5 Essential Time Management Tips for ACT Prep

5 Time Management Tips for Crushing Your ACT Prep

Getting ready for the ACT isn't just about hitting the books—it’s your ticket to the college of your dreams and some sweet scholarship dollars. But let's face it: managing your time is key to not just surviving the ACT, but totally owning it. Remember, my philosophy is getting the most amount of points with the least amount of work. Here’s how you can make it easier on yourself:

1. Go for the “flexi-prep”

Forget one-size-fits-all schedules. You need a plan that fits with your life. Are you an early bird who’s up with the dawn or a night owl who hits their stride when everyone else is winding down? Figure out when you’re sharpest and sketch out a study calendar that fits.

One of the best ways to fit your test prep into your schedule is our virtual interactive prep. This gives you the opportunity to schedule on your OWN time, but you still get the personal support with a real human in our weekly office hours, aka Score Squad.

Pro Tip: Grab a group of friends and join the virtual interactive prep together to make it more fun!

2. Set Goals That Stick

Know where you are starting from and then set a target for where you want to go. Then get there! That goes for setting a goal score and also for setting aside time to prep. At the beginning of the week, just say “I’m gonna set aside an hour to finish this practice section this week…” and then tick that baby off your list!

Nailing specific targets not only pumps up your score potential but also fires up your motivation from start to finish. Having the confidence to know you can beat this thing is a major part of the battle. 

Pro Tip: Jot down your session goals and tally up your wins as you go. Not feeling the progress? Tweak your targets to keep them challenging yet achievable.

3. Time Your Tackles

The ACT isn’t just a brain game—it’s a race against the clock. Get the hang of the hustle with timed trials. Whether it’s full-blown practice exams or sprint sessions on tough sections, make every minute count.

Sometimes the ACT is like training for a 5k. You’ve got to do a bit of “drill and kill.” You didn’t finish in time? Do it again. And again. And then again. 

Pro Tip: Check out THIS WATCH on Amazon….it helps you pace your time and has specific tools for the ACT: ​​https://amzn.to/4dXpHLk

4. Unplug to Plug In

Our devices are a constant distraction to us, especially when doing something that we may not find especially….engaging? 🙂You will be more focused and get more done if you remove all distractions and really plug in to what you’re working on. You can take that brain break later.

Pro Tip: Put your phone in another room while working on practice tests or doing test prep. Even knowing it’s near you can be a distraction!

5. Flex and Flow

Got your study plan down? Great. But stay flexible. Adapt your schedule based on real talk with yourself about what’s working and what’s not. As D-day draws near, shift gears from exploring new territory to reinforcing your strongholds.

Conclusion

Managing your time with these five tips means you’ll strut into the ACT with confidence, ready to knock it out of the park. It’s about making your prep time productive, personalized, and just a little bit flexible. Remember, you’re in control—so own it, ace it, and reach out if you need help!

5 Test Day Tips to Maximize Your Score

The test is tomorrow; you have finished your test prep tutoring and you feel ready. What can you do now to really maximize your score?

1. Don't study. You've done a good job. You don't need to study tonight. Put the test prep book away, leave your homework for tomorrow or Sunday, and just relax. You got this.

2. Get some sleep. You want to aim for between 8-9 hours of sleep. Hopefully, you've been doing this all week, but it is especially important tonight. That means you get everything you need for tomorrow ready this afternoon, and tonight you relax and get to bed early. Try to turn off all technology (no checking Facebook in bed!) at least one hour before bedtime. This will help you get to sleep when you need to.

3. Plan a good breakfast. No cereal, no muffins, no bagels, no doughnuts! Your breakfast in the morning should be slow-releasing carbs, like real oatmeal (not the sugar-filled packets, but real oatmeal with fresh or dried fruit in it), or protein, like eggs or Greek yogurt. Some people can run a marathon in four hours; you're going to take a standardized test in four hours. Fuel your body in the same way. You need to give long-lasting fuel to your body to sustain it for the long haul.

4. Bring appropriate snacks. I suggest a banana and a PowerBar. The PowerBar provides you with the protein to pick up where your breakfast may have left off. And the banana....well, I read a study once that said bananas are a "brain food" and that students performed better on standardized tests after eating a banana. I don't know if this is true, but somebody spent time and money studying it....so it's worth a shot, right?

5. Plan all this RIGHT NOW. You don't want to wake up in the morning and find that you only have Cocoa Puffs in the house. Figure out what you are going to have for breakfast tomorrow and what you will bring for a snack. Then go to the store right now and buy it. Likewise for all the other preparation you need to do for the morning. Print your admission ticket right now. You don't want a jammed printer making you late in the morning. Change the batteries in your calculator right now. You don't want a dead calculator during your test. (I have had this happen to a student.) Can you remember the last time you changed the batteries? Then change them right now. Make sure you know where your test center is and how to get there. Map it out right now. Tonight you want to relax and get to sleep and tomorrow morning you want to get off to a flawless and stress-free start. So plan ahead, and do it right now.

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW!!! And if you don't do as well as you'd like, you can always come to me for help.

Should You Be Freaking Out About the "New SAT"?

There has been a lot of hype about this “new SAT” expected to be released next year, and many students are wondering....What does this mean?  Should I be freaking out?

If you are a current Junior (Class of 2016), then no.  This test will not affect you.  Ideally, you should finish all your standardized testing by September or October before you start on your applications.  So this change shouldn’t affect you at all. 

If you are a current Freshman (Class of 2018...or beyond), you don’t really need to worry.  You will have to take the new version of the SAT when you get there (or the ACT), but by then test prep professionals will have mastered the new version and the College Board should have ironed out any glitches that occur during the transition.

If you are current Sophomore (Class of 2017), you may be affected by the redesigned test. Yes, it’s true that the College Board will be putting out a redesigned SAT that will affect the Class of 2017.  The changes will take place during your “testing season”, but there are ways to alleviate some of your anxiety.  Here is what we know so far:

✦    the PSAT in October 2015 will be in the new format

✦    the new SAT will not take effect until Spring 2016 (latest rumors say March)

✦    the “Redesigned SAT” is supposed to test skills more relevant to those needed in college

✦    the scoring will return to two 800-point sections, a total of 1600 points

✦    the essay will be optional and scored separately

✦    all the nitty-gritty details can be found at HERE.

So here’s the low-down…

This is not the first time the SAT has undergone some sort of redesign.  In fact, the most recent “update” was only ten years ago in 2005.  The SAT is not known for undergoing flawless transitions during these update periods.  Not to mention the fact that there are limited test prep materials available until this new monster gets underway.  The first takers of the test will essentially be guinea pigs, on which the College Board will still be gathering research before writing future versions of the test.  Do you want to be a guinea pig?  Probably not, so here is what I suggest: Start preparing now to take the current version of the SAT before it goes out of practice.

The SAT is offered in October, November, December, January, March, May, and June.  That gives you FOUR opportunities to take it in the fall/winter before the “new SAT” is even released.  And, of course, there are two tests left this school year—in May and June—if you want to get a head start. 

As for the PSAT, you will have to pioneer the new version on that one.  But unless you are in the top 1% of all students in the country and hoping to qualify for National Merit Scholarships, then this won’t matter much. 

I’m not saying that the current SAT is better than the new one will be, but what I am saying is that it’s less mysterious.  There is a plethora of prep materials on the current test and test prep experts are precisely that—experts.  We are working tirelessly to stay on top of the new SAT when they release practice questions so we can be ready to help you conquer that version as well, but it will take time for us to really become masters of that test.  It is with those factors in mind that I recommend starting now and taking the current SAT before it becomes outdated. 

A couple things to consider….

It’s not a bad idea to also take the new SAT when it comes out.  Who knows, it may be easier or you may like the new format better, so it certainly can’t hurt to try it out and see how it compares with your other SAT scores. 

You can always take the ACT.  If you are unsure about this whole transition and you’re not quite ready to start taking tests yet, then you may just want to focus on the ACT.  (By the way, the only reason I can think of that you wouldn’t be “ready” for the SAT is if you haven’t taken all the math content yet, meaning you have not had any Algebra 2.)  All colleges are required to take EITHER the SAT or the ACT, and they are not supposed to show bias towards one test or the other.  That means that you can bypass the confusion around the SAT altogether, and just focus on rocking the ACT.

I am an expert on both tests, and have seen remarkable score improvements with my students taking either (or both!) tests.  If you want to find out more about what path might be right for you, you can schedule a Complimentary Strategy Session with me to discuss your options. 

So the answer is….NO, you should not be freaking out.  You’ve got this.  And I’m here to help.

How to Improve Your SAT Score...Without A Tutor!

[Update: this post was written for the "old version" of the SAT--prior to March 2016.  Although much of this still applies, it has not been revised yet to reflect the new version.]

You know what my favorite pages of the big blue SAT prep book are?  The answer sheets.  When I tell my students that, they usually laugh.  But I’m serious!  They are the most helpful pages in the book, but not just because they give you the answers.  They are the most helpful because they give you data about your errors.  What if I told you that you didn’t have to keep taking practice test after practice test?  What if I could tell you exactly which questions you had to practice to get a better score?  Well, I can.  And, frankly, so can you.  Here’s how:

CRITICAL READING

As you already know the Critical Reading section is broken up into two parts: the sentence completion section (aka The Sucky Vocab Part) and the passage-based reading section.  The vocab questions will be either the first five, six, or eight questions, depending on the section.  Just looking at the answer sheet will tell you where the division is.  See how the difficulty level goes from 1 to 5 and then drops back down again?  That’s where it switches from vocab to passage-based reading.  I usually draw a little line between the numbers on the answer sheet to show the division. 

Most people will find a cluster of errors at the harder-level questions of that vocab section.  Is that you?  Then that means you need to practice the last few questions of every vocab section on the test.  Go through the whole book and just try to tackle those Level 4 and 5 questions, and it wouldn’t hurt to read my post on Improving Your Vocabulary. 

What about the rest of the Critical Reading section?  Do you have an isolated error here and there, or do you have a cluster of errors somewhere?  If you have a cluster, go back to the section and see what kind of passage that was.  Was it non-fiction essay? A novel excerpt?  A Passage 1/Passage 2 comparison?  Then look through the book for similar passages and practice that type of passage repeatedly until you feel confident.

MATH

The Math questions go from easier to harder, so for most people the errors are clustered towards the end of each section.  Don’t do more work than you have to!  Do you keep missing the last two questions of a section?  The last five?  The last ten?  See where the problems start for you and then go through the remaining practice tests just working on your errors of weakness.  If you errors aren’t clustered only at the end of the sections, take a look back at the type of questions you are missing.  Do you see a pattern?  Is it only geometry questions?  Do you need to brush up on your exponent rules?  Look for patterns and study that.  Not sure how to solve some of those cryptic upper-level problems?  I have some more help for you in my Math Tips and Tricks post.

WRITING SKILLS

The Writing Skills is broken up into three pieces: Improving Sentences, Identifying Sentence Errors, and Improving Paragraphs.  For almost everyone, it’s the middle section—Identifying Sentence Errors—that is the most difficult to master.  On every test, these questions are #12-29.  They also go from easier to harder.  So are you seeing a cluster of errors in the last half of that section?  Perhaps about #22-29?  You are not alone.  By now, you know what to do.  Go through the book and just practice #22-29 until you have mastered this section.  It is possible that you are also missing some questions around #9-11.  That is because these are the harder-level questions in the Improving Sentences section.  Same thing applies here; just work those problems in every test until you’ve mastered it.  For more Writing Skills tips, visit my post on the Must-Know Grammar Rules. 

The bottom line is DIAGNOSTICS.  Use the data from your errors to diagnose your errors of weakness.  Then streamline your prep to pinpoint those errors until you’ve mastered them.  The more tests you take, the more date you have.  Anyone can do this on their own, but if you want someone to lead you through it and teach you all the insider tricks, I’m here to help.  Look into my private tutoring packages to get your best score.