The dreaded ACT (American College Testing) is slowly creeping closer and many students are fearfully headed fearfully towards it. However, there are many ways to better prepare yourself for this test.

One way to boost your score is by purchasing the official online ACT prep, which is roughly $40. Paying this fee allows you access to valuable resources to learn more about the content and prepare up until test day. You have access to this course for 6 months, starting the day you buy it.

This course takes you through a series of lessons teaching you specific aspects of each test subject. The website provides pre-tests, practice multiple-choice questions, a collection of matching games, and many helpful tips throughout the lessons. 

This website also gives you statistics, predicting how well you will do on the test based on your work in the lessons. You can set the date of your test on the Study Plan tab and it will calculate how much of the lessons you need to complete a day to finish before test day.

Dunbar also offers ACT prep classes. Academic prep goes through tips and tricks to help raise your score. Senior Kyle Ruszkowski took this class last year.

“Ms. Holt did a great job explaining the ins and outs of the test. We did station work focusing on grammar and reading. We also did ACTprep.com and Vocab.com to improve on other skills,”  Ruszkowski said.

Eating a good breakfast doesn’t seem like it would have any impact, but it is actually really beneficial. You are better focused when you have a full stomach and have the energy to keep your brain working. Without food, the only thing your brain can focus on is hunger, and that can lead to fatigue and a headache, which you definitely do not want while taking this test. 

Not stressing is the number one thing to remember when going into this test. While this is easier said than done, it is achievable. Taking deep breaths or counting backward are some basic ways to slow your heart rate, but there might be other things that work better for you.

“I retook it so many times but my best time taking it I ate a really good breakfast and I bought a protein bar for the break time halfway through which really kept me going,” Senior Gabrielle Counts said.

Many students, however, believe the best preparation is none at all. Just walking into it and not overthinking it helps many people, but this tactic isn’t for everyone.

Whether you buy 20 textbooks, or just get a good night’s rest before your test, you are going to get the best outcome based on the attitude you have going into it. Confidence helps your performance and makes you feel better about your work once you’ve finished.

No matter how you decide to prepare for the ACT, remember there will be multiple opportunities to retake the test if you aren’t happy with your current score. If you work hard and keep your head up, you can get any score you desire.