When to take the ACT?

[Connections]

If your rising 11th grader is going to take the ACT for the first time in 11th grade, what would you advise for a testing schedule? 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

 

[Julie of KY]

I'd do some prep and then take it on the early side (before Chirstmas). This gives you the opportunity to focus your prep and retake it in the spring of JR year and/or SR fall.

[Bambam]

In TX, college application season opens in August of your senior year, so we planned around that. No superscoring here, so my oldest took the SAT in January (in case she needed to retake it, this allowed plenty of time) and the ACT later (maybe April?) because that date worked for us. There was no need to retake the SAT, so we were pretty sure she wouldn't need to retake the ACT either. 

[Arcadia]

I would aim for the September 9, 2017 for the ACT because the academic year has just started and hasn't gone crazy yet (going by my local high schools schedule). Also October would be PSAT season for 11th graders so getting the ACT first round done in September would leave time for PSAT prep.

 

It also depends on your child's outsourced classes (if any) schedule because I would try to avoid a test date for ACT that is near an outsourced class semester exam date.

 

Where I am, we never had an ACT or SAT postponed or cancelled due to weather. If there is a possibility of that where you are, then you would have to take that into consideration when choosing test dates.

[MorningGlory]

My rising 11th grader is taking the ACT for the first time June 10. I had wanted him to take it during his sophomore year, but his soccer and basketball schedule dominated Saturdays throughout fall, winter, and spring. 

 

You can purchase a copy of your student's test when you take it in June (and another month, too---maybe April???), so I am doing that in case he wants to take the test again. If he does take it again, it will most likely be in December of his junior year or the next June offering. 

 

But he is very iffy if he will retake. Our state offers free community college for two years, and this particular son is interested in going that route since at this point he has NO IDEA what he wants to do with his life. :-)