Juniors Prepare to Take ACT

Alex Rusciano, Student Life Editor

Junior year is said to be the hardest in high school because of the course load and thoughts about future plans. In order to pursue these plans, students must prepare and take the ACT, which is a national college admissions exam that tests one’s skills in English, reading, math, science, and writing. This test challenges a student by not only testing them on their knowledge, but also how fast a student can complete each given subject. “Time management is a big thing to work on,” senior Ethan Larson said.

In total, the ACT has 215 multiple choice questions and takes about four hours to complete, if taking the writing portion of the test. This time also includes short breaks to talk among friends and eat a quick snack.

The ACT is administered on six test dates throughout the U.S. including Canada, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

Many students wonder when they should take the test. The ACT official website recommends that a student should pick a test date that is at least two months in advance of application deadlines. This is suggested because scored with the ACT without the writing writing section will receive their score within two to eight weeks after the test day. Students who took the ACT along with the writing section will receive their score within five to eight weeks.

“Take the ACT later in your sophomore year or early junior year to get a baseline score,” Larson said. A great opportunity to see what questions someone has gotten wrong, a student can get a copy of the test questions and the corresponding answer key through the Test Information Release (TIR). This is a great opportunity for students to know what they got wrong and can learn from it.

There are several tips that many students should know before taking the ACT. A big one is to relax the night before the test because it tests the knowledge that is accumulated throughout the year.

There are many specific tips to know about each category on the test. Below are tips from professionals and Orono High School students that have experienced the ACT already. “Do not get caught up on a problem because time is limited but at the same time don’t rush and make a dumb little mistake,” senior Grace Lynch said.

English:

Read each sentence or paragraph carefully in your head. Usually a word or phrase that contains an error will sound wrong. Look for the most common types of errors, such as errors in the relationship between the verb and its subject, pronoun errors, and sentence structure errors.

Math:

A big tip to remember for the math test is that when you find the right answer, mark it and then move on to the next one. If you find yourself spending an excess amount of time on one problem, then make your best guess and move on. As you work through the problems, you will be given reference information, such as formulas and facts. The important thing is to know how to use each approach them. If you are stuck, try substituting numbers for the variables that are given to you. A good tip is to start with the middle number, so then you can strategically choose one thats lower or higher.

Reading:

Focus on the big details in each passage. Try to connect ideas within each passage. To get through each passage faster, find the questions that ask, “In lines 31-35…” and then write the corresponding number of the question next to lines 31-35.

Science:

In the science section, focus on the graphs that correspond to each question. The science section was harder [for me] than reading, math, and science. Most of the time you will not even have to read the detailed paragraphs between the graphs, because the answer can be found right on the graph. Focus on what’s being measured, relationships among variables, and trends in data.

Writing (Optional):

The essay is scored based on an overall impression. Usually, it is scored among two different people, out of six. The two scores are added for a total of 12. If the two scores are completely different from each other, a third person will score the essay. “There are no specific tips for the essay,” junior Alex Kill said. To make the impression a good one, organize your ideas into a standard essay format. A five paragraph essay is the best way to go. This includes an introduction, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.

College admission offices use a student’s ACT score that’s made up of the four categories (english, math, science, reading). The four subscores are averaged out of 36. Traditionally, schools have taken the average composite score instead of picking out the highest subscores, but now this is changing.

The sub-scoring policy takes place when a student takes 2 or more ACT tests and is where a college selects the highest subscore of the four categories. This can create a more impressive score. “I think that all colleges should use superscore,” junior Sam Sustacek said.

Below is a list of the colleges that superscore the ACT:

Albion College

American University

Amherst College

Babson College

Baylor University

Beloit College

Birmingham Southern College

Boston College

Brandeis University

Bryn Mawr College

Butler University

California Institute of Technology

California State University System

Capital University

Colby College

Colgate University

College of the Holy Cross

Connecticut College

Davidson College

DePauw University

Duquesne University

Eckerd College

Elon University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida State University

Georgia Tech

Grinnell College

Hamilton College

Hampden-Sydney College

Haverford College

Hawaii Pacific University

Hendrix College

High Point University

Hollins University

Indiana University-Bloomington

Johns Hopkins University

Kalamazoo College

Kenyon College

Kettering University

Lafayette College

Lawrence University

Loyola University in Maryland

Middlebury College

MIT

Millsaps College

NCAA Clearinghouse

New York University

Northeastern University

North Carolina State University

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Pomona College

Regis University

Roger Williams University

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame

San Diego State University

Seattle University

Seton Hall University

Spring Hill College

Texas Christian University

Towson University

Trinity College

Trinity University

Troy University

Tufts University

United States Naval Academy

University of Arkansas – Fayetteville

University of Chicago

University of Colorado – Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Dayton

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Georgia

University of Illinois ***

University of Louisiana – Lafayette

University of Maryland

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Miami

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

University of North Texas

University of Puget Sound

University of Rhode Island

University of San Diego

University of South Florida

University of Tampa

University of Tennessee – Knoxville

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

Valparaiso University

Vassar College

Virginia Tech

Washington and Lee University

Washington State University

Washington University – St. Louis

Wesleyan University

Wheaton College

Williams College

Xavier University