What Is The ACT? A Complete Guide

• ACT.org
  Hands down, experts agree that the best free prep option is the content on the official ACT website. Sample questions, sample student essays and college admissions planning advice are just some of the many helpful materials available on this website.
• Khan Academy
  While it is officially an SAT prep site, the math review lessons available for free on this website can be helpful for the ACT too — especially if you need to get up to speed on the subjects covered on the math portion: algebra, geometry and trigonometry.
• McGraw Hill Practice Plus
  McGraw Hill has a dedicated ACT prep web page featuring two complete online practice tests with explanations for every question. You'll also find problem-solving videos and other ACT preparation resources that can supplement your study.

• ACTStudent
  Available for iPhone, this free app created by the makers of the ACT helps you prepare with practice items, scores and feedback to answers. A link to the ACT's mobile site offers answers to FAQs about the test.
• ACT Prep For Dummies
  Available for iPhone and iPad for $9.99, you may download this app from iTunes or the App Store to access more than 150 practice questions covering reading, writing and math skills. There's also two full practice exams with time limits.
• Tutor.com To Go
  As the mobile companion for Tutor.com, it's the only education app that connects you to a live tutor help. Not only do you get your questions in real-time on this iOS application, but your instructor may also explain how they arrived at the answers via a digital blackboard. You may start with a free trial, then plans start at $39.99 a month.

• "Barron's ACT Math and Science Workbook" by Roselyn Teukolsky
  This hands-on workbook presents exercises, problems and quizzes with solutions and answers and covers all math and science topics covered on the ACT. The workbook also features a glossary of science terms and test-taking tips as well as a full-length math and science practice test. Check out "Barron's ACT" by Brian Stewart,�for more of an ACT overview.
• "The Complete Guide to ACT English" by Erica Meltzer
  To get the real ACT English experience, you should be working with�passage-based questions and real questions that have actually appeared on the ACT. This book provides both, with five full-length practice tests and answer explanations for the English section. That's a total of 375 multiple choice questions to work through.
• "The Official Act Prep Guide, 2018 Edition"
  This comprehensive guide, from the makers of the ACT includes three previously administered, full-length ACT tests and is universally considered the best resource available. It provides insight into ACT-test content, structure and format, along with insider test-taking tips, helpful strategies and an in-depth look at the optional writing test.
• "320 ACT Math Problems Arranged by Topic and Difficulty Level" by Steve Warner�
  This book is designed to generate huge ACT score increases with only 20 minutes of daily math preparation. By arranging the problems by topic and level, you may easily pick out the problems you need to focus on to raise your score without wasting time on problems that are too easy or too difficult for you.

Students should take the night before the test off to rest and relax a bit before the big exam. We typically recommend that students do a little review the day before, but it should be cut off by around 4 p.m. If you haven't learned it by then, it likely won't be terribly helpful.

Sleep and hydration are two of the most important considerations the night before the test. Your brain will be much more effective on test day if you regulate your sleep three to five days before, but better late than never. Similarly, staying hydrated leading into the test and during it will help students remain focused for a greater length of time.

The other things that should be done no later than the night before is completing a dry run to the testing center [if it's not held at your high school], printing your ACT ticket and putting everything you'll be taking to the ACT to the test site in one place.

Traffic on Saturday mornings is usually less than during the week, but don't make a false assumption, especially when it can cost you so much. Plan to arrive to the testing site 20-30 minutes early, even if you're testing at your own school because you never know when you might encounter something you didn't expect – like a 5K run or a community fund raiser.

Before you head out the door, be sure you have your ACT Ticket, a valid photo ID, your [ACT exam-permitted calculator], some No. 2 pencils with good erasers (no mechanical pencils or ink pens), a snack and a bottle of water.

An analog watch can be handy too, but each testing room will have a clock, so it's not necessary. You'll also want to make sure your phone is turned off. And if you have a digital watch, make sure it's set to silent, as any electronic noises coming from your device could get you kicked out of the exam.

Always use the process of elimination to try to give yourself a greater chance of getting the question correct if you need to guess. If you truly have no idea how to do a question, cut it loose and keep moving. Don't stress too much or let it consume too much of your time.

You can star it in your test booklet and plan to come back later — that's if you have extra time at the end. For these skips, you should always bubble-in a letter on your Scantron in case you don't have time to return. This will also prevent you from getting off a letter.

First off, get rid of the negative self-talk. So many students make themselves more nervous, by saying negative things about themselves. Any time a negative thought pops in your head, flip it around and remind yourself that you've prepared the best you can and that you're capable and confident in your abilities. Mindfully turning the negative into a positive can be a powerful thing.

Along the same lines, it's easy to add undue pressure on yourself, so remind yourself frequently that catastrophic thinking isn't going to help. If you need to, ask yourself, "What's the worst that could happen?"

With over 3,000 colleges across the country, you're going to find a great fit for you no matter what. So, there's no reason to stress. Just do your best and stay as focused as you can on what's important: remaining focused on the one question in front of you, before moving on to the next.

Another thing that can help is to direct your nervousness to something else, whether it's chewing — not chomping — gum, sucking on a hard candy, or having something small and meaningful in your pocket or in your bag next to you.