How Much Studying Do I Actually Need To Do for the ACT?
The majority of students will need to do some kind of studying and ACT test prep leading up to test day in order to hit a score that is up to their full potential. That being said, the amount of preparation time required will vary depending on a couple of factors, so each student’s ACT preparation and study plan will look different. Here’s how to determine how much time should go into the test prep process before test day.
Time is of the essence when it comes to ACT test prep. You certainly don’t want to walk into test day having done no preparation whatsoever — it’s not exactly the type of exam that you can just “wing” and do great on. Read more about what makes the ACT a peculiar exam in our other post here: 7 Ways the ACT is Different than a Regular Test. While some kind of preparation is important leading up to test day, you also don’t want to cram last minute for the ACT. (Refer back to our other blog post - it’s not that type of test!) Reaching your full potential score on the ACT requires significant preparation leading up to test day to familiarize yourself with not only the content that shows up on the ACT but also with the format, the time constraints, the types of questions that will be asked, the ways that the ACT writers try to trick you, and much more.
Things to consider when creating an ACT prep plan:
Desired Situation vs. Current Situation
Desired Situation: Do you have schools in mind that you plan to apply to? Do you know what your ACT score should ideally look like in order to have a high probability of getting accepted to that school? Knowing the average ACT range of students at your desired school will help you determine where your test scores should fall in order to expect to be admitted to the school. This should be factored in to your ACT goal. You can read more about calculating your ACT goal in our other post here: How to Calculate What Your ACT Goal Score Should Be.
Current Situation: Have you taken the ACT previously? If so, how did your score compare to the score range of students at your desired school, as mentioned above? Your goal will be to bridge the gap between your Current Situation and your Desired Situation. If you have not taken the ACT previously, it may be wise to begin by taking a practice exam either online or from a prep book to get an idea of what your Current Situation actually is. Based on how large of a gap there is between your two situations, you will now know approximately how many additional ACT score points you will be preparing to achieve.
How much time do you have until test day?
The student who has a couple of months to prepare for an upcoming ACT exam will be able to use a more laid-back test prep schedule than a student who has only two weeks to cram before the upcoming exam. Students should take into consideration the amount of time they have to prepare in addition to the point increase they are hoping to make. They should then space out their preparation time evenly across all of the weeks leading up to test day. See our chart below for assisting in determining how much time should be spent on test prep for a student’s particular situation.
Will you have time to take the ACT again if you fall short of your goal?
Is this the last chance for the student to take the ACT before heading off to college? If so, the student should spend even more time than recommended preparing for the ACT. However, for most students the answer to this question is NO. Many students will take the ACT exam 3 more times before they are satisfied with their score. For this reason, we recommend that students begin planning for taking the ACT exam early in their junior year of high school or even at the end of their sophomore year. This allows plenty of time for retaking the exam. The ACT is offered approximately every 2-3 months, so students have plenty of opportunities to increase their scores. Students can even continue to take the ACT after they have been accepted to a college or university. (This is generally only something that students will do if they can receive additional tuition aid if they increase their ACT score.)
Calculating a Test Prep Plan
The key is not in the number of weeks but rather in the total number of hours spent studying and preparing. Here is our equation for determining the estimated amount of time a student will need to spend preparing for the ACT based on their current and desired composite ACT scores (Note: Composite score is the average of all four section scores, so preparation time includes studying all four sections). For students that combine both independent studying and private tutoring during their test prep, progress can often be expected to move at a faster pace. *Note: This is an approximate calculation based on our average progress of our students. Each student is unique, and some will require more time and others less time to progress.
1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 8-10 hours
1-2 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 15-20 hours
2-4 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 30-40 hours
4-6 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 60-80 hours
6-9 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 150 hours+
Example ACT Prep Plans:
STUDENT 1:
Current Score: 21
Desired Score: 25
Points to Improve: 4
Approximate Hours Needed: 40
Time to prepare: 5 weeks
Study Plan: 8 hours per week for 5 weeks: For this student we would recommend two in-person private tutoring sessions per week, each two hours in length, and we would provide two hours worth of practice material between each session for the student to complete independently.
STUDENT 2:
Current Score: 21
Desired Score: 23
Points to Improve: 2
Approximate Hours Needed: 20
Time to prepare: 2 weeks
Study Plan: 10 hours per week for 2 weeks: For this student we would recommend three in-person private tutoring sessions per week, each two hours in length, and we would provide four hours worth of practice material each week for the student to complete independently.
STUDENT 3:
Current Score: 28
Desired Score: 34
Points to Improve: 6
Approximate Hours Needed: 80
Time to prepare: 8 weeks
Study Plan: 10 hours a week for 8 weeks: For this student we would recommend three in-person private tutoring sessions per week, each two hours in length, and we would provide four hours worth of practice material each week for the student to complete independently.