ACT Exam 2024: Registration, Fees, Syllabus, Scores, Dates, Tips

Candidates are required to know which one to take the ACT or SAT. Below is the difference between ACT vs SAT.

At what age should you take the ACT?

There is no age limit to appearing for the ACT. However, any candidate below the age of 13 will not be allowed to register for the test. In that case, the student needs to contact ACT Customer Support to seek assistance to create a MyACT account and complete the registration for the test.

Do Colleges prefer the ACT or SAT?

Colleges do not create a distinction between ACT and SAT. In fact, most US universities accept both. It entirely depends on the choice of the candidates whether they will take SAT or ACT. Both the tests have equal difficulty levels.

Is the SAT or ACT Harder?

SAT and ACT have equal difficulty levels. It is important for candidates to figure out which test is best suited for them. They can decide the same by taking a diagnostic test and evaluating their performance.

Which one to take – SAT or ACT?

Students prefer taking both the SAT and ACT as both are used for college admissions decisions and awarding merit-based SAT Scholarships. The apt way to decide if to take the SAT or ACT is to take a full-length practice test of each type. Since the syllabus and pattern of the SAT and ACT are very similar, factors like how you manage time and what kinds of questions you find most challenging can help you determine which test is a better fit.

What is the Passing Score for the ACT?

The ACT has no official passing scores. But the average ACT score is 21 on a scale of 1- 36. If you get a score of 21, then you have scored higher than 50% of test-takers. Try to score high to get admission to prestigious colleges.

ACT Exam Pattern

The ACT exam pattern has MCQs based test with a total of 215 questions. The ACT exam evaluates a candidate in five main areas: Reading, Mathematics, English, Science, and an optional Writing section. The duration of the ACT test is 2 hours 55 minutes excluding ACT Writing which is 40 minutes long. Below is a detailed description of the ACT exam pattern that you must go through prior to your preparation:

ACT English

ACT English is the first section of the ACT syllabus with a duration of 45 minutes with 75 questions. The English section of ACT contains passages or multiple essays followed by multiple-choice questions. ACT exam questions of English cover skills like usage/mechanics, sentence construction, and rhetorical abilities. There are underlined portions that need to be corrected on one side of the page, and the other side has answer options. syllabus of the English section measures the candidate’s abilities in four main skills:

• Usage/mechanics: Commas, apostrophes, misplaced or dangling modifiers, colons, etc
• Rhetorical skills: Transitions, clarity, precision, brevity, structure
• Sentence Structure: Develop sentences in a grammatically correct, coherent, and stylistic manner

ACT Science Syllabus

ACT Science syllabus consists of 40 questions to be solved in 35 minutes. ACT exam pattern of science has three main passage types: Data Representation, Conflicting Viewpoints, and Research Summary which consists of topics related to Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth Sciences. There are a total of 7 passages and are usually followed by tables, charts, or graphs. ACT Science tests the interpretive, analytical, problem-solving, and evaluation skills of test-takers.

ACT Reading Syllabus

ACT reading consists of 40 questions that need to be completed in 35 minutes. There are a total of four sections, three of which comprise lengthy prose, and the remaining one has two brief proses. ACT exam questions are generally similar to the first-year college syllabus. The questions of ACT reading are related to Social Studies, Natural Sciences, Humanities, and Literary Narrative or Prose Fiction. ACT reading evaluates skills based on major ideas and details, organization and development, and uniformity of knowledge and ideas.

The following are a few general ACT preparation tips:

• Get thorough knowledge about the ACT syllabus
• Get yourselves the two best ACT exam preparation books, and you can choose from – Official  ACT Prep Guide 2020-21, ACT Beginner’s Guide, ACT Prep Subject Guides, and more;
• Daily practice of ACT exam sample
• Mak use of ACT reading score calculator and calculators of other subjects to understand your performance level. Many sites are offering online score calculators.
• Get lessons from ACT academy providing online courses
• ACT English tips ask candidates to first skim the whole essay
• Understand the different types of ACT exam questions
• There will only be one correct answer in ACT
• Always answer easier questions first
• Always write five full paragraphs – one introduction, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion
• Use transition words between paragraphs
• ACT Math tips ask candidates to carry a graphic and legal calculator for use
• Practice from ACT preparations material online for a wide range of topics
• Use ACT Academy for free online resource materials
• ACT Reading tips ask candidates to first, answer the question then look for the answer choices
• Study the most frequently tested concepts
• Devote the complete time for each section
• Work out on a proper ACT exam schedules
• Make an ACT study plan according to your convenience
• Understand your weakness and work hard on them
• Focus on time management while creating your study plan, and also taking the diagnostic tests
• Work on the elimination method for removing wrong answers
• ACT science tips ask candidates to go through the questions first
• Don’t be intimidated by the Maths section problems
• Refer your school notes as your ACT preparation material
• A good way to prepare for the ACT is by discussing with other test-takers about their experiences. The areas they found easy, and the ones that were tough.
• 1 week before the exam, only go through those questions that you find tough
• On the test day, make sure that you wake up early as a late entry to the test center may not be allowed