The official questions are key to doing well in the tests. I have assessed many third-party guide books and the questions are often off-topic, unrealistic, or not cleverly crafted. If you are preparing ahead of time and have practiced all questions from the official guides, you should review them again and think about how you can work faster if you see similar types of questions in the actual test. I fill this gap by helping you analyze the official questions from multiple angles, and you will learn how to work smart. The official guides will not do this because it gives the game away. 

Although online copies of some practice tests are available, you should get a paper copy of the official book. In addition to the knowledge base, doing well in these tests also requires self-discipline, and that includes managing the time carefully, cultivating good test-taking habits, and replicating the test conditions. The official books allow you to cross out the wrong choices and underline key words as you work through the questions, do the scratch work on the test paper, and bubble your answers. The front material in these books also provides additional information and examples on the tests.

Benchmark composite scores are usually 1200 (SAT) and 25 (ACT) for the 80th percentile (a "B") and 1300 (SAT) and 28 (ACT) for the 90th percentile (an "A"). For competitive programs and prestigious schools, scores better than the 99th percentile (1450 for SAT and 32 for ACT) are expected. Over 99% of the students admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology obtained an ACT score of 30. The baseline composite score for the GRE is typically 320 (160 for quantitative and verbal). Many grad schools place more emphasis on either the quantitative or verbal score depending on the program requirements. For example, top engineering schools expect a perfect quantitative score of 170.

The test folks know what methods students will choose when answering math questions and their goal is to sidetrack students to do unnecessary work so that they will not be able to complete the test on time. Additionally, they know all about the common mistakes made by students, and their questions and choices are designed to expose these weaknesses. Overall, SAT math tends to be indirect and wordy, ACT math covers a broader scope (includes logarithms, matrices, vectors, expectation), and GRE math can be very deceptive. Pre-calculus is highly recommended.

Each passage normally contains a main theme so it’s useful to remind yourself about the theme as you gather more information. Take note of key arguments, phrases, surprising viewpoints, and unexpected events. AP English is highly recommended. You should also study an official word list to improve your word power.