The ACT® is a college admissions exam that tests what you learned in high school, including the subjects of English, math, reading, and science. When you apply to college, the admissions team will look at your ACT score to determine if you are a good fit for their school academically. Especially for in-demand programs, obtaining scholarships, and getting into prestigious schools, your ACT scores will play a large factor. This is why it is very important to study months in advance before taking the test, whether as a junior or senior in high school.
As you begin to research on the web the best resources for studying for the ACT, you will notice that there is a vast amount of resources available to you, both paid and free. What you decide to use is up to you, but be sure to do your due diligence when deciding on a how and what to study. Typically, study guides as well as practice tests are available to help you score the highest you possibly can on the actual test. Both of these are meant to be used in conjunction with one another in order to be effective.
Study guides help you understand the material
Study guides offer you the chance to dive into the materials and learn the reasoning behind questions. They are a chance for you to learn about concepts that you may not have heard before and strategies for taking the test that you may not have considered. Study guides are much like the typical study guide you would have for a final exam in one of your high school tests, except they offer a more in depth analysis and explanation of core concepts.
Practice tests help you understand what it is like to actually take the test
Practice tests will give you a good representation of what the actual ACT test is going to be like. At first the ACT can be intimidating, especially because you are timed and have to go to a special place to take the test where you are monitored the whole time. The whole thing can bring about a level of stress that you have never felt before. By taking practice tests, you will not only be able to see how good you would score, you can simulate the actual test taking experience.
Because of the high level of stress associated with taking the test, the importance that a good score has on your future, and to help you enrich your understanding of concepts and be able to apply them in different ways applicable to the ACT, it is important that you use both the study guides and the practice tests. Depending how much time you have, you should also consider using a variety of study guides and practice tests so that you can learn the information from different perspectives. Achieving a high score isn’t that hard, but it does take preparation.
