It is amazing how many students don’t take the SAT/ACT test serious or have the misconception that you “can’t” study for either one.  Based on your budget, there are a ton of different options to prepare for the SAT/ACT. You can use free online resources for both the SAT and ACT, you can purchase books on Amazon starting at $5, or if your willing to spend a little more, you can take SAT courses online or ACT course online at your pace starting at $200 or work directly with a tutor 1-on-1 this summer for around $700.  As boring as studying for these tests can be, many of these resources cite significant improvement with a bit of studying and the online or 1-on-1 services often offer money back guarantees and/or free-trials if you do not see the desired results!

This weeks guest blog comes from John Baylor of John Baylor Test Prep.

Suzanne Shaffer is the creator of Parents Countdown to College Coach where her vision is to help parents navigate the college maze by providing the right tools for organization and success.We’re featuring Suzanne this week in our Guest Blog segment to discuss the top 10 questions she’s been asked by parents over the past years serving as an expert in the college admissions process.

Everyone knows that the SAT/ACT can play a role in a student’s chances of getting into college, but how much importance should we put on these tests? According to a recent study of 740 high school counselors by Arizona State University MBA graduates, it is the second most important factor for a high school student looking to get into a top college behind preparing early and not waiting till it’s too late to apply or bring up their GPA.

What is a high school graduate’s biggest deterrent to getting into a top college or obtaining a scholarship? According to a recent survey of high school counselors, it is a student’s “lack of initiative or simply starting too late in the process.” In fact, 22% of the counselors surveyed reported that high school seniors are either too overwhelmed or simply don’t make the time to sit down and apply for scholarships.

If you are single and looking to get married, head to the East and West coast. These are the States where there is the highest percentage of Men and Women who have never been married. Conversely, if you’re married and looking for play dates, you will want to find yourself somewhere near the Mississippi river with West Virginia once again finding itself in the top 5 results.

I had always thought Florida was supposed to be the State where all the old people went to retire, but Florida barely made the top 5 of the eldest populations? They say with age, comes wisdom, so I'll be generous and report the top 5 "wisest" States (average age of the population):

1. Maine 41.5
2. Vermont 40.9
3. West Virginia 40.5
4. Florida 40.1
5. New Hampshire 39.8

If you are looking to get out and join the young people, here are the top 5 youngest States:

1. Utah 28.5
2. Texas 33.2
3. Alaska 33.4
4. Idaho 34.4
5. California 34.7

As we saw yesterday, the northeastern United States dominates native population residing in their State, and today we discover they have a commanding hold on median income as well with 3 of the top 5 and 5 of the top 10 overall. West Virginia makes another appearance in the top five, but this time it's of states with the lowest median income. As a matter of fact, there is a pretty good correlation between the States who's residents do not speak a language other English and low median income. Four out of the five states from Monday's blog made the lowest median income blog today.