Starting preparations for the ACT, the test every junior fears at the end of the year, is a scary and challenging process. In most situations where teens ask about ways to make it less stressful and nerve racking, teens are usually told to simply study, and hope that they do well. But, some teens are going above and beyond, while some just are unsure of where to start. Most teachers give the same advice, but when asked further in depth, there is more detail that can be given to help students be successful with this test, which is usually a key moment in a high schooler’s education.
A good example of this is Yaretzi Jimenez, current Junior studying for the ACT, and a current English teacher at Rock Island High School, Mrs. Greenwood. Greenwood and Jimenez have given some insightful advice for how preparing has helped in the past, and how preparing now is beneficial. Both parties took or are taking the ACT, and Jimenez will be taking the ACT in the spring, and Greenwood took it in high school. Both have recommended taking the ACT, and additionally the SAT, as Jimenez puts it, “The only reason why I’d want to take both the ACT and SAT is because it would look nice for colleges, but only if I have good scores.”
This brings up a good point about college and how each score can vary to assist one on their college applications. Greenwood states, “The SAT and ACT are a little different from each other. A student might score better on one than he/she might on the other. It definitely wouldn’t hurt to have a chance with both exams.” Both tests would be a good idea for most high school students wanting to go into college. Both sources agree that if college is the route you prefer, it would be beneficial to take both the SAT and the ACT, as you could score differently on each and it would be good to have both scores for colleges to consider.
Studying for these tests varies for every student. Greenwood says, “My parents paid for me to take an ACT Prep class. I was taught test-taking strategies, and was exposed to many practice tests, which I would not have had otherwise.” In this case, she was exposed to a class solely for ACT/SAT prep, which obviously helped her, as she said she thinks it helped her do well. While Jimenez is not in a class for ACT preparations, she also recommends practice tests, saying, “I recommend taking at least 30 minutes a day to study different materials. There’s online resources you can use to take a practice test or to get an idea of what’s on the test, and focus on the areas that you know you need to work on.” They both recommend practicing as much as possible. Jimenez uses more of an at home approach, and possibly a less time consuming one. Some other advice Greenwood gave about practicing and things that might come up on the ACT are, “Practice, practice, practice. Many students go into the test thinking that they can’t study for it, which is true to some extent. You can, however, look at practice tests to see what type of questions might be asked so that you can review grammar, math steps, science steps, etc. before the exam.” She gives specific examples of things that most students struggle with on the exams, mostly relating to charts and data, stating, “Many students struggle with the science portion because there are a lot of charts and graphs that they aren’t used to reading/translating”.
One last piece of advice she gave was, “Get a good night’s rest the night before. Eat a good breakfast. Show up a little earlier than usual, so you aren’t racing in at the last minute. And breathe. You got this.” Greenwood has been teaching and helping students prepare for this test for around twenty three years now, alongside helping two of her daughters prepare for the test, she has a pretty good idea of what should be done to prepare by now.
One major thing brought up was the benefits of doing well on these tests, if Jimenez and Greenwood agree on one it is that doing well on this test looks great on college application and can even lead to scholarships, which could be extremely beneficial because as everyone knows, college is quite expensive. Jimenez states “The ACT is important to me because I’m aiming to be able to get some sort of scholarship for college, and if I get a good score, it would help my chances of getting that scholarship, and especially because it’d help my family out so much.” Greenwood agrees , stating, “If you are planning to go to college, doing well on the exams is important. While some colleges suspended exam score reporting during COVID, many schools have gone back to requiring scores. In addition to college admittance, many colleges/universities require test scores in order to determine eligibility for scholarships. Free money is always helpful!”
Getting insight from teachers coming up to ACT season is vital, and getting input from peers is equally as important. Both Jimenez and Greenwood have given great advice that can definitely lead to a scholarship worthy ACT/SAT score. Hopefully, getting advice and tips like these can help students take the edge off of the anxiety-inducing ACT season, and students can confidently use this advice to go above and beyond on their own scores.
