This upcoming Tuesday, March 11, hundreds of Timpview Juniors will walk through the school doors on their way to live their worst nightmare: the ACT standardized test. What can you expect? Hours of sitting in a cold room with the clock ticking louder and louder, as you make your way through each section. The ACT is composed of 4 dreaded sections: reading, English, math and science. The test will go for about 4 hours. During the test you will be given a break, in which students will miserably walk into the halls to have a snack and brain break. Chatter will flow through the halls of how awful the test has been going, how they wish it were done. No one is to speak of the material on the test, it is forbidden. Classified information. Not a word. Some students will know they are doomed, while others will hide their confidence in the outcome of the test. In some ways, the ACT feels like a preview of prison life, only instead of sitting in your cell you are forced to answer 215 questions, with only 2 hours and 55 minutes of testing time.

You might wonder, how can I prepare for the ACT? Well first of all, it might be a little too late to get the full preparation. Many students will probably be caught watching an ACT crash course on YouTube at 1 am the night before while sipping a Red Bull. Don’t do that to yourself. The best ways you can prepare for Tuesday would be to:

• Take a practice test of each section
• Research test taking tips and strategies
• Get 8+ hours of sleep each night
• Eat a good breakfast the day before

I would say the most important thing is to get a sense of the timing. The time is what destroys most peoples test scores. If you do a practice test on each section, you can get a better sense of how the timing will work. Another benefit would be to do some extra studying on sections you aren’t as good at.

Despite how awful this test will be, we all have to do it. Ultimately if you try your hardest it can have significant benefits for your future. By getting a good score you can receive scholarships and have a better chance of getting into the college of your dreams. You may be rolling your eyes right now and wonder, does the ACT even matter for college applications anymore? While the ACT and SAT scores have become less and less important on your college applications, many colleges still require the submission of your score. After COVID-19 many colleges were lenient on the submission of the ACT score and have rethought the process of the ACT. Despite this, it is still required at many colleges and many who stopped requiring it will begin to require it again.

Let’s take a look at how our Timpview Juniors are feeling going into the ACT. Tessa Calaway said, “I don’t feel prepared and I haven’t done anything to study for it.” On the other hand, Oscar Ortiz is feeling confident, “I feel like it gonna be easy, I feel prepared enough.” Brianna Martinez has a good mindset, she said, ” I don’t really know, I’m not super prepared but I guess since I can take it up to 20 times… it is what it is.” Finally, Mackenzie Lamb added, “I’m a little nervous but it’s okay,” and when asked if she felt prepared, she responded, “not at all.”

Most juniors at Timpview are feeling nervous and unprepared. I guess we will see how they end up scoring. If you are a Junior taking the ACT this Tuesday (March 11), we wish you good luck!