By: Brian Burnsed
The ACT, which has long been the college-entrance exam of choice in the nation's heartland and some portions of the Southeast, is expanding its reach. It's proven to be a viable alternative to the SAT, as every four-year school that accepts SAT scores also accepts the ACT. With the test's broadening appeal, it's important to get a firm grasp of the test's structure to determine if it might be a better fit for you than the SAT.
The ACT doesn't consist of numerous subsections like the SAT. Instead, it is divided into four separate, timed tests: English, math, reading, and science reasoning. There's also an optional essay that most students complete. The English section consists of 75 questions over 45 minutes with a primary focus on sentence structure and grammar. Students are allotted 60 minutes to complete the 60 math problems, which range from basic algebra to trigonometry. The reading and science reading sections each have 40 questions, and test takers have 35 minutes to complete each section. The test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36.
Take a look at these six tips to decide if the ACT is the right test for you and how to earn the score you want:
The ACT, which has long been the college-entrance exam of choice in the nation's heartland and some portions of the Southeast, is expanding its reach. It's proven to be a viable alternative to the SAT, as every four-year school that accepts SAT scores also accepts the ACT. With the test's broadening appeal, it's important to get a firm grasp of the test's structure to determine if it might be a better fit for you than the SAT.
The ACT doesn't consist of numerous subsections like the SAT. Instead, it is divided into four separate, timed tests: English, math, reading, and science reasoning. There's also an optional essay that most students complete. The English section consists of 75 questions over 45 minutes with a primary focus on sentence structure and grammar. Students are allotted 60 minutes to complete the 60 math problems, which range from basic algebra to trigonometry. The reading and science reading sections each have 40 questions, and test takers have 35 minutes to complete each section. The test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36.
Take a look at these six tips to decide if the ACT is the right test for you and how to earn the score you want: