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If you miss the deadline, you can still take the test, but you must pay an additional fee of $15.. You must register through the paper student packet if: ■ You plan on taking the test ou

CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1

Contents

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 P a r t 1 : I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e A C T A s s e s s m e n t

Taking the ACT Assessment or SAT exam as a part of the college admissions process is a rite of passage for millions of teenagers across the country and in many parts of the world It is probably not something you look forward to, but it cannot and should not be avoided for long

Why the ACT, Why Me?

Because of the simple fact that high school standards and quality vary widely, colleges look to standardized tests to level the playing field for all students Unlike the SAT, the aim of the ACT is to test what you have learned in high school It is not an “aptitude” test, as the SAT claims to be, nor is it an intelligence test So if you have taken challenging courses in high school, you have already set the foundation to do well on the ACT Your score on the ACT is used in conjunction with other factors including grades, application essays and extracurricular activities to help colleges decide on whom to admit Different schools give different weight

to the importance of ACT scores, but a high score can only help you get into the college of your choice

C H A P T E R

Introduction

The ACT Assessment®is an important exam; so the more you know about it, the better off you will be in the end This chapter will intro-duce you to the essentials of the ACT and all of its separate parts

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ACT vs SAT

The SAT has gotten a lot of bad press in recent years, and talk has turned to altogether eliminating stan-dardized testing from college admissions ACT has long avoided much of this controversy, partly because

it does not claim to test aptitude or forecast your ability to do well in college—both very subjective fac-tors For the same reason, many educators and students alike prefer the ACT to the SAT, as they judge

it to be a fairer test of students’ knowledge

Subjective opinions aside, there are some concrete differences between the SAT and the ACT:

■ The ACT tests limited vocabulary

■ The ACT tests trigonometry, English grammar, and science reasoning

■ All ACT questions are multiple-choice

■ Points are not deducted for incorrect answers on the ACT

■ Colleges can view all SAT scores, while students can send their best ACT scores

Who Takes the ACT?

If you are planning on attending college, chances are you are going to have to take either the SAT or ACT in order to even apply to almost any school Historically, the ACT has been more popular with schools in the Midwest and West, while the SAT has been the test of choice for students on the East and West Coasts The popularity of the ACT all over the country has been growing, in part because it is seen as fairer than the SAT

in testing students’ knowledge Today, nearly every college accepts ACT scores and many educators and stu-dents alike prefer the ACT because its content more closely matches what is actually taught in school

When to Take the ACT

The first step in preparing for the ACT is to decide on the date you want to take the test Your application must

be postmarked by the registration deadline, and the cost for normal registration is $24 ($27 in Florida and

$40 outside the United States), which includes the reporting of your scores to four colleges If you miss the deadline, you can still take the test, but you must pay an additional fee of $15 If you manage to miss both the original deadline and the late deadline, there is still hope You can go standby and hope to get a spot by just showing up early (with an extra $40, in addition to the late fees)

2003/2004 Dates

For a complete update of future dates beyond those listed below, log onto www.act.org

April 12, 2003

Registration deadline: March 7, 2003; late fee applies: March 21, 2003 June 14, 2003

Registration deadline: May 9, 2003; late fee applies: May 23, 2003

It is never too early to start preparing for the ACT In fact, choosing which courses to take in school should

be your very first test-prep step Taking a demanding course load is the best way to begin to prepare And remember that colleges take into account the courses you choose, too, regardless of your ACT score

When to Start Studying

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September 27, 2003

(available only in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,

Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington)

Registration deadline: August 22, 2003; late fee applies: September 5, 2003

October 25, 2003

Registration deadline: September 19, 2003; late fee applies: October 3, 2003

December 13, 2003

Registration deadline: November 7, 2003; late fee applies: November 20, 2003

February 7, 2004

(test not available in New York) Registration deadline: January 2, 2004; late fee applies: January 16, 2004 April 3, 2004

Registration deadline: February 27, 2004; late fee applies: March 12, 2004

June 12, 2004

Registration deadline: May 7, 2004; late fee applies: May 21, 2004

How to Sign Up

If you have never registered to take the ACT before, there are two ways to do it You can either register online

or fill out the forms found in the student packet, which is available at your guidance office or by contacting ACT directly (see contact information) If you have taken the test within the last two years, you can re-reg-ister by phone

1 Student Registration Form

Even if you plan on registering online for the ACT, you should still pick up a copy of the student regis-tration form In it you will find important information such as test center codes, testing information,

and a practice test You must register through the paper student packet if:

■ You plan on taking the test outside the United States or

■ You are requesting special accommodations because of a disability or

Making Changes to Your Registration

If you must change your test date or location, you should call ACT at 319-337-1270 (between 8:00 A.M and 8:00 P.M Central time, Monday through Friday) before the late deadline for the test you are taking You will need to provide your Social Security Number, test date, and code number for the test center you are choosing

ACT will charge you $15 to change your test location or date (plus an additional $15 if you make a change after the registration deadline of the new date you are choosing), so be sure to have a VISA® or MasterCard®handy when you make the call

If you are registered to take the test and miss all the deadlines to change your test date or location, you can try your luck by just showing up If there is still space once all the registered students have been seated, you will be given a spot before the standby students ACT will charge you $15 to change loca-tion and $30 to take the test on a different date Remember to bring your admission ticket with you

■ You would like to request a fee waiver or are using a state-funded voucher to cover the basic fee or

■ You are currently enrolled in grades 6, 7, 8, or 9

If you are taking the ACT outside the United States, you should contact ACT directly for the appro-priate registration materials In general, the testing dates remain the same, but fees are higher You must register with the supervisor of the test center where you choose to take the ACT on or before the Friday two weeks before the test date you choose

2 Online Registration

You can register online to take the test by going to the ACT website (www.act.org) The whole process should take about an hour or an hour and a half, but you do not have to do it all in one sitting Once you log on to the site, you get a password and you will be able to work on your registration as often as you need to for the next 72 hours Registering online for the ACT costs the same, and the process is shortened by the time your registration would spend going through the mail

To register online you must pay with a VISA® or MasterCard®, and your online registration still has

to be completed by midnight of the registration deadline It is a good idea to print out a copy of your online registration for your own records since the only thing you will receive from ACT is your admis-sion ticket (which should arrive in one or two weeks)

 P a r t 2 : A b o u t t h e A C T A s s e s s m e n t®

What’s On the Test

The simple answer to the question of what is tested on the ACT is: reading comprehension, English, math, and science reasoning (see the overview of the four sections on page 10 for a detailed description of the