ACT: Guide to Success
By Braylon Sport
(The ACT)
With the first semester coming to a close and the end of the 21-22 school year on it’s way, students are starting to realize that they need to begin preparing for their future. This is especially true for juniors and seniors who choose to move forward in their school lives. College can be a place to find new opportunities, meet new people and gain new skills. Yet getting into one’s desired college can be difficult. There are many factors that come into play when deciding whether someone is accepted at a college or no— one of which is a student’s ACT score.
The ACT is a standardized test that is virtually impossible to get into college without (though current COVID-19 guidelines may change this). This test can be extremely difficult for many but with the right tips you can dominate the ACT. With as many as 1.7 million highschoolers taking the ACT and only having an average score of 21 out of 36 it is clear to see that the ACT is much harder than your average highschool test. Moreover, most four year universities won’t even consider an application if the ACT score is below a 25 meaning the average ACT tester is not able to attend their ideal college. Therefore, it is critical to understand and study for the big test before diving into the world of the ACT.
Tyler Moore, senior at OHS has taken the test twice and has a super score of 35. With a 35 being one of the highest scores one could achieve (36 being a perfect score), Moore is knowledgeable on how to prepare for the ACT.
One of Moore’s favorite tips that helped him prepare for the ACT is to take practice tests. The ACT has many different practice tests that can be found online as well as in official ACT prep guides that can improve your score.
Moore states, “[The practice tests] definitely made [him] more comfortable and confident [with the ACT].”
Moore also provides a plethora of small tips in order to further prepare for the test. Some of these tips suggest the following:
Don’t stress
Take little brain breaks
Watch the time
Get good sleep the night before
There are many ways to prepare for the ACT—such as the ACT Prep Official Guide which has many tips in it’s own. There are also youtube videos, which have personally helped improve my score. The ACT can be a stressful test where many can fail to meet their expectations, but with some tips and tricks anyone can dominate this first step in the road to being accepted to your favorite college.