Which of These Two Act Profiles Best Describes You?

Take a moment to reflect on which of the two Act profiles best describes you:

The traditional student who is ready and motivated to learn, has a strong background in high school academic courses and is goal-oriented and disciplined.

OR

The nontraditional student who has been out of school for some time, lacks a strong background in high school academic courses but is self-motivated, disciplined and wants to learn.

If you fit into the first group of students, you probably have a solid foundation for success in college. You have already demonstrated your ability to do well in high school so college should be a smooth transition for you. You will probably do well on the ACT and be able to easily complete your degree as long as you continue to work hard.

If you fall into the second category, however, it may take more effort on your part to achieve success. You may need to seek out tutoring or other support services that your college provides in order to succeed academically. In addition, you will probably want to take practice tests on each section of the ACT so that when you take the test during registration week at your college, you will perform well enough to place into courses with which you can succeed academically.

You’ll get a sense of how much you need to improve your score if you want to aim for a particular school. But you can’t do that without knowing what kind of student you are.

Take this quick test to find out which profile best describes your situation. We’ll use the results to give you an accurate estimate of how much time and effort it will take for you to reach your target score.

Are you an ACT Science person or an ACT English person? To find out, look at the table below.

ACT Science Person: You read the passages and answer the questions without much trouble. You can’t wait to get your hands on another passage. You would be totally happy to do ACT Science all day long.

ACT English Person: You have a panic attack every time you see a passage coming up on the screen. You run through the passages as quickly as possible, answering only the questions that take two seconds or less.

This is not a perfect test, but it will give you a sense of how things might go for you on the real thing. For example, if you are a strong ACT English person and a weak ACT Science person, then your overall score probably won’t be as high as it could be because of the way the ACT is scored. If you’re an average ACT English person and an average ACT Science person, then maybe your best bet is to spend more time practicing one of them until it becomes one of your strengths. Remember that you can change your exam date if you need more time to prepare.

Try this simple quiz to see if you are making the most of your time in preparing for the ACT.

Answer yes or no for each question and then tally up your score at the end.

Do you plan to take the ACT at least two times?

Do you have a clear target score in mind?

Have you reviewed your high school transcripts and identified any weak areas?

Have you taken an ACT practice test and identified any weak areas?

If so, can those weak areas be improved by reviewing content or improving skills?

Do you know what your target colleges want to see on your transcript and/or SAT scores?

Do you know how many points you need to improve in order to reach that score?

The ACT, also known as the American College Testing exam, is a standardized test taken by high school students who wish to attend college in the United States. The ACT consists of five sections: English, reading, math, science, and an optional writing section. Each section is scored out of 36 points except for the writing section, which is scored out of 12.

For many students taking the ACT, the most difficult section is the math portion. A large number of students struggle with some of the more advanced mathematical concepts presented on the test. If you fall into this category, it’s important to take a look at your strengths and weaknesses and make a plan to improve your score.

When preparing for the math section of the ACT, it’s crucial that you know exactly what topics are going to be covered on the exam. Here are some brief descriptions of each topic area on the ACT math section:

Pre-algebra (approximately 15-20% of questions)

Elementary Algebra (approximately 15-20% of questions)

Intermediate Algebra (approximately 15-20% of questions)

Coordinate Geometry (approximately 15-20% of questions)

Plane Geometry (approximately 20-25% of questions)

Trigon

One of the most important things to know is whether you’re a split-attention or a serial processor. It will dictate how you study and practice for the ACT, which can make a huge difference in your results!

Split-attention processors are more easily distracted by external stimuli. For example, if you’re listening to music while you study, it’s harder for this type of person to focus on what they’re reading than someone who doesn’t have that extra distraction. If you’re talking on the phone while reading a book or doing anything else, it’s harder for you to multi-task. You get lost in the conversation and don’t pay attention to what you’re reading!

You also have a harder time focusing if there are too many things going on at once. For example, if you’re walking down the street and there’s lots of traffic and noise, it’s harder for you to focus on one thing. If you try to study at home when your family is watching TV or your siblings are running around playing, it’s hard for you to focus because there are too many things going on at once.

Here’s an example of how this affects your ACT test-taking: during the English section