How to Study for a College Entrance Exam

Most colleges will require a college entrance exam, and you’ll want to know how to study for a college entrance exam. First, it is to your advantage to check with your college of choice and find out which test they use for this purpose. The tests are used by the colleges to compare your ability to complete college-level work, and to compare you with other students.

Two major college exams are typically used by colleges. The Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) are divided into two parts: Reasoning, which is SAT I, and Subject Area, which is SAT II. The American College Test (ACT) is the alternate test which is used by schools around the country. There are also advanced placement (AP) and college level examination program (CLEP) tests, which are administered every spring. These tests allow you to gain credit for some lower level courses simply by taking and passing these exams, saving you considerably in time and money. Note that not all schools will allow CLEP credit, so be sure that the college you choose does before taking the tests.

Preparing for the SAT test has become easier over the last several years. There are many books and numerous websites available to help you study. The websites, especially, give you a reasonable simulation of the actual test, and there are practice tests (PSAT) that you can take before the “real” one if you feel that would help.

ACT test preparation, likewise, is relatively easy with many publications and websites available that give you information about what to study and how to prepare. Online practice tests for the ACT are available at many different sites, and it’s a good idea to check out a few to be sure you get a rounded idea of what to expect.

Advanced placement tests are used to measure the level of learning through high school AP courses you’ve taken, and the same company that helped you understand classic novels, Cliff’s, has study guides for these courses, both in paper and digital form. These same Cliff’s AP books will help with study for CLEP tests on basic subjects. For each subject, Cliff’s gives you a condensed version of the most important information in the subject as refresher material, review chapters so you’ll know what will be addressed on the exam, and there are full-length practice tests along with detailed answers.

Utilize these great resources before you decide how to study for a college entrance exam, and you will be well-prepared and score correspondingly higher on your tests.

Try Princeton Review or Kaplan for your test-prep needs.

By Denise Gabbard