SAT guides10 guides, each for one kind of reader

Everything we know about the Digital SAT, written down.

Each guide is written for one reader with one problem. Find yours. Every one ends with what to do this week.

How to go from 1400 to 1500 on the digital SAT: the six-mistake budget

A 1500 is a test with about six misses on it. How to find your extra ten mistakes by question type and budget them away in 60 days.

For Junior at 1400 with a 1550 target. 12 min. Tutor vs class vs app

Is a private SAT tutor worth it? A cost-per-point answer

Hours times rate divided by a realistic gain, for a tutor, a class and Khan Academy, plus what 50 SAT points is worth in Texas merit aid.

For Parent comparing a tutor, a class and Khan Academy. 11 min. Austin pricing

SAT tutoring in Austin: what families pay and what to ask

What SAT tutoring costs in Austin by tier, from $30-an-hour marketplaces to $300-an-hour boutiques, and the five questions that separate tutors.

For Austin parent shopping for a local SAT tutor. 10 min. Adaptive by module

The digital SAT hard module, explained

How the digital SAT routes you to the harder second module, what that module actually asks in Reading and Writing and Math, and how to practice for it.

For Student in the 1300s who has never seen the hard module. 11 min. Question templates

SAT Reading and Writing: the 12 question templates and 8 punctuation rules

Every digital SAT Reading and Writing question is one of 12 templates, and every punctuation question is one of 8 rules. Each with a worked example.

For Student stuck at 650 to 700 in Reading and Writing. 13 min. Decision protocol

SAT or ACT? The 90-minute way to decide

Skip the pros-and-cons list. A 90-minute at-home protocol with two shortened sections of each test tells you which one to prepare for.

For Parent of a sophomore choosing between the two tests. 11 min. Backward planning

When to start SAT prep: a backward-planned calendar for the class of 2028

Every 2027 SAT date with its 14-week start date and registration deadline, planned backward for the class of 2028, plus what too late looks like.

For Parent of a junior planning the year. 10 min. Texas score map

What is a good SAT score in 2026, by school: UT Austin, Texas A&M, Rice and Texas merit cutoffs

Middle-50 SAT ranges for UT Austin, Texas A&M and Rice, merit-scholarship tiers at Texas Tech, Houston and Baylor, and whether a 1250 should retest.

For Student at 1250 deciding whether to retest. 11 min. Score plateau

SAT score plateau: why three months of Khan Academy didn't move you

Five specific reasons a self-study SAT score stalls after months of practice, each with a fix you can run this week. No pep talk, just the mechanism and the repair.

For Self-study student stuck at the same score for months. 10 min. Test week

The week before the SAT: a test-day protocol from a 99th-percentile scorer

A day-by-day plan for the last seven days, an hour-by-hour test-day schedule, a first-90-seconds routine per module, and the Bluebook checklist.

For Senior with the SAT in seven days. 11 min.