Articles & Exam Prep Guides
Study tips, test strategies, and prep guides for the SAT, GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, and ACT.
Latest articles
How Hard Is the GMAT
The GMAT is hard because it adapts question by question: every correct answer pulls up a harder one and every miss pulls up an eas...
Jul 16, 2026
How Hard Is the GRE
The GRE is hard mainly because of speed, not obscure math or rare words. Verbal Reasoning gives you about 90 seconds per question,...
Jul 16, 2026
How Hard Is the ACT
The ACT is hard mainly because of pacing, not because the content is advanced. On the Enhanced ACT, English gives you about 42 sec...
Jul 16, 2026
SAT Percentiles Explained
Your SAT percentile shows the share of students who scored the same or lower than you, not your raw or scaled score. College Board...
Jul 16, 2026
IELTS Percentiles Explained
An IELTS percentile shows what share of test takers scored at or below a given band. IELTS does not publish one global percentile-...
Jul 16, 2026
TOEFL Percentiles Explained
Percentile rank shows what share of test takers scored at or below your score. It is not the same as your band or total score. ETS...
Jul 16, 2026
GMAT Percentiles Explained
A GMAT percentile shows the percentage of test takers you scored above. In GMAC's August 2026 table, a 655 Total Score sits at 89....
Jul 16, 2026
GRE Percentiles Explained
A GRE percentile rank shows the percent of test takers in the reference group who scored below you, not your raw performance. Verb...
Jul 15, 2026
ACT Percentiles Explained
An ACT percentile, called a national rank by ACT, tells you the share of recent high school graduates who scored at or below your...
Jul 15, 2026
What Is a Good SAT Score
A good SAT score is usually 1200 or higher, out of a total range of 400 to 1600. The national average composite score for the clas...
Jul 15, 2026
PTE vs IELTS vs TOEFL vs Duolingo Compared
IELTS scores on a 0 to 9 band scale, TOEFL iBT on a new 1 to 6 scale, PTE Academic on a 10 to 90 scale, and Duolingo on a 10 to 16...
Jul 15, 2026
What Is a Good IELTS Score
There is no universal good IELTS score. The band you need depends on who is asking, since IELTS sets no pass mark and each univers...
Jul 15, 2026