My Favorite Resources for SAT & ACT Self-Study
The best books, guides, and platforms to help you prepare for these exams on your own.
When it comes to “cooking” on the SAT or ACT, self-study can be a powerful approach for motivated students. With the right resources and strategies, you can make incredible progress, even without the guidance of a tutor. In this post, I’ll share my favorite books and platforms to help you achieve your test prep goals. I often use a mix of these resources when working with students.
Why trust my recommendations? Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to guide hundreds of students through their test prep journeys. Not only have I taught in classrooms and tutored one-on-one, but I also served as Manager of Pre-College Content & Curriculum at Kaplan Test Prep, spearheading product and course revisions for the 2015 PSAT and 2016 SAT test changes.
I know what works best for students, so you can trust that the resources I recommend are effective, reliable, and of excellent quality.
Disclaimer: I have no financial ties to any of the resources mentioned here. My recommendations are based purely on what I’ve found to be most helpful for students over the years.
SAT
College Board Resources
Any test prep professional who’s been in the industry long enough will tell you that the best materials are the ones from the test makers themselves. You don’t need to buy College Board’s Official Digital SAT Study Guide though—in fact, I’d recommend you skip it altogether because it’s the same content that’s available for free on their website. Furthermore, now that the SAT is digital, it’s best to practice, well, digitally whenever possible.
CollegeBoard offers a few different avenues of study:
Practice Tests on the Bluebook app: Make sure you take all of these before you sit for the real SAT. They’re the closest thing we have to what the actual test is like, and they use the same platform you’ll be asked to log into on Test Day. At the time of this post, there are currently six available SAT practice tests (and two PSAT practice tests), although I believe the first three will be retired soon and replaced by four new ones repurposing the best questions from the ones that are being put to pasture.
The SAT Educator Question Bank: This is targeted toward educators, but it’s an invaluable resource for students who are studying on their own. You’ll find the same questions that are in the Student Question Bank, but they’re much better organized and easier to navigate (and you don’t need to be logged in to view them). There are thousands of questions broken down by the same Domains (e.g., Algebra, Standard English Conventions) you’ll see on your practice test or real SAT score report and then further categorized into skills (e.g., Linear Inequalities, Boundaries). Furthermore, they’re also classified by skill level.
A note on retired practice tests. Many students—both those I work with and others who follow me on social media—have asked me about using old SAT (March 2016 - December 2023) practice tests to prepare for the SAT. The short answer is that I do not think those tests—broken up into four sections of Writing & Language (grammar), Reading, Math without a calculator, and Math with a calculator)—are worth poring over. If you really have a burning desire to incorporate these defunct SATs into your prep, skip the Reading sections entirely, use the Writing & Language to practice identifying grammar issues/skills, and practice your math skills on the math sections. But I would personally recommend exhausting the resources featured on this post before exhuming those materials.
College Board really pushes their relationship with Khan Academy, and the platform’s Digital SAT course does use the same Domains featured on the SAT. There is some overlap with questions featured in the question bank, and some of the questions aren’t test-like at all. If there’s a particular concept you’re struggling with, it’s worth completing the Khan Academy lesson. While you can’t beat the price (free), there are (in my opinion) better resources out there.
For Guided Lessons/Active Learning
If you are looking to learn strategies and content in addition to practicing test-like questions, there are a few resources I like.
No B.S. SAT Prep: This online platform offers direct, no-nonsense advice and materials for SAT prep. With a focus on realistic practice and actionable strategies, it’s perfect for students who want to cut through unnecessary complexities and focus on what truly works. The video lessons are followed by practice questions that closely mimic those you’ll find on the actual SAT.
Applerouth Digital SAT Study Guide: If you’re old school and want to work your way through a physical book, I recommend Applerouth’s title. You’ll get a digital copy as well, so I recommend working through the practice problems while looking at the screen and using scrap paper to more closely mimic the Test Day experience.
For the Math Section
Tutorllini on YouTube: Focusing exclusively on SAT Math, this channel provides clear, in-depth explanations and practical strategies to help students tackle even the trickiest math problems on the SAT. Unparalleled in the breadth and depth of math content featured.
1600.io SAT Math Orange Book: This exceptional resource is designed to help students achieve mastery in SAT Math. It combines comprehensive math content with detailed, step-by-step video explanations for every question. Students also benefit from strategies tailored to all levels of math skills, making it a versatile tool for boosting confidence and scores.
For the Reading & Writing Section
The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar: Erica Meltzer’s books are unparalleled for focused grammar practice whether you’re studying for the SAT or ACT. The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar breaks down complex concepts into manageable lessons and provide targeted drills to help you improve quickly.
The Complete Guide to SAT Reading: Erica Meltzer also has a great book for the Reading Comp portions of the SAT. Between these two titles, you’ll be covered for most of the SAT Reading & Writing section.
Roots2Words: This newsletter is an awesome word-of-the-day resource that also incorporates weekly quizzes. This is a great resource if you’re missing a lot of Words in Context questions on the Reading & Writing section.
Drills, Drills, Drills
If you’re looking to just practice by doing a ton of questions and have burned through the College Board’s question bank or are saving the tougher questions for when you have better mastery, here are the resources I recommend:
Mathchops: Mathchops is a personalized math practice platform that adapts to your level with separate ACT and SAT programs. It keeps you motivated with its game-like approach and is an excellent tool for reinforcing math skills and targeting areas that need improvement. It also seamlessly incorporates time management, which is essential for both tests but particularly for the ACT. While the questions for both the SAT and ACT tracks test the skills and concepts you need to master the tests, they are not multiple choice, so the focus is really about building your problem-solving abilities under time constraints.
Grammarchops: The team at Mathchops debuted Grammarchops earlier this year, and it’s the same platform we know and love but for grammar. Like Mathchops, you can sign up for either SAT Grammar or ACT Grammar, and you’ll master grammar rules through the same engaging gamified drills that target where you need to improve. It’s worth noting that while Mathchops questions are all student-produced responses, Grammarchops questions, while still not perfectly test-like, are multiple-choice. This platform is perfect for practicing recognizing and correcting grammar errors, which is exactly what you need to do on the SAT or ACT.
Test Innovators: This platform provides a data-driven approach specifically for SAT preparation. With thousands of practice questions and high-quality, realistic practice tests, it helps build familiarity with the SAT format and question styles.
ACT
Note: The ACT is changing! While I’m sure most of these resources will remain germane (not only a rhyme but also a great vocab word), please note that they are—at least at the time of this post—geared toward the current version of the ACT, which will be retired from paper-based administrations after the July 2025 exam.
Smart content developers effectively leverage the overlap between the two tests to create titles and products for both. Here are the ones from the SAT list who also have ACT offerings:
If you skipped straight to the ACT section, go back and read my rationale for recommending these resources above.
You may also notice that while Erica Meltzer does have a Reading title for the ACT, I’m not recommending it. And there are actually no Reading section-specific resources on this list because I believe that the Reading section is best approached with strategy, and I’ve yet to find a resource that presents a strategy I fully support. I’ll be sharing my own approach to the ACT Reading section next week, so make sure to stay tuned.
Resources from ACT
The Official ACT Prep Guide: This comprehensive guide is the gold standard for ACT preparation. It includes six full-length practice tests (most of which are actual, previously administered ACT exams), ensuring that the questions and format are identical to the actual exam. Each test is accompanied by detailed explanations, allowing you to understand and learn from your mistakes. The guide also offers practical tips and strategies for tackling each section of the ACT effectively, making it an essential resource for students aiming to maximize their scores.
The Official ACT Science Guide: The ACT offers separate guides for each section, but I think the Science one is worth looking at if you’re struggling with that section. It does a particularly good job of outlining all of the science content knowledge that could potentially come up on the test, which is something to think about especially if you’re be taking the Science section post-enhancement—ACT has made a few comments suggesting that the new Science section, although optional, will require more background science knowledge than the current version.
Math
For the Love of ACT Math: This comprehensive and student-friendly guide is a top choice for mastering ACT Math. It breaks down each concept tested on the exam into clear, manageable lessons, complete with step-by-step explanations and targeted practice problems. The book is organized in order of topic difficulty, allowing students to gradually build their skills and confidence as they progress. Emphasizing understanding over memorization, it provides strategies that can be applied to a variety of question types. Whether you’re looking to improve a specific skill or boost your overall score, this guide offers practical, actionable advice tailored to the ACT Math section.
The College Panda: College Panda has two great ACT Math titles: the Advanced Guide and Workbook and the ACT Math Workbook. The Advanced Guide dives deeply into ACT Math topics with clear explanations, challenging practice problems, and effective strategies for excelling on the test. The accompanying workbook provides additional practice problems and drills to reinforce skills and target areas of weakness. College Panda problems are known to skew tougher, closely mimicking the last 20 questions on the ACT Math section, making this pair an excellent choice for thorough and advanced preparation.
Science
For the Love of ACT Science: This book, known for its clear organization and practical approach, is a standout resource for mastering the ACT Science section. It walks students through each type of science passage found on the ACT, from data representation to research summaries and conflicting viewpoints. Organized by topic difficulty, the book helps students gradually build their confidence and skill set. Each chapter includes detailed explanations, effective strategies, and targeted practice questions. Whether you're struggling to interpret graphs and tables or navigating dense scientific language, this guide provides actionable advice to improve accuracy and speed. It’s an excellent tool for students who need help demystifying this often-intimidating section.
Tips for Successful Self-Study
Simulate Test Conditions: Practice under test-like conditions by using a timer and sitting for full-length tests in one sitting. This helps build stamina and familiarizes you with the time constraints and environment of the real test.
Create a Study Schedule: Consistency is key. Dedicate specific days and times each week to test prep.
Start with Practice Tests: Begin your prep with a full-length practice test to identify your baseline score and target areas for improvement.
Focus on Your Weaknesses: Spend extra time reviewing the sections or question types where you struggle the most.
Review Thoroughly: Always go over your practice tests and exercises to understand your mistakes and learn from them.
Don’t Neglect Your Strengths: While it’s important to focus on weaknesses, make time to maintain your strong areas as well.
Don’t blow all of your practice tests at the beginning of your test prep journey! It’s best to take a practice test, evaluate what you missed, work on building your skills in those content areas and strategies for attacking them, then take another practice test once you’ve done some work to improve your score. Taking practice test after practice test without effective review and practice is actively inefficient prep.
The road to success on standardized tests is paved with high-quality resources and a strategic approach. By incorporating the resources and tips above into your study plan, you can make significant strides toward your goal score. Have a favorite resource or question about self-study? Share it in the comments or reach out—I’d love to hear from you.
Happy studying!
Ditto to what Mike said. I also use these resources regularly with my students, and you summed them up well. Keep up the good work!
Terrific list, Kate! I recommend many of these resources to both SAT & ACT self-preppers and students working with tutors as well.