The ACT….. if you are a junior, chances are, you hear it and roll your eyes. The ACT is a standardized test that is similar to the SAT. Many Juniors took the ACT on Saturday, February 10.
Madeline- I started studying for the ACT about three weeks before. I met with a tutor, did practice tests, and reviewed how to finish each section quickly and correctly. I am so glad I used a tutor because it helped me prepare for each section. The ACT comprises four sections: math, English, reading, and science. If you do not have extra time, the test lasts from 8:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. If you have extra time, the test lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Carolina – I started practicing different sections – mostly math and science – from practice tests with a tutor back in November, with no idea when I would sign up for the ACT. After realizing that I wasn’t nearly ready for the December test, I signed up for February. The ACT is offered both online and on paper, which is the reason I signed up for it rather than the SAT, which is going fully online. The day of the test, I wasn’t as nervous as I’d anticipated, which was good. I listened to Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” album on my 20-minute drive to Brewer to get energized and ate some chicken minis with strawberry jam after pumping gas at a rainy 7/11 by my house.
Madeline – I had extra time, so by the time the test was over, I was ready to get out of there. The nice part about extra time is that I knew everyone in my room except for one other person. Lainey Liberto ‘25, Max Kaufman ‘25, Sam Dodson ‘25, Claiborne Edwards ‘25, and I all were in the same room with two All Saints students. You just choose what you prefer when you pick the location. I took the test at Brewer High School, which was about 15 minutes away from my house. I would recommend taking the ACT at Brewer because the school is nice and the proctors are typically very friendly and want to help you and make the test go as quickly as possible. Each section went by a little too quickly, the reading, science, and English sections were fine but the math section was a train wreck. My brain is just not a “math brain” and it never has been, so the math section was interesting. For others to prepare, I would recommend using a tutor, and taking lots of practice tests so you understand each section and how you need to manage your time. At FWCD, you take a practice ACT and SAT sophomore year, so from those scores you can choose which one you want to take depending on which one you scored higher on.
Liberto also took the ACT in February.
“The ACT was a long test but I am excited to see the outcome of my score,” Liberto said.
Carolina – The test itself wasn’t too bad, except I was starving by the end. I’d only packed an apple sauce for a snack, unfortunately; if I could have gone back in time, I would have packed a sandwich. What was worse was my experience surrounding the test. I’d forgotten my ID in the car, so after going in I had to run out to get it again. Also before the test, I was not aware that mechanical pencils were banned; consequently, I had gone into the test prepared to use my blue and pink sparkly Bic mechanicals. When I was alerted, I was able to use the proctor’s regular pencils – half dull, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. Then all was well, until the science section: the kid behind me was a D1 mouthbreather, and the science section was like his final sprint. I was tweaking. I was in a room with several other Country Day students though, so it was nice to know people amidst my horrors.