Sophomores: This One’s for You

I get asked all the time, “When should my child start preparing for the ACT?”  Junior year is so challenging and, I promise you, you don’t want to still be trying to hit that “goal score” during your Senior year. Take the stress off and start early: sophomore year or before.

I suggest that sophomores take the ACT on one of three dates: December, April, or June. Why these dates? These are the magic times that the ACT lets us order a copy of our Test Information Release (TIR). This is a copy of our actual ACT test with all the answers that we missed and got correct. This is a GOLD MINE for sure! Not only will students have the latest copy of the ACT in their hands, but they will also know what they need to work on.

The follow-up question I get asked is this: Should my student prepare beforehand or take the test and see how it goes? By all means, prepare beforehand. We want to send confident kids into that testing room. Why get an entry-level score when you don’t have to? I have many free resources on my website including past released tests and commonly tested concepts. Please work on your own or take a class before test day. Let’s crush this test from the beginning. I want you to hit your ACT score goal during your Junior year and then be done with it. Can I get an amen?