ACT

The ACT test is a university admissions test, measuring what students learn in high school to determine academic readiness for university. Students typically have a good experience due to continued exposure to a strong secondary school curriculum, greater familiarity with the tests themselves and maturation as test takers. Preparation is convenient but it is important to understand  the limitations of using test prep organisations and outside tutors, and to consider the significant commitment of time and energy required during a busy time. 

Students are responsible for sending standardised testing scores directly from the testing agency. VIS will not send these materials as part of the supporting documents.

It is extremely important to find out about the recognition of the ACT.

VIS is not a test center for ACT. To see international dates and deadlines, to find ACT centers, to find useful information and register, please click on the button below: 

ACT test preparation

Start early.

People think test prep is a horrendous, stressful process. It’s not – if you start early. If you start studying a month before your test, it’s going to be hellish and stressful, and you won’t be able to leverage your brain’s preference for absorbing information over the long-term. If you start months in advance, you can put in 20-40 minutes a day (split into small sessions of 10-20 minutes each) and get way higher scores.

You’ll get a much higher score and the entire process will be way easier. As a bonus, you won’t need to derail any of your other activities – even if you’re in the debate club, on varsity soccer, and dealing with a challenging course load, you can easily find the time to study for 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 minutes in the afternoon. Why wouldn’t you?

​Some aspects to take into account

Standardised tests seem to be more objective to both colleges and students because they are independent of the varying grading standards of high schools. But these tests are also criticized, colleges are wary of relying too heavily on them because of doubts about what they really measure and the concern of the growth of test prep industry that often “guarantees” significant score improvement for students who take special courses that can cost hundreds of dollars or more. 

Test developers know that a person’s score on a given test is based on three factors:

* The knowledge you have on the subject matter being tested.

* Test-taking skills you possess.

* A random component, which is luck, as no exam can exhaustively test your knowledge.

Test prep comes in many forms, you can successfully prepare with just a book (for instance, Kaplan and Princeton Review) or a class (with different dynamics, online, face-to-face meetings, individual or group classes). 

Good preparation for the ACT should focus on both, subject matter and test-taking skills. You need to be motivated (you might even consider getting together with other students who are facing the same challenge, and work as a team), you need enough time to absorb the lessons, and you need to study relatively close to the date of the test.

A point you should have clear in mind, is that the shorter the prep program is, the greater its emphasis is on test-taking skills, as subject matter preparation generally takes longer.

It is debatable to determine what type of test prep works best (as long as similar content is studied), but surely a very relevant factor is your commitment (time and effort) to study the whole program and to take the practice exams.

You need to assess yourself honestly, if you are motivated to work from a book, software program or free online resources in a timely manner, you can save yourself much money, and get results similar to those you would have obtained from a course or tutor. The course or tutor has the advantage of providing a structure for you (and sometimes a personalized instruction).

Remember that your test prep should be reasonable; it shouldn’t disrupt your schoolwork and extracurricular activities. As with all other aspects of college admissions, you should stay balanced, and keep things in perspective.

Some resources you can use to prepare for this test