We all know that studying for the SAT or ACT can be a time-consuming and expensive process.

That's why we’ve put together this guide to the best free SAT/ACT prep resources to help you meet your academic goals.

Before jumping into our top picks, here are a few questions you should ask yourself before you start studying:

Questions to help you orient your approach:

1. How much time do I have between now and my testing date?
2. How much time can I reasonably dedicate each day to studying? Is there a day per week that I can give more of my effort?
3. Is there a particular section that I already know I will need to work harder on?
4. How much material do I need to cover each day/week in order to make it to a certain point before my exam?
5. Are there multiple test dates in the future that I can take advantage of? Or is this the last testing date I can sit?

Read on to learn about some great free resources for SAT and ACT prep.

Best Free SAT Prep

1. College Board

The College Board is the most trusted resource for all SAT prep materials since they are the creators and issuers of the SAT test.

The College Board website offers a number of free practice tests in addition to extra practice sections for math.

One of the most helpful ways to get the most out of the time you put in is to target your efforts toward not only the section that you may need most help with, but the particular sub-topics within that section that may be particularly difficult for you.

For example, if math is your lowest scoring section, you may be able to narrow down your knowledge gap to geometry or system of equations questions.

It’s important to keep in mind that during the real SAT/ACT you will have time constraints for each section.

When you are studying it is okay to take some extra time to learn a topic throughout, but remember that you won’t have that same luxury during the actual exam.

2. Khan Academy SAT Prep

Khan Academy’s SAT prep is not only endorsed by College Board, but also allows you to move at your own pace through a fairly comprehensive curriculum of SAT topics.

This will help you to further pinpoint any difficulties you may have in a particular subject and give you additional problems to solve within that subject area.

For example, you can choose to work step-by-step through the math sub-section on geometry and trigonometry, where you will find problems grouped into even more specific sub-sections such as “congruence, similarity, and angle relationships” and “circle theorems.”

Khan Academy is also a great resource for familiarizing yourself with the overall structure of the SAT, such as test-taking strategies and tips for creating your own SAT prep plan.

Khan Academy can also be particularly helpful in understanding what to expect for the SAT when it starts being offered digitally in 2024.

3. CrackSAT.net

This site offers numerous downloadable SAT practice tests in addition to reading or math specific practice tests.

The math practice tests are particularly helpful as they offer both grid in and multiple choice questions and sections with and without calculator.

The downside to CrackSAT.net is that there are usually numerous ads running on the site, which can be distracting for some users.

However, once you click on a practice test and scroll down to the questions, the ads should usually disappear.

Best Free ACT Prep

1. ACT.org

The best place to start your ACT prep journey is of course with the maker and issuer of the ACT.

You can find full length practice tests as well as modules to practice questions divided by test section.

In addition to practice materials, ACT.org also offers a free test prep guide that includes information about test dates, fee waivers, and the official answers to other preparation questions you may have.

ACT.org also occasionally offers free online test-prep events and workshops that you can sign up for.

2. Varsity Tutors

Varsity tutors is a great resource for ACT diagnostics.

With at least 10 diagnostic tests for each of the subject areas on the ACT, you can work on one section at a time in manageable chunks.

The detailed scoring results for each of the practice tests will also provide you with an understanding of which concepts you struggle with and which ones you are acing.

3. Kaplan

While Kaplan only offers a 1/2 length practice test, this site is particularly helpful if you are short on time but want to fit in a few practice questions each day.

Kaplan offers both an ACT pop quiz as well as a question of the day to keep your momentum going.

4. The Princeton Review

The Princeton review is one of the most popular sources for both practice materials and test-prep courses.

While many of their services are paid, you can certainly kickstart your ACT studying with their 14 day ACT prep free-trial!

Can low GPA (i.e. "B" students) get accepted into a top school?

The answer is a bit more nuanced than a hard "yes" or "no."

Are you a "B" student, or have you gotten B's?

Though these questions sound the same, their answers have very different consequences for the purposes of college admissions.

I went through every top university that reported the distribution of unweighted GPAs for its admitted students, and plotted them below.

The small black sliver at the top represents students with a “ B ” average or worse (3.0 GPA).

These are students with extremely extra-ordinary circumstances, so unless you have a building named after you or can throw a 95mph fastball, a “B” average is likely disqualifying. Thus, averaging a straight “B” is likely a death knell for top colleges.

All is not lost, however, if you generally do well in school but have a handful of B’s (e.g. a GPA between 3.6–3.8).

Having a lower GPA will require you to play your cards more thoughtfully, but you are still very much in contention for a spot at a top university.

Here are 5 tricks for making your application stand out despite a lower GPA.

1. Take more APs

Since they are graded on a 5-point scale, you can raise your weighted GPA to appear more in-line with a college’s admissions standards. The average weighted GPAs of Ivy League admits, shown in the USA Today chart below, is quite attainable:

2. Ace your standardized tests.

A high SAT or ACT score can help offset a lower GPA by demonstrating that you have the intellectual ability to perform at a high level.

3. Shine elsewhere in your application.

Your essays, for example, are a fantastic place to explain or indirectly shed light on personal circumstances that may have caused your lower GPA.

They also allow you to directly frame your application and convey why you — and only you — can add something uniquely meaningful to the incoming class.

As Logan Powell, Dean of Admissions at Brown University, writes:

“The essay is one of only two places where the student can tell us exactly who they are, in their own words (the other place is the interview).”

And Mitch Warren , Director of Admissions at Purdue University, adds:

"We receive about 54,000 applications from high school students each year, and despite that really large number, [the essay] truly is an individual and holistic review...[it] helps us to better understand the life of the applicant, especially things with grit, humor, motivation. I think also it helps tell stories that we may not have picked up on elsewhere in the application."

This is something that our Ivy League mentors specialize in.

4. Show an upward trajectory

If you got straight B’s freshman year but gradually worked your way up to consecutive semesters of straight A’s as a senior, then colleges will look much more favorably upon your transcript, as it demonstrates growth as a student.

As Dartmouth Assistant Director of Admissions Ariel writes,

[W]hen we review an applicant's transcript, we look at grade trends that will help us understand a student's academic trajectory in his or her secondary school.

We see transcripts that show steady grades throughout a student's high school career or a positive/upward trend from 9th-12th grade. We see transcripts where a student has bounced back from a transition or dip in grades. We also see downward trends in grades.

We use the rest of the application to try to fill in WHY the trend looks the way it does. If you have a particular reason for, say, a dip in grades in your junior year, please let us know about it in the "Additional Information" section of the Common Application.

Keep in mind that we will be looking to see how you have done in your most recent coursework since this will be a good indicator of how ready you are to move into a rigorous academic environment at Dartmouth.

5. Take the hardest classes offered

The negative impact of lower grades can be partially softened if they occurred while taking the hardest classes your school offers.

In the eyes of admissions officers, taking a rigorous course-load and challenging yourself, even if you do get a B or B+, can be equally as important as acing your classes.

An aside: These high GPA cut-offs are largely due to (1) increasingly high numbers of applicants and (2) rising grade inflation at the high school level.

The importance of your SAT score depends heavily on what type of school you apply to.

• Community college? Yes.
• State school? Yes.
• Selective College? A fair amount
• Ivies? Not much.

The more selective the college, the less your academic qualifications matter in deciding whether you’ll be admitted.

Having a high SAT score is just the first step in getting into a selective institution. It won’t be what tips the admissions decision in your favor. (Image Source)

Why is that?

Well, once you get to the level of applying to Yale/Princeton/Stanford/Harvard, almost every applicant has a high SAT score, high GPA, and high AP/IB scores.

For example, in 2018 over 28,000 students scored a 2200+ on the SAT, which is equivalent to a 1520 on the new SAT.

There are roughly 2,000 acceptances at each Ivy League university. Thus, there wouldn’t even be enough space for all students who scored a 2200+ on their SAT even if Ivy League colleges only considered applicants with at least that score.

Average SAT score of enrolled students at America’s top universities. (Image Source)

Selective colleges don’t want to admit a class of academic grinds. They want students who are capable of excelling intellectually, sure.

But, more importantly, they want to admit students who will change the world and become the leaders of tomorrow.

Scoring highly on your SAT checks the first box — it’s a great start.

But it’s just a start. 10,000’s of other students have also checked that box.

You won’t be admitted to a selective college based solely on a list of numbers. Otherwise, there would be no point to applying to college — if that were the case, they could just run a computer program that instantly sorted students based on their SAT/GPA numbers and not bother with the whole process of applying to college.

But they don’t.

You won't be accepted to an elite college because of your standardized test scores. (Image Source)

And that’s because test scores only tell part of your story.

Test scores are a reason to reject a candidate, not a reason to accept a student.

What will differentiate your application is everything besides the numbers: the essays, the teacher recommendations, the extracurriculars.

As a friend of mine who’s worked in the Harvard’s Admissions Office told me, an applicant’s "Personal Qualities" rating is the single most under-rated aspect of the Harvard application.