For many high school juniors, second semester means not only a focus on keeping grades and staying busy with extracurricular activities, but also an increased focus on the SAT. The College Board’s three spring test dates are March 8th, May 7th and June 3rd. If you do enough reading, you might think taking prep courses that cost thousands of dollars is the only way to get the score you want. But the truth is, there are plenty of low-cost and free ways to prep for the SAT.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Take a Free Practice Test

It’s impossible to know if you need extra English tutoring without knowing first what your score on the reading and writing sections are. Every student gets a free practice test from The College Board; take the test early on to identify key areas of strengths and where you need a little extra help. If you’re hitting your target score on a given section, there’s no need to spend hours of time preparing. On the other hand, if you find your score isn’t as high as you’d like, you now know a few areas to focus on.

Pick up a Magazine

Learning SAT vocabulary words isn’t always the most fun process. You can try the old fashioned route — writing index cards and then dutifully drilling the words into your head. Or, try an approach that’s slightly more fun (and will be better for you in the long-term, too). Grab a copy of the New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly or The Economist and tell yourself you’ll read an article every day. Every time you come across a word you don’t know, make a note of it on an index card and write the definition on the back. After you finish each article, give yourself an extra challenge that will help you prep for the reading comprehension section of the SAT. Figure out the author’s main point, and identify the pieces of the author’s argument as she makes them in her piece.

Brush Up On Basics With Khan Academy and YouTube

For most students who are entering the second semester of their junior year of high school, the math on the SAT isn’t particularly complicated or advanced; it’s more that there’s a lot to remember. If you need math help, Khan Academy offers a great (and completely free) resource: videos that go over every single math problem in The College Board Official SAT Study Guide. If those aren’t enough, you can dig deeper into tougher concepts on both Khan Academy and YouTube. For example, if you’re having problems understanding rational numbers, there’s a host of great video content available.

Work with a Friend

Chances are that if you’re studying for the SAT, your friends are, too. One of the best ways to drill a tough concept into your head is to teach it to someone else. So sit down with a classmate and commit to going through a half hour of questions on your own. When time is up, compare answers and if your answers are different, see if you can convince your friend why your answer is right — or vice versa. Often times, the act of having to explain something out-loud can help you get a better grasp on the problem too!

The SAT is just one piece of your overall college application, but it is an important one. The good news is, there’s no reason so drop thousands of dollars on a prep course. Just give yourself plenty of time and build out a study strategy that includes the above ideas — you’ll be heading toward a 2,400 in no time at all!

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Today’s guest post is from Laura Oppenheimer who works at InstaEDU, an online tutoring service that instantly connects students who need help with tutors from top colleges.