The ACT test^® may seem overwhelming, but after taking a prep class I’ve learned a lot of helpful tips to familiarize myself with the test. So if you need a few tips, I hope this blog will help.

The basic information you need to know about is the test format and its purpose. The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam. It tests what you’ve actually learned in high school.

When you register (the next test is September 11, 2010), you answer questions about what interests you about school and life. Then when you get your score report, you also receive a lot of good information about choosing high school classes, college readiness, career planning, and college admissions.

The ACT has four sections—English, mathematics, reading and science—and it takes about three hours to complete. If you register for the optional ACT Plus Writing, that section takes an extra 30 minutes.

There are two main strategies I followed in every section that may help you too:

• Answer every question, because you don’t get penalized for wrong answers
• If you have time, go back and check all your answers

The first section is English. In this section you read a story. There will be an underlined word or words and you mark whether they are accurate, require no change or need to be replaced. Some questions also ask about sentence placement and order.

Next is the math section. If you are talking higher placement math classes it’s important that you don’t forget how to do geometry and algebra. So if you need to, make sure you brush up on your skills.

The reading section is the third section. The first passage usually involves a narrative story; it’s important to visualize this passage. The questions for this passage are based on how the characters react to each other and different situations, as well as the author’s point of view. Be sure to read each passage through before answering the questions that follow.

The science section has a lot of charts and figures. Don’t freak out if you don’t remember anything from biology and chemistry. You aren’t required to remember chemistry equations or statistical facts. There are short passages with the charts and figures that contain important information.

If you registered for the optional essay, it will be the last part of the test you will take. The topics, I found, are very straightforward.

The ACT website, www.actstudent.org, has a ton of helpful information and free sample items to help you get ready for the exam. However, I’ve found that the best preparation is to take the tough classes in high school.

The main concern for me taking the ACT test was time. Consider taking a practice test or two to gain experience and to become familiar with the format. Practice makes perfect. Eat a good breakfast and try not to get stressed. You will be fine!

Junior year is often known as the most stressful year of high school; I completely agree. I’ve challenged myself a lot this year. I’ve taken advanced classes that are equivalent to college courses. I’ve been involved with extracurricular activities and clubs, including S.I.T.E. (an environmentalist club) and Key Club. I’ve also had the added stress of trying to balance school, a social life, and applying for colleges and taking college placement tests. I feel overwhelmed with so much to do and it seems as if there is no time to do it. The school year is coming to a close in a month and only summer plans are on my mind, but it’s important for me to not get too distracted because the school year isn’t over yet.

I signed up to take the ACT test on June 12, which is the week school ends. I felt it would be the best time for me to take the ACT, considering the ACT is based on the actual content learned in high school classes. I’ve found there are plenty of resources you can use to prepare for the test. For example, if you log onto www.actstudent.org/, you’ll find links to numerous practice problems you can use to prepare. As you answer each question, the site immediately lets you know if you’ve answered correctly. If you haven’t, the site explains why you got the answer wrong and the correct way to approach each problem, either by a step-by-step process or a grammatical rule.

There are additional resources available on the ACT website; you can also find resources at school, from practice books to practice tests. Even if you are financially unable to pay for the ACT, you may request a voucher to take the test up to two times without cost. You should talk to your guidance counselor for more information.

The ACT is accepted by all colleges and it opens a lot of doors for scholarships and more. The ACT has no tricks, unlike other tests, and you don’t get penalized for marking the wrong answers. The ACT doesn’t tempt you to pick another answer and it’s based on the content you learn in your high school courses. If you take the time and use the resources your school offers, online help, and even library prep books, you will have a better understanding of the test and can do your best if you try.

If, like me, you would like more assistance, tutoring can be an option for you. I enrolled in an ACT prep class and had my first class tonight. I learned a lot of helpful hints. The downside is these classes and tutors can be expensive. But remember, there are free resources available.

The end of the school year will soon be here. As much as I would like to put my feet up and call it a day, it’s important for me to stay focused, maintain my grades and give one hundred percent!

I had a very close group of friends in middle school. We swore we would be best friends forever, but then we found ourselves going to completely different high schools. Some of us remained friends and some of us lost touch. In life everyone has different paths. Sometimes the paths with your friends just don’t seem to intersect.

I have two amazing best friends and we spend every second of our free time together. We all plan on going to the same college. We looked at colleges together and fell in love with the University of Central Florida (UCF). Whether or not we will be accepted is the question.

Friends influence each other without even realizing it. You start picking up on each other’s words and even dreams. But what’s best for your friend may not be best for you. For example, my friend Claire wants to go to college with her best friend Amy, but Claire has the opportunity to go to college in New York and live with her aunt. It’s important to do what you want to do regardless of what your friends are doing. Though we all go through different stages in our lives, we shouldn’t let opportunities slip away.

If you’re not accepted at your first choice college, it’s important to acknowledge that you still have options. Some of my friends have decided to go to a local community college for two years and then transfer over to a university or even attend a community college near the university they want to eventually attend.

There are also technical schools that may be of interest to some students. I have a friend who wants to specialize in a certain field, so he’s going to attend Sheridan Technical School and work on the side to save up money instead of going to a more expensive institution.

A friend named Jake never thought he would go to college because he barely graduated from high school. His previous scores on state tests proved he had good skills so his guidance counselor recommended that he take the ACT. He took the test and scored well enough for a Bright Futures scholarship that pays for about 60% of his college. Now he’s signed up to attend his first semester of college this fall. It’s a great idea to take the ACT and see how much it can help you.

I planned on starting college early next year, but I’ve decided it’s not what I want to do anymore. Even though it would a great opportunity, what I thought was best for me then isn’t what’s best for me now. I’ve decided to enjoy what’s left of high school instead of trying to hurry up and get out. I recently realized that time is moving so rapidly, so what’s the rush? Whatever your decisions may be, know that nothing is for certain and you can always change your mind. At the same time, it’s important to have a path, make it your own and never miss out on any opportunities.

It’s important to realize that everyone is different. Sometimes we compare ourselves with the people standing right next to us. But this can lead us to view ourselves in a dimmer light then them. We all want to go in the same direction, but it doesn’t mean we all need to take the same path.

For some, the path may be straightforward; for others, the path can be curvy and a little bumpy. It’s important not to get discouraged if you are having a harder time reaching your goals than others. With time and dedication, achieving your goals will be all the sweeter.

My path has never been straightforward. I’ve always had to push myself to achieve good grades and do well in school. I used to get frustrated when I saw that academic success was so easy for some students. While I would spend hours dedicated to studying and would receive a C or B on a test, another student might get an easy A without even opening a notebook.

Soon I realized that I shouldn’t compare myself to others. If I strove to get a B on a test and received a B — while the rest of the class got an A — did it matter? In a word, no.

My goals and other students’ goals don’t have to be the same. I know now that everyone is different and we all live by own own standards.

Recently I received my results for the mock ACT. My average score was 19. I learned a lot from the test and I plan on doing better when I take the real ACT. My goal is to score at least a 20 to qualify for a scholarship called Bright Futures.

I am not a great test taker, but what I lack in testing skills I make up for with my grades. Some of my friends score very well on standardized tests, but don’t push themselves in school and their grades falter.

Everyone is different. I believe it’s important for students to work on all aspects of their high school career and do the best they can. The better they do; the more options they have.

Everyone has different aspirations. Not everyone’s path is the same, but we are all headed in the same direction — gaining knowledge, becoming independent, and working towards becoming the person we want to be. Create your own path. With hard work and perseverance, you will be closer to achieving your goals. Good luck!

The more familiar I am with something, the easier it is to handle. When I do something for the first time, I’m usually anxious and uneasy, but the more I do something, the better I am at it. When I take a test, I want to do my best. Being unprepared doesn’t help. That anxious and uneasy feeling causes stress; I become so worried about how much time I have left to finish that my mind can go blank or I can make careless mistakes. If you’re like me, preparing will help your stress levels and will help you perform better when taking the ACT.

I recently took a mock ACT to help prepare myself for taking the real ACT. A mock ACT is a practice test that is identical to an actual ACT, but the score is not recorded. It really helped me get a better understanding of how the test works.

When you take a test, do you do better when you know what to expect? I’ve found it’s good practice to see what I know and what I don’t know, so when it comes time to take the real test I understand what I should study and work on to do my best. Whether you prepare yourself by taking practice tests or receiving tutoring, familiarizing yourself with the structure and general content of the test will only be beneficial. What’s nice about the practice ACT I took was that the woman who proctored the test gave us advice and helpful hints beforehand. I hope that you will gain some helpful strategies from what I learned.

First off, the test is set up into 4 different timed sections. Sometimes it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to finish. In my opinion, the great thing about the ACT is that, unlike the SAT, it’s a straightforward test, no tricks. All the questions are multiple choice. If I didn’t understand some questions, I just bubbled in an answer that seemed like the best choice. Remember — on the ACT, you don’t get penalized for wrong answers, so guessing won’t hurt.

Each section of the ACT seemed to include both easy and hard questions, but don’t rush through the easy problems making careless mistakes. Pace yourself. Some suggest flagging the harder questions and going back to them if you have the time.

These days it seems like all language is abbreviated and proper grammar has been forgotten — but not on the ACT. The first section is all about knowing grammar and sentence structure, so if you know those two items then you’re golden; if not, you may want to review.

Know your math! The ACT math section includes a lot of algebra and geometry, angles and so forth.

The 3rd section is reading passages and then answering the questions. I found that the best way to tackle this portion was to read the passages I found most interesting first. This way I could complete the passages and questions because I had a better understanding of them.

In ACT’s science section, you read a passage, sometimes with charts and graphs, and then answer questions based on that information. Of course, it does help to have a solid science curriculum.

If you are aware of what’s on the test, it makes you more comfortable and makes it a lot easier. The only thing I felt I had difficulty with was completing each section within the time frame. You just have to prepare yourself and pace yourself; practice makes perfect!

High school students have so many different options when deciding which direction to take. There are countless things to consider when planning for the future and many steps to take to reach your goals. I switched schools going into my sophomore year of high school; I went from knowing everyone to knowing no one. I wasn’t focused on making friends. I did horribly my freshman year with a 1.9 GPA, and I planned to focus on school for the following years, not play.

Even though there can be a healthy balance in both, I never found myself getting involved in extracurricular activities. I decided to dedicate a full year to just my schoolwork and once I boosted my GPA, get more involved. I studied really hard and my GPA is now a solid 3.5. Any free time I had, I would hang out with old friends instead of new people I met at my school. I went to Homecoming and a few football games, but to cut it short, high school was never my cup of tea.

My mom noticed my sense of “senioritis” came early. I talked to my guidance counselor and that’s when I decided I wanted to graduate early. Everyone has choices; you have to do things that fit you and fit your best interests. I decided to dual enroll. Instead of attending high school, I complete all my classes at a community college and gain both high school and college credit. It’s great because I can earn college credit for free because, technically, I’m still considered a high school student.

If you’re like me, this may be a good option for you as well. If you want to get a head start but don’t want to miss out on all the fun of senior year with your friends, you may be able to dual enroll in some classes and take high school classes too. You also may have the option of taking advanced classes to get college credit. Talking to your counselor is a great idea; they know about lots of different opportunities that may be a good match for you.

I’m also hoping for Early Admission to Broward College. With early admission, you aren’t just handed things, you have to work hard. Early admission may be the path I hope to follow. It’s much like deciding you want to go to a certain college. I have to take a college placement test at Broward College to see if I meet the requirements. I also have to maintain at least a 3.0 academic core GPA.

There are a lot of other factors that play a part in reaching my goals. I’m still taking classes, thinking about scholarships, and taking the ACT, because it’s good to have options in case I change my mind.

Whatever path you decide to take, whether it’s getting into your dream college or going to a technical school, you have to put all your focus and hard work on it if it’s truly what you want.

During the year, our high school counselors make classroom visits to talk about future plans. Recently we received one of these visits from our college advisor. She discussed the important information we need to know to hopefully get into the college of our choice. She covered everything from college planning to scholarships.

One of the most important factors she mentioned was standardized testing for college admission. She stressed the need to start signing up for and taking the tests. Since this year seems to be flying by, I know that I need to start focusing on more than just my high school coursework. The next ACT test date is April 10, 2010.

Because I want to do well on the ACT, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to go into the test blindfolded and I wanted to take the test without the pressure. I made the decision to take a mock ACT on the 27th of February. The mock ACT is a practice test. It doesn’t count and helps familiarize you with the test.

Taking a practice test also allows you to get feedback on what you know and what you need to know.

I suggest you sign up for these tests with a friend. Having support always helps me. Friends can help push each other to study and make preparation more fun. Instead of having to force myself to go it alone, I’ve found doing things with friends gives me both a positive mindset and provides comfort and support.

As life gets busier and busier, it’s sometimes hard to keep focused on school. When you have a lot on your plate — whether it be sports or extracurricular activities — life can seem overwhelming. You have to know your limits and how far to push yourself. If you push yourself too much, you might overwhelm yourself to the breaking point.
Your junior and senior year of high school can be stressful, but remember to breathe. Have a schedule and stick to it. Don’t procrastinate. If you put things off, your schedule will only get busier and busier. When faced with so much stress, sometimes you just want to do nothing. Don’t give up on yourself; with perseverance you’ll thrive. When school feels hard, remember the goal. Whether it’s getting into a certain college or beginning a career, going through school is how you get there. To do well you’re going to have to want to do well. Let go of the stress and focus on what you want. You have to reach for your goals, because not everything is handed to you. Just believe.

I just started a new semester with new classes, new teachers, and tons to do. One of my classes is an advanced English class and the work load seems almost impossible, but so far I’m doing well. I chose to take that class because it looks good to colleges and because my high school guidance counselor said I had the ability to take the class. I was a bit skeptical at first, but now I’m happy that I’m taking the course.

I’ve found from experience that it’s very important to talk to your school counselors. They’re there for a reason and they can help a great deal. They know what you need to do to get from point A to point B; they know what courses you’ve taken in the past and how well you’ve done. Depending on where you want to go, there are different things that colleges look for and your counselors will guide you in the right direction.

Now in my junior year, I feel the pressure. My high school career is almost over, it’s time to take the ACT and other required admissions tests, it’s an important year to keep up my grades, and everything I do counts. That’s where counselors come in: it helps to talk to someone who knows what they’re talking about.

I recently made an appointment with my guidance counselor and she helped me a great deal. When selecting my classes, she told me what courses I needed and the options I have regarding my future plans. I wasn’t sure exactly where I wanted to go to college or even what I’m remotely interested in doing as far as a career goes, but she helped a lot. We focused on what requirements I need to meet for graduation and we organized what I should do before high school ends. I was glad I talked to her. I picked the right schedule for me and it took a lot of pressure off knowing what needed to be done and just taking it step by step.

My name is Lauren Siwek and I’m a junior at Cooper City High School in Florida. My school is very academically focused. Most of the students strive to be at the top of their class. When students around you excel, it pushes you to do the same, which is why my mom transferred me to Cooper City High my sophomore year.

During my freshman year, I went to another school which I loved, but unfortunately it wasn’t the right school for me. I got caught up in being social and meeting so many new people; I didn’t focus enough on my schoolwork. I didn’t really think much about my future at that point; it seemed like a million years away. I blew off a lot of my work and never kept myself up-to-date with grades. I didn’t have the drive or comprehension of how significant it is to do well, even though I was told how important it was.

It was when I went to Cooper City High that my entire mind set changed. I realized that by having a low grade point average I was reducing my future opportunities, including college admission, scholarships and more. I continued taking honors classes knowing I was capable of the work. I also took Spanish again to replace an F which I received during my freshman year.

During my sophomore year, I was mainly focused on bringing my grades up. When junior year rolled around, I wanted to get more involved in joining clubs. I joined Key Club (a community service club), Environmental Club, and Adventurers Club (an outdoor activity club). I have a lot of fun participating in these groups and I’ve met a lot of people, which is nice considering I didn’t know anyone when I first transferred. I am currently considering an opportunity which I now have because of how much I’ve improved. It’s called Early Admission; I can be admitted early into college and take dual-enrollment classes, completing both my senior year and my first year of college in one.

Although I’m very involved now, I had a rocky start when I first got to high school. I got distracted by a new environment and made the poor choice of pushing my academics to the side. I’ve changed my ways since freshman year, and I am now focusing on excelling in school to brighten my future. I plan to go to college after high school, but there are preparations that I need to take to reach my goals. One I’m focusing on now is taking the ACT.

Some of my friends took the ACT without even knowing what it is. The ACT is an assessment that measures what you learn in school. So if you do well in school, you should do well on the test. You should still review because algebra, geometry, and trigonometry are on the ACT. It’s a good idea to take the test for college admission, college placement, and scholarships. Never cram before the test; it puts more pressure on you than necessary. Don’t worry about what you don’t know and be confident in what you do know. You can take the test multiple times, so if you didn’t do so well the first time, don’t sweat it, you can always take it again. If you did better the first time, don’t worry, you can submit your best scores. There are prep courses available as well.

With drive and persistence, you’d be surprised what you can accomplish. Although I ended my freshman year with a 1.9 grade point average, it is now a solid 3.5. You have to prioritize, know what you want, and commit to it. There are many things you can do to reach what you want to achieve. You just have to want it; self-motivation is everything.

Organization is very important; I’d be lost without my agenda. If you don’t take notes about when assignments, tests, and quizzes are scheduled it makes it difficult to keep up with what needs to be done in all your classes. Write down your assignments, homework, and tests so when you get home you can complete each task and take time to study for upcoming tests. It’s very important to be on top of your work. Plus, when you break things down into parts instead of keeping all the information in your head, it becomes less overwhelming and stressful.

Always know what your grades are. In Florida we have something called Pinnacle, which provides timely student performance information where students can fully view their academic progress. I look at Pinnacle daily. I see all the work and grades I received on each assignment. I can also view missing assignments that I know I have to make up. I never used to look at my grades. If I had, maybe they wouldn’t have been so bad. When you view your grades every day, it helps you set goals. If you see your grades go down, it motivates you to take the extra time when doing assignments or studying for a test because you want to see your grades improve.

Getting ahead of the game was how I improved my grades a lot. If you know what chapters are coming up next and you have a couple of free hours, take the time and read ahead, become more familiar with the topic so when it comes time to learn it, it’ll be easier to understand. Don’t wait until the last minute. Having to cram adds stress and that’s the last thing that you want. When you’re on schedule or ahead of schedule, you’re more at ease.

Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritize! School has to come first. It’s easy to blow off homework when you get a call from a friend asking you to check out a new movie you’ve been dying to see. Some days I come home and go straight to the books until dinner, eat, and go back to work. My friends nag at me all the time for not answering their calls, but I know if I pick up the phone we’d be talking for hours. Don’t slack off; do what you have to do first and do what you want to do later. If you’re not getting something in class, don’t be afraid to ask, your teachers are there to teach you. You can always talk to your teacher after class as well if you need to.

I’m looking forward to blogging for ACT. I hope that readers can relate to me and be inspired to achieve their full potential.