrous).
Official ACT practice tests should form the core of any ACT prep plan. Take each test timed and review missed questions carefully before moving on to a new test. Keep a record of the questions you’ve missed and how to solve them so that you can go back and review them over time.
There are a total of 12 official practice tests available. The ACT website also contains a series of practice questions roughly equal in length to one practice test. Here is where you can find all this material:
This online software from the ACT contains two tests. While the tests contain answer explanations (of mixed quality again), you are unable to print the tests and must take them on the computer.
Released PDFs
Over the years, the ACT has released 5 additional practice exams as PDFs. These contain answer and scoring information but no answer explanations.
Dr. Dean P. Skarlis is President and Founder of The College Advisor of New York, Inc., a comprehensive college counseling practice serving clients in New York and across the U.S. Dean’s unique model integrates all aspects of college admissions counseling with financial strategy. Dr. Skarlis has more than 24 years of experience in education including 7 years as a consultant for ACT. He has taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and has been quoted often in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, on ABC World News, and other national media outlets. He has trained thousands of CPAs and financial advisors on the intricacies of financial aid and scholarships. He and his staff of 9 have helped thousands of students and families navigate the complex and expensive college admissions and financial aid process. Dean holds a B.A. in Psychology from Allegheny College, an M.A. in Psychology from Duquesne University, and a Doctorate in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University Institute on College Admissions.
Dr. Skarlis, please tell us a little bit about yourself and the work you and your consulting practice, The College Advisor of New York, do with college applicants.
I have been in and around higher education for 25 years. I have worked at two universities and for ACT, the company that makes the ACT exam. I hold a Master’s in Psychology and a Doctorate in Education from The University of Pittsburgh. I have helped thousands of students and parents through the college admissions and financial aid/scholarship process for the past 11 years. Our goal for each family is to help the student find, and gain admission, to a college that’s a great fit socially, academically, programmatically and financially.
When during the college admissions process should families begin to think about financial aid?
In the student’s sophomore year of high school. Why so early? Because parents need to understand their affordability as early as possible so their child doesn’t get emotionally attached to a college that they cannot afford. This has become much more important now that many private colleges (and not just the Ivies) have eclipsed $65,000/year or $260,000 over four years. The financial aid “clock” begins ticking in the student’s junior year of high school, and most families can do considerable planning before then to maximize financial aid and/or scholarships.
What steps can students take during their high school years to help them increase their chances of eventually securing merit aid for college?
Do well in challenging courses in school. This is of significant importance. In addition, prepping for the SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests is important as well as strategizing on which test to take and how many times to take it. We offer an SAT/ACT Hybrid Diagnostic for our students which gives them detailed information not only on which test, but which portions of the exam they did well on, and where, in specific terms, they need to improve. This helps kids work on precise skills to improve their scores. There is also considerable strategy on when and which scores to send to colleges. These decisions are critical. In addition, very few people understand that the application essay can often affect merit scholarships as well. In these ways and others, the college selection/admissions process needs to be integrated with the financial aid/merit scholarship process to yield the best results. Very few families fully understand this concept.
What are some common mistakes families make when it comes to financial aid?
There are many. Assuming you will not qualify, and not applying for it can be a huge mistake. Many people also complete the forms incorrectly. I’ve seen parents list assets that they are not required to present. This has caused them not to get any aid, when in fact, they were deserving of it. In addition, there are planning strategies – in some ways that are analogous to tax planning – that can help families save thousands of dollars per year. This is an area of focus for our company.
Can you share with us one of your favorite financial aid success stories from a family you’ve worked with and what we can learn from it?
One of our families had several million dollars in assets, but still qualified for need based financial aid. This family saved about $44,000 off the cost of college at a selective, private school. We saved them money, not be helping them implement complex planning strategies, but instead simply by building a list of schools that did not assess those million dollar assets in its financial aid formula. This is what I mean by integrating the college selection/admissions process into the financial aid/scholarship process. Colleges assess a family’s ability to pay in radically different ways, so by teaching the family this simple fact, we helped them find a great school at which the student was happy, and it cost about $44,000 less over four years.
Are there any downsides to applying for financial aid? Can doing so harm a student’s chances of admission at certain schools?
Yes, but it completely depends on the school. Applying for – and qualifying for – need based aid at many of the elite colleges actually increases your chances for admission to those schools. At most colleges, however, it has the opposite effect, so depending on several factors, it may not be wise to apply for aid.
How negotiable are financial aid offers once a student has already been admitted to a college? Should families try to negotiate?
Absolutely they should, except they need to use the term “appeal” rather than “negotiate.” This gives the college the power they seek in these dealings, and helps the family acknowledge that the school does, in fact, have the final word in these dealings. There is an appropriate way by which to appeal an offer of need based or merit based (scholarship) aid. In short, the families who understand the process and appeal based on that knowledge are those who will receive the most money. Hiring an experienced college admissions consultant, who also understands the financial aid process (many of the most experienced counselors do NOT understand it), can save you thousands of dollars. Financial aid terminology is like a different language, and the parents and students who take the time to learn it will be in a much better position when it comes to appealing their aid decision.
What do you tell students who receive unfunded offers from brand-name schools but funded offers from less prominent institutions?
This is exactly the situation in which most of our families find themselves…and we do this by design because it forces them to clarify why “Elite School X” is $22,000 per year (or $88,000 total) BETTER than “Good Fit School Y.” This is a critical point that causes families to make logical decisions based on social, academic, programmatic, and financial fit. While it’s anecdotal, I’ve found that more families have begun to choose the LESS expensive, non-brand name school simply because the prices have gotten out of control. Over the past year, I’ve had several families choose lesser name schools OVER Georgetown, Tufts, Boston College, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Pennsylvania (U PENN is an Ivy League School). This tells me that at $65,000/year, even the elite schools are beginning to price themselves out of the market. If that is the case, what will that mean for the less elite schools who do not give scholarships and who charge about the same amount???
How can a family be sure that pledged financial aid will continue beyond freshman year?
They cannot. I’m dealing with a situation now where this is not the case. If the aid award changes substantively, they must be pleasant but firm. And they must be sure to understand the logic and the terminology that financial aid officers will appreciate.
Financial aid is admittedly very complex, but if someone asked you for your three favorite financial aid tips that families should remember, what would they be?
First, do NOT assume that you will not qualify for aid. Second, plan strategically (much like many do regarding their taxes) so that you maximize aid. Third, understand your affordability EARLY in the process, and plan to look past the elite, brand-name schools in order to pay less.
In order to do well on the SAT and ACT, you’ll need to manage the clock. Doing so, however, is often less daunting than it seems.
If you’re having trouble with timing on any test section, the first step is to figure out how much time you should be spending on any given question. Divide the total amount of time you have for that section by the total number of questions—this gives you the average amount of time you should spend on any given question.
On sections where questions are arranged in order of increasing difficulty (SAT Math and Writing, ACT Math), plan on spending a little less time on the earlier questions and more time on the later questions.
To fine-tune your timing, practice solving individual questions within the given time limit. Once you get good at solving individual questions within the time limit, then move on to larger parts of a section and/or entire sections. Just make sure to carefully track time as you work.
When you’re working through an entire section, make sure not to get stuck on any one problem. If you’re spending significantly more time than you’ve allotted for any given question, move on to the next one. You can always come back to the problem if there is time left at the end of the section.
Remember that your speed will also improve as your mastery of the exam improves. Timing is a function of clock management, but it’s also influenced by your command of the material.
As you practice, you’ll start to develop a natural sense of timing for each section. You’ll know, in other words, how much time you have for each question, when it’s time to move on to the next question, and when time is almost up for the section—all without looking at the clock.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t check the clock every once in awhile as you work through a section. You should. But it does mean that you should avoid obsessively checking the clock. Doing so takes sizable time and mental energy away from the task at hand: accurately completing the section. It can also create additional anxiety. It’s not uncommon, consequently, for someone’s scores to increase when they start to check the clock less frequently.
If you find that you perform your best by closely watching the clock throughout a section, then by all means, please do so. But if you’ve never tried to work with a more natural sense of timing, give it a shot. It takes practice, but it will ultimately afford you more time, calm and mental energy on test day. Those are things everyone could use.
Dr. Dean P. Skarlis is President and Founder of 
