Walking into the front doors, it’s hard to know what to expect. All you can think about is how dark the hallways look in the early morning hours and how life changing every passing moment feels. Maybe you feel totally prepared, or maybe you’re just winging it, either way, you feel as if your whole future depends on the next four hours.
The ACT is used by many colleges and universities as a factor in admission. The test is made to assess the readiness of a high school student for college. The test has four sections in a regular setting, English, math, reading, and science, with an optional essay portion. It is a paper and pencil, multiple choice test. The score can range anywhere from 1-36. In the class of 2018, 1,914,817 students took the exam with an average score of 21.
The school-wide ACT for juniors takes place on April second, a Tuesday. However, some juniors decided to get a head start.
“I’ve taken it twice, once in September 2018 and once in December 2018,” junior Carter Wenburg said. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t run out of chances to retake it if I didn’t get a score that I wanted.”
Several others choose to wait.
“I haven’t taken the test yet because I want to take it the first time without paying so if I get a good enough score I won’t have to pay to take it again,” junior Emily Struss said.
Several teachers set aside time in their curriculums to aid juniors on their ACT journies and students opt for at home practice.
“In my English and math classes, we do ACT prep worksheets. I also study and take practice tests on Naviance and Kahn Acadamy,” Struss said.
“I enrolled in an online program called Prepscholar where I can take practice ACT tests and work on lessons,” Wenburg said.
Both students stressed the importance of a good score in order to get better scholarships and receive more opportunities.
“I am paying for my college education myself, so I need to get a high score to get as much money as I can to get through,” Struss said.
“I’m not too nervous about my score, but I would love to get it even higher so that I can feel safer about getting into a specific college,” Wenburg said. “My parents really want me to do well, and I’ve also heard that if you get a 36, you get invited to a dinner with the governor, so I would love to strive towards that.”
No matter how you view or prepare for the ACT, it is a requirement for many colleges. The test is approaching, ask your counselor about the free ACT Prep program through Naviance.
