Resources.
Articles, Guides, and Answers.
Expert guidance on all things test-prep.
Interested in attending a UC school? In this article, we'll discuss the UC admissions requirements for freshman students. Depending on whether you are a California resident, an out-of-state student, or an international student, the UC admissions requirements will vary slightly.…
MIT announced on Monday, March 28th, that they would be reinstating their SAT/ACT requirement for applications. The change takes affect for the upcoming admissions cycle for prospective students of the Class of 2027. This is in stark contrast to other…
Many students have questions about weighted GPAs vs unweighted GPAs. Once they learn colleges only look at unweighted GPA's, a common follow-up question is how big the difference between, say, a 3.85 GPA and a 3.9 GPA actually is. While…
A guide to the most important and common questions about the ACT test including whether you should take the ACT, when the 2022 ACT test dates are, when the 2022 ACT scores will be released, and how to understand your…
A guide to the most important and common questions about the SAT test including whether you should take the SAT, when the 2022 SAT test dates are, when the 2022 SAT scores will be released, and how to understand your…
Of all the havoc that the pandemic wrought, it has brought some well-meaning changes too. In an upswell of social justice, colleges and universities chose to try to expand access to education by making the SAT and ACT optional for…
If you dream of contributing to the world’s understanding of science and technology, then start your journey at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This hyper-competitive institution has yielded more Nobel Laureates, astronauts, and influential inventors than most entire countries…
Columbia University was ranked the third best college in the United States by US News in 2021 and consistently ranks in the top 20 by others. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in New York State and the…
Whether it is for the school’s Hogwarts-like residential college system, its Tony Award-winning Repertory Theatre in residence at the David Geffen School of Drama, its countless alumni who lead in politics, the arts, and business, or simply for the fact…
Ivy League admissions statistics paint a very clear picture of how difficult it is to get accepted into a prestigious school. With an average acceptance rate of just above 9%, the Ivy League universities are among the most selective schools…
Dartmouth is a prestigious college with a historic dedication to diversity and excellence, and with an average acceptance rate of only 6.2%, Dartmouth is extremely hard to get into. But that shouldn't deter the students from inquiring about how to…
Move over, Harvard. Princeton is the best university in the country, according to US News and World. And with that kind of prestige, you can rightly assume it's nearly impossible to get accepted. If you want to know how to…
A lot of students want to determine which test they should take--the ACT vs SAT, by asking the question, "Is the ACT or SAT easier?". We get asked these questions a lot. That makes sense! Why wouldn't students want to…
As an elite test prep company whose students have been accepted to Harvard, its not uncommon for us to be asked how to get into Harvard University. After all, attending a prestigious Ivy League school is undoubtedly a dream for…
The confusion of the testing-optional trend has somehow made college admissions even more intense and competitive. With strong schools looking for even stronger scores, we are proud to continue our commitment to our students' success by introducing an offering guaranteed to…
Out of all the Ivy League schools, Cornell University's acceptance rate is the highest, thus earning the reputation that it is “easy” to get into. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Cornell University admission requirements have proven…
UNITED STATES, June 8, 2021 || Higher Ed Dive [...] Matt Larriva, founder of tutoring business Powerful Prep, in an interview rattled off these criticisms. He said it's unfair that most critiques focus on the tests. The SAT and ACT don't…
Many students struggle to determine when to start preparing for SAT and when to take the SAT in the first place. Luckily, it's not to difficult to figure out. In fact, the first step in understanding when to take the…
This article comes from my presentation at the College Workshop Week (a big thanks to Penny Reeves for hosting!). Consider it your ultimate guide to ACT and SAT prep. Get recommendations on whether or not you should apply test-optional using…
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, April 7, 2021 || College Express Concierge Tutoring Firm Works with Test-Prep Student to Consistently Increase Score Powerful Prep, a leading concierge tutoring firm dedicated to transparency, massive point gains, and customized curriculum, announced today that…
An average high school GPA matters less throughout high school. The longer you spend in high school, the less your average high school GPA can move. So, as you progress through the years, shift your focus to the part of…
Why did the University of California stop accepting and using the ACT/SAT scores for admittance? How’ll they gauge student abilities for acceptance and scholarships? How will the best universities connect with the best students? Yikes. There are a lot of…
So, when do you take the ACT and when do you start ACT prep? If you're looking for the easiest ACT test date, I have some bad news; there's technically no one test date that's easier than the others. However...…
Many students ask me about SAT essay scores and request an example of an SAT essay with a perfect score. I will share my response below and explain why this SAT essay example fulfills all the scoring requirements. There are…
I was recently asked about the different types of students who typically take the SAT test and/or the ACT test. In my experience prepping countless students for ACT and SAT testing, I think it's safe to say that you'll encounter…
I went to UPenn and graduated from The Wharton School. UPenn does not have the name recognition that the other schools you listed do. If you asked people to write down all the Ivy League schools, I’m fairly confident UPenn…
It’s been a few weeks since you took the PSAT, and by now you’ve probably even forgotten about it. But PSAT and NMSQT scores have been announced, so now it’s time to figure out exactly what it all means. Confused?…
Update: as of May 2021 the SAT Subject tests are discontinued internationally and domestically. The College Board encourages students to demonstrate their subject proficiency through the AP Exams instead. For more information, please contact us or read The College Board's…
Can you cheat on the SAT? Ahem. Asking how to cheat on the SAT is an interesting question. I assume you’re asking how to cheat on the test in a hypothetical sense rather than a pragmatic sense. That is, I…
Is getting into UPenn a dream of yours? Do you stay up nights dreaming of what it will be like to stroll down Locust Walk as the cherry blossoms are coming into color around May? Do you have a Benjamin…
How are our tutors held accountable?
Master Tutor and Powerful Prep founder, Matt Larriva, reviews each student's progress monthly to provide guidance, tweak study plans, and supplement tutoring approaches.
This second layer of insight and experience is one of the many ways that Powerful Prep ensures the most personalized service and the strongest results for its students.