If you’re a high school student taking one or more AP classes, springtime can be a tricky time of year. Summer vacation is just around the corner, yet one more challenge stands between you and some well-deserved time off from school: AP exam week. While you’ve been preparing all year for your AP exams, you might still feel a little nervous. Questions like, “Have I prepared well enough?” and “Do I need to study more?” may be running through your mind. While those are valid questions, thinking about them too much will only make you more stressed at this point. Important tips for AP exam week, like getting suf ...Read More About Top Tips for AP Exam Week

Navigating financial aid options can be one of the most daunting parts of applying to college. Yet, it’s often a necessary part of the application process, whether or not you need help paying for college through financial aid. Some financial aid tips for students include understanding how you apply for aid and identifying what kinds of loans are offered, as well as making sure you are educated on all financial aid opportunities available to you. The various financial aid options for students include: Loans - money that must be paid back Scholarships - money that must be earned through some kind of qualifying factor Work-s ...Read More About 4 Financial Aid Tips for Students

It’s common for students to jump into four years of college immediately following their high school graduation. In contrast, however, a growing number of recent high school grads are choosing to take a “gap year,” otherwise known as a year off from their formal education before college. After being accepted into college, students might ask themselves, “Should I take a gap year?” Scenarios where a student perhaps should take a gap year include wanting time off to get volunteering experience, search for a job or an internship, or travel to see the world. It is important to make sure if you do take a gap year for on ...Read More About Should I Take a Gap Year?

In high school, students are asked to think about a lot of different things. Class load, homework, and test scores account for only parts of the total package, while GPA (or grade point average) sits at the forefront. GPA matters as you begin to think about study plans for AP classes, pursuing internships, and college applications. GPAs, however, don’t always get evaluated in the same way. A guide to weighted vs. unweighted GPAs involves an understanding of how certain classes are weighted differently from others, as well as how those numbers factor into your academic transcript. Every high school is different in how they calculate a st ...Read More About A Guide to Weighted vs. Unweighted GPAs

As you prepare to take the PSAT, it is good to have a broader context in which you may view your PSAT score. First, it’s important to be aware that you’ll get your PSAT score back in a few different ways. An average PSAT score is made up of several different scores, such as your total score, section scores for Math, Reading, and Writing and Language sections, and your Selection Index. Looking at the combination of scores, it may initially be difficult to determine how well you did on the PSAT. Once you understand how the PSAT is scored, you’ll have an easier time determining an average PSAT score, and seeing where you fall o ...Read More About What is an Average PSAT Score?