Information about the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests
On this page you will find useful information about the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests. This may include:
how to study, how to get help, which product to buy,
which service to use, the related web sites for the above tests and more.
At the end you must make the final decision. Please take your time and read the following information about the above tests with care so you might save a lot of time and money at the end.

Some of the information presented here are from the ACT web site, the SAT web site and the AP web site. If you need more detailed information about the above tests please check the related web sites.

I have tried to explain different topics with a very simple language so everybody can understand and analyze the information without any confusion. I have also made a short video in case some students are interested to see a sample of the online tutorials for the above tests. Finally I have included some general Q&A's on the FAQ web page in case some students are interested to read them.

The information provided on this page and the other pages of this web site are come from my own personal views and my own personal experiences working with different students over many years. They are not intended to give credit to or to discredit any individual, any company, any institution, any organization, any product or any service.

Questions

1-If a student interested in attending a college or a university after the high school, what she/he needs to do?

2-What are the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests and Who needs them?

3-Who administer the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

4-What are the contents of the ACT, the SAT and the AP tests?

5-What is a passing or a good score for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

6-How a student should study for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

7-What is a good study guide for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

8-Who runs the www.prepseminarsusa.com and how this service can help students with the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

9-What are the tutorial notes for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

10-Could students use the SAT test tutorial notes to study for the other tests such as the ACT or the AP?

11-What is the cost to buy the tutorial booklets for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

12-How can students look at the tutorial booklets for the SAT, the ACT or the AP tests before they buy them?

13-Anything else do students need to know about the SAT, ACT or the AP tests?

14-Locations and dates of the group tutorial sessions

15-links to the U.S. Universities

16-links to Canadian Universities

Answers

1-If a student interested in attending a college or a university after the high school, what she/he needs to do?
A- For some common sense tips click here

B-Choose a College or a University
There are many universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada so you have many choices. I have made links to all of them here.

You need to narrow down your search to find a college that is the best for you. You need to look at many factors such as public or private college, location, tuition fees, loans and scholarships, length of the program, cost of living, college accreditation, admission requirements, etc.

C-Admission requirements
After you choose a college or a university to apply to, the next important thing is to look at the admission requirements for that college. Each College or University has its own admission requirements so make sure you know exactly what they are. Here we are interested only in the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests.

2-What are the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests and Who needs them?

A-The SAT is stand for the "Scholastic Aptitude Test".

B-The ACT is stand for the "American College Testing Program".

C-The AP is stand for the "Advanced Placement" (college courses taken in the high school to allow a student to receive a college credit for that course).

i-The ACT and The SAT tests:
Most universities or colleges in the U.S. (not all of them at this time) require the SAT or the ACT tests as a part of their admission process. The students in many cases can use either test to satisfy the requirement but please check with the school of your choice to see that if this is the case.

Some schools only accept a specific test (the ACT or the SAT and you can not use a substitute). The admission office of a college or a university can help you in this matter.

Most of the students in the grade 11th and 12th high school will take the ACT and SAT test and they can repeat the test as often as they like.

ii-The AP courses
Most colleges or universities in the U.S. allow high school students to earn college credit in certain courses while they are still attending high school.

The interested students need to check with the university or the college of their choice to see that the details about the accepted AP courses for that college. Please check with the admission office of the college or the university of your choice before you take any AP courses.

Students in the high school (mostly in grade 12th) can take the AP exams. They can attend a class or they can study on their own. You need to check with your high school to see that if they offer any AP classes or not. You can also use a private tutor to study for the AP exams.

3-Who administer the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?

A-The ACT test conducted by the American College Testing Program

B-The SAT and AP tests are conducted by the CollegeBoard

For the official web site and the latest information about the ACT, the SAT and the AP tests regarding registration, fees, dates, location of the test centers, how to write the test, scores, test contents, time for the each section of the above tests, practice tests and etc. please visit the web sites:
ACT

SAT

AP

4-What are the contents of the ACT, the SAT and the AP tests?

A- The ACT test
For the details about the ACT test contents please go to the web site: The ACT test description

The ACT test has 5 sections (English, Mathematics, Reading, Science and an optional Writing test)

i-English test
a- Usage/Mechanics (punctuation, sentence structure, grammar and usage )
b-Rhetorical Skills (strategy, organization, style)

ii-Mathematics test (Pre-Algebra, Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Coordinate Geometry, Plane Geometry and Trigonometry)

iii-Reading test (determine main ideas, locate and interpret significant details, understand sequences of events, make comparisons, comprehend cause-effect relationships, determine the meaning of context-dependent words, determine the meaning of context-dependent phrases, determine the meaning of context-dependent statements, draw generalizations and analyze the author's or narrator's voice and method

iv-Science Test (Data Representation, Research Summaries and Conflicting Viewpoints)
includes Biology, Chemistry, Physics, the Earth and Space sciences for example (geology, astronomy and meteorology).

v-Writing test
There is one writing prompt (one essay) and this test measures the student's writing skills.

B-The SAT test
There are 2 SAT tests:
a-The SAT Reasoning Test (click here for the details)

b-The SAT Subject Tests (click here for the details)

a-The SAT Reasoning Test
This test is accepted by many colleges and universities in the U.S. and it has 3 sections:
i-Writing Section (click here for the details)
ii-Critical Reading Section (click here for the details)
iii-Mathematics Section (click here for the details)

b-The SAT Subject Tests
These tests measure the student's knowledge and skills in a particular subject area and how the student can apply that knowledge. Many colleges and universities require some subject matters for the admission to a specific college, a university or a program. You need to check with the university or college of your choice to find out about the details.

C-The AP exams
There are many AP exams such as:
Art History
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chemistry
Chinese Language and Culture
Computer Science A
Computer Science AB
Macroeconomics
Microeconomics
English Language
English Literature
Environmental Science
European History
French Language
French Literature
German Language
Comparative Government & Politics
U.S. Government & Politics
Human Geography
Italian Language and Culture
Japanese Language and Culture
Latin Literature
Latin: Vergi
Music Theory
Physics B
Physics C
Psychology
Spanish Language
Spanish Literature
Statistics
Studio Art
U.S. History
World History

5-What is a passing or a good score for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
This depends on the college or university of your choice. You need to check with each college or university that you are interested in to see what is an acceptable score for them.

The SAT test scores range is 200-800. Please click here to see the details

The ACT test scores range is 1-36. Please click here to see the details.

The AP Exam grades are reported on a 5-point scale as follows:
5   Extremely well qualified
4   Well qualified
3   Qualified
2   Possibly qualified
1   No recommendation
Please click here to see the details.

Please note that the SAT, the ACT and the AP scores are only one of the admission requirements and you need to pay attention to all the admission requirements to a college or a university.

6-How a student should study for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
Please take an official practice test before you do anything else. You can find these official practice tests on the relevant web sites:
Click here for the official SAT practice test.

Click here for the official ACT practice test.

Click here for the official AP exam questions.

After you take one test, you will find out where you stand by looking at the result of the official practice test before you start to look for getting help for any of the above tests (before buying a study guide or using a tutoring service).

You have already spent a few years at the high school and you have taken some Science, Math and English courses. You should have an idea where the problem is or if you need help or not. If you are happy with your scores from the official practice tests then you are OK. If you think that you need help then you have to sit down and decide how to study for the above tests.

You have a few options:
A-For the ACT and the SAT tests you can study from your text books that you have used for the last few years of the high school for Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Math and English.

For the AP exams you need to use the text books that they are usually used by the students taking the first year courses at the different colleges or universities. There are some recommendations on the AP web site under the subjects. Please click here and then click on a subject to see the name of some books that you can use.

You can also go to a college or a university near you and ask from the relevant faculty dean's office to provide you with the name of some text books that you might be interested in.

I only help students for the Biology, the Chemistry, the Physics and the Math sections of the AP exams and I can give you the names of some text books if you are interested.

B-Buy a study guide for the above tests from a bookstore or over the internet and study on your own.

C-Attend a tutorial class for the above tests in person or use an online tutorial service.

D-Use a combination of the above.

7-What is a good study guide for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
This requires some research on your part. There are many books and study guides out there in the market for the above tests. You need to look at them and compare them to each other to see which one is the best for you. Here are a few things to look for when you are choosing a study guide for the above tests:

A-The study guide for the above tests must follows the outline set in the Examinee Guide for the each test and for the different sections of the each test.

B-The study guide must have both notes and practice tests with answers for the different sections of the above tests.

C-The study guide must have developed by the people who they know about the above tests and at least they have taken the above tests once or twice, so they know exactly what materials are covered for these tests.

D-The study guide must be updated when there are new changes to the above tests.

E-Don't forget the famous phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". The contents of a study guide for a test is far more important than the appearance of the book or how colorful is the book. You need the contents to do well on the test not anything else.

8-Who runs the www.prepseminarsusa.com and how this service can help students with the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
This tutoring service is offered by David Hunt.

Please note that at this time I can only help students with the Math, the Chemistry, the Physics and the Biology sections of the above tests. I conduct all the tutoring sessions myself and my backgrounds are in the Sciences not in English.

You have a few options at this time:
A-Get help in person and one on one
This is only possible if you are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area (North Texas, Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County and Tarrant county or any area close to them). This option can get expensive if you need a lot of tutoring hours. For the cost of the tutoring sessions click here.

B-Attend a group tutorial session
This is cheaper over all than one on one tutoring but this is only possible if I have 30 or more interested students (for the above tests) for a group tutorial session at one location.

The group tutorial sessions could run 3-4 days and 5-7 hours a day. You will get all the tutorial notes as part of the group tutorial sessions. The cost for a group tutorial session is $500-$700/per student depends on the location of the group tutorial sessions.

If you are a member of a club at a high school and if you like to arrange a group tutorial session for your members, you can contact me by the phone or by the e-mail. I can travel to any location in the U.S. The cost per student can decrease if you can provide a classroom for the group tutorial sessions.

C-Buy a tutorial booklet and study on your own
TBA

D-Online tutoring
I am working on this option right now and it is not ready yet. You can check the online tutoring page for the details.

9-What are the tutorial notes for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
TBA

10-Could students use the SAT test tutorial notes to study for the other tests such as the ACT or the AP?
TBA

11-What is the cost to buy the tutorial booklets for the SAT, the ACT and the AP tests?
TBA

12-How can students look at the tutorial booklets for the SAT, the ACT or the AP tests before they buy them?
TBA

13-Anything else do students need to know about the SAT, ACT or the AP tests?
For general information about the above tests, how to apply to a college or a university and for the latest information about the the above tests regarding fees, dates, location of the test centers, how to write the test, scores, test contents, time for the each section of a test, the official practice tests and etc. please visit the following web sites:
ACT

SAT

AP

FAQ about the ACT

FAQ about the SAT Reasoning Test

FAQ about the SAT Subject Tests

FAQ about the AP exams

14-Locations and dates of the group tutorial sessions