Dear homeschooled high school students,
I want to use this blog to share with you some resources, websites, and information which I have found helpful. I hope that you will find the articles beneficial. Today I am going to be talking about the ACT test.
The ACT is the test you need to take if you are planning on continuing your education through college. It is generally given to students in the Midwest, while the SAT, which is similar but somewhat more difficult, is used mainly on the east coast. Most colleges will accept results from either one when you enroll, so you do not have to take both.
You can take the ACT as many times as you want, so you may consider taking it in the spring of your junior year and then again in the middle of your senior year. The ACT office will send your scores to selected colleges if you ask them to, but I would recommend having them send it to you only, and then you can wait and send in your highest score when you are ready to apply for college.
Tip: When you are filling out the ACT registration form, enter 969-999 as the high school code. This will enable you to have the scores sent directly to your home instead of to the local high school.
Recently, a writing test was added to the ACT; it is optional, so you do not have to do it if you don’t want to. When I took the test last spring, I did not do the writing part, but I plan on taking it when I retake the test.
You can pick up a registration packet at your local high school with more information and a little help book and practice exam, but I would encourage you to first go to the website www.actstudent.org. You can register online, get test descriptions, view helpful tips, access valuable articles and more.
The resource I used to get mentally prepared for the big day was a book called Cracking the ACT, which is published by The Princeton Review. It is a very big book, and was a tad overwhelming for me to read through, mainly because I had only a few weeks to do so. It is also fairly wordy, but the authors do do a good job of explaining every aspect of the test-taking experience, and in an encouraging way. It contains a breakdown of basic grammar and English, mathematics, science charts and experiments, and also how to read (test passages) well. In addition, there is a section on writing an essay pertaining to the writing test.
Toward the back you will find two full length practice exams, and if you buy the edition with the non-reusable CD-ROM, there are six additional practice exams on it. Most bookstores and online shops should carry it. The book only is priced somewhere around $15.00 and the book with a CD-ROM is about $20.00.
I believe that tomorrow is a test day (Saturday) and the next one is in April. Be sure to register next week if you are planning to take it this spring, and don't forget to study hard!
Sincerely,
Seth Willard
<< Home