Up Your Score

Thoroughly revised for the revamped SAT, Up Your Score: SAT is the only test-prep guide written for students by students-all of whom achieved perfect or near-perfect scores and went on to the colleges of their choice. A complement and reality check to the mainstream SAT study guides, it's the book that kids recommend to one another, because it's as entertaining as it is effective, showing students how to: •    Think like the SAT •    Ramp up their "mental math" powers •    Remember the 12 most important grammar rules •    Hone speed and timing •    Understand key vocabulary words in context •    Be a better guesser (and why it's always better to guess) •    Vanquish anxiety and improve concentration •    Best fill in the answer circles, saving nearly six minutes •    Unwind with SAT Yoga   Larry Berger is a Yale graduate and Rhodes Scholar and the CEO of Amplify Learning. Michael Colton, a Harvard graduate, writes for film and television. Manek Mistry received his undergraduate and law degrees from Cornell. Paul Rossi is a Cornell graduate and teaches high school math and philosophy. Guest editor Samantha Bindner has a perfect SAT score and is a freshman at Vanderbilt.

Fully updated to reflect the most current version of the ACT, Up Your Score: ACT remains the test prep and survival guide that kids will actually want to use. Written by Chris Arp, a Princeton graduate and top ACT tutor-with the help of four students who aced the test (and went on to the colleges of their choice)-it's a true insider's guide, filled with effective strategies and tips, delivered with the attitude, smarts, and wit that make Up Your Score the bestselling alternative test-prep series in print. ▪ Crush the reading section by developing the Five Habits of Lean Forward Reading. ▪ Master the math section through techniques like "plugging in," an amazing trick that simplifies all algebra word problems. ▪ Annihilate the English section by absorbing six key punctuation and nine essential grammar rules. ▪ Sail through the science section by understanding that it actually tests reasoning. ▪ Plus, the latest information on ACT scoring and the essay test, revised in 2015 to be more open-ended and analytical.   Chris Arp is a veteran and highly sought-after test-prep tutor at Veritas (now called Zinc Educational Services). He has a BA from Princeton and a Masters in Education from Brooklyn College and is writing a novel. Ava Chen is a senior at MIT, studying mechanical engineering.  Jon Fish graduated in three years from the University of Kentucky with a degree in history and political science. He plans to attend law school. Zack Swafford is getting a masters in artificial intelligence at Stanford. Guest editor Devon Kerr scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and is a junior at Northwestern.