Features

The Beacon’s guide to free online college admission exam prep

Ethan Fingerhut, Managing Editor

November 27, 2017

College admission exams can be quite stressful, but there a couple of websites that strive to alleviate this anxiety and prepare test takers to put their best foot forward. These sites provide free alternatives to private tutoring and prep classes which can be quite expensive. Whether the ACT or SAT, The Beacon has you covered for free online prep advice.

Khan Academy- https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

After updating the SAT in March 2016, College Board teamed up with Khan Academy to provide free personalized tutoring to test takers. Students can either upload their previous SAT or PSAT scores or take online diagnostic quizzes. With this data, Khan Academy will create a study plan that focuses on specific sections and questions types that will improve test takers scores the most. Additionally, the site has section specific strategies and general test taking tips to help out with anxiety on test day.

PrepFactory- https://www.prepfactory.com

PrepFactory provides free and personalized test prep for both the ACT and SAT. The site uses a Study Path that adapts based on your strengths and weaknesses to help students achieve the best score they can. Additionally, the websites awards experience points (XP) for completing study activities, with the most helpful rewarding the most XP. Study activities include practice question sets, general strategies, and mini quizzes. If you get bored of these, you can take a break and play one of the sites games: Wordplay, Grammarplay, or Numberplay.

Kaplan Test Prep- https://www.kaptest.com/college-prep/free-resources/free-events

Kaplan Test Prep offers practice tests and live online seminars from test experts for free. The site has weekly online tutorials for both the ACT and SAT. These live streams include comparisons between the two exams, section specific strategies, and whole test boot camps. Additionally, the Kaplan program includes nationwide combination practice test that allows students to get a feel for both tests and decide which one works to their skills the best. The website also includes pop quizzes, questions of the day, and 20 minute workouts for both tests to supplement the live instruction.

PHOTO BY NOAH GROSS

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About the Contributor

Ethan Fingerhut, Managing Editor

This fine fellow is a senior who has been writing for three years and is now The Beacon’s beloved Managing Editor. Despite losing SGA elections for the 67th time, Ethan’s confidence remains sky high. Recently, a video of Ethan reciting every word on the College Board website and went viral.