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Guide
• 4 min read
Learn how to ace the ACT with our expert guide. Discover strategies to boost your score, improve your study habits, and enhance your college application.
The American College Test (ACT) is a standardised exam that assesses a student’s readiness for college-level work. A higher score on the ACT certainly improves your chances of admission into your chosen college, and may also help with scholarships and financial aid. Careful and strategic preparation is essential to success, and this guide will help you to plan your preparation in the most effective way possible, including when you should start, how many hours you should spend preparing, and the best tips for success.
If possible, it is best to start your preparation at least 6 months before your test date so that you are comfortable with the test, its format, and how it is marked. There are various test dates for non-US students, which can be found on the ACT website. Starting early also means that you can gradually ramp up your preparation as the test draws closer without risking becoming burned out. For most students, the best place to start is to familiarise themselves with the test format, and then take a practice test. This way you have a baseline score to work with, and you have an initial idea of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. It is important not to neglect your strongest areas, but at this stage it is wise to focus on improving your weak spots. Take a mock test at least twice a month, and work on practice questions daily. Review your answers, check your mistakes, and do not move on until you understand where you went wrong and know how you would get the right answer in the future.
After a couple of months of this focus on your weakest area, you should start to see an improvement. It is important to keep your practice steady, particularly for mathematical techniques, as these can easily become rusty without regular practice. Remember that even if you are scoring highly by this stage, this is not a sign to slow down your preparation and let your hard work be wasted.
In the final month before the test it is important to keep your practice schedule regular and make sure that you are clear how much time to spend on each question, and how you are going to handle any questions where you are stuck. Overall, preparing for the ACT is a marathon not a sprint, and it is careful and strategic preparation that will be rewarded on the day.
The answer to this question really depends on you, your current level of ability, and your commitments. However, it can be useful to think of the ACT as an additional subject you are studying and allocate around 5 hours a week to studying it at first, and increasing this gradually as the test comes closer and your preparation becomes more focused.
This is likely to be a very busy time in your life already, so it is tempting to avoid ACT preparation. However, the ACT’s importance should not be underestimated in getting you into your college of choice and some discipline here will pay off. If you are really struggling to find the time, emphasise quality over quantity of hours spent on it; start small and regular and build up gradually as the test gets closer.
Although it is naturally less appealing to focus on our weaknesses, this strategy really is key to success on a test like the ACT. Sitting a practice test early so that you can identify these (they may not be what you were expecting) is the best place to start as then you can design your preparation around addressing your weaknesses, while still keeping your strengths sharp. While focusing on the things you find hard is initially challenging, many students find that seeing steady improvement is a huge confidence boost that continues well beyond the ACT.
The ACT does not provide you with the scientific concepts and mathematical formulae in the exam so you will need to devote considerable time to building up the muscle of your memory. This can be challenging for many students, but start small, steady, and in plenty of time, and by the time the day of the test arrives, recalling these concepts will feel effortless, even under time pressure.
If you start your ACT preparation early, this means that you can identify your strengths and weaknesses early so that you can focus accordingly, and practice your strategies in practice exams. If you leave your preparation too late, you will not be able to create a tailored strategy for yourself, and worst of all, you will feel panicked, rushed, and disappointed that you know you are not giving yourself the best chance of success.
1. Create a study schedule and stick to it
This helps you to organise your time, builds your confidence, and avoid any last-minute panic. Allow yourself enough flexibility to be realistic, but avoid the temptation to think you’ll make the time up later.
2. Use Practice Materials
To efficiently identify your strengths and weaknesses, taking a first sample exam can be helpful to adjust your study strategy accordingly. Regularly taking sample tests will also hone your exam technique and help you to track progress and where you need to focus your efforts.
3. Develop Your Test-Taking Strategies
Stick to the time allotted for each question as closely as possible, ideally leaving some time for checking. Use strategies such as eliminating incorrect answers to narrow down your options.
4. Target Specific Areas
As you practice more, identify the sections you are weaker in and the question types you struggle with. Adjust your study time to focus at least half of the time on these until they are no longer noticeably weaker areas for you.
5. Take Care of Yourself
It is important to manage stress during exam preparation and also to take care of your general wellbeing, such as getting enough sleep and staying well-nourished and hydrated. The ACT is important but so are you and you deserve to feel happy and healthy. You will also perform at your best if you have taken care of yourself in the months and weeks leading up to the test.
The ACT is formatted into distinct sections, and it is essential to understand the format and content of the test. The test has four compulsory multiple-choice sections: English, Math, Reading, Science, and additionally, there is also an optional writing component. The English section tests grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and rhetorical skills; Math tests algebra I and II, geometry, and some trigonometry; Reading contains four passages (prose fiction, social studies, humanities, and natural sciences) with 10 questions per passage; and Science involves questions on science-based passages presented with graphs, charts, tables, and research summaries. Each section should be prepared individually as each has distinct strategies and content necessary for success.
Boosting your ACT Score depends on you having a very clear and strategic understanding of what needs to be done to get the best score possible. Taking a specialised ACT test preparation course would help with this, or getting personalised feedback through ACT focused tutoring helps many students achieve the best scores they are capable of and to go on to their dream colleges.
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