Being a wide-eyed freshman. Building the nerve to ask your crush to homecoming. Crafting\/pulling off the perfect senior prank.<\/p>\n
Taking the ACT?<\/p>\n
It may not be the part that makes coming-of-age movies, but taking the ACT is a vital part of the high school experience for any student looking to continue toward higher education. And it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re in marching band, the captain of the football team or the rough-around-the-edges senior that holds down Saturday detention at the library.<\/p>\n
Getting the score you need on the on the ACT is a critically important first step on the path to college.<\/p>\n
The importance of that score is something prominently on the mind of Quincey, a junior from North Platte, NE who is closing in on finalizing her college choice. And it’s why she decided to take the test multiple times to give herself the best chance at hitting the score she was aiming for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was really important, because a lot of the schools I want to go to have higher ACT requirements, so I felt a lot of pressure to get a good score,\u201d she said. \u201cI just feel a lot of pressure, then I get nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those nerves showed up in her score the first time, and then again. But once she had a better grasp of what the test was like, and what areas she needed to work on, Quincey took a step forward with her most recent score. A step toward the type of college career she is looking for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think knowing what score you are going for is important for planning, but after the fact it\u2019s harder because you do have your score and it\u2019s hard to improve it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe first time I took it, I was like \u2018I\u2019ll do whatever, it\u2019s a practice one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of tips and tricks you can work on for English and reading. You just have to work out the secrets of the different sections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparation before the test is also key, at least according to school psychologist Courtney Meiers. Through her work, both as a high school English teacher and tutoring students, Meiers has always stressed the importance of preparing for the score you need.<\/p>\n
According to Meiers, the first step in getting a college to look at the rest of your resume.<\/p>\n
\u201cI explain it in the sense of, \u2018they don\u2019t care about who you are, it\u2019s the numbers\u2019 unless you\u2019re an athlete,\u201d she said. \u201cBasically, the number on that test gets their foot in the door, and then eventually they will be considered as an actual person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Want to explore all of your options to get the ACT score you are looking for? We’ve got resources to help you set goals, and HIT them.<\/p>\n
Beyond getting into a school, Meiers also said ACT scores are crucial for scholarship considerations, and can set students up for a successful career. Even for athletes. In Meiers\u2019 mind, it\u2019s important for all students to think practically about the impact of a college education.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor athletes, it\u2019s a little bit more challenging. For them, I try and emphasize that their body is going to get them to their 30s, and then what?\u201d she said. \u201cThat college degree that you\u2019re going to be getting for free, because of your body and athletic ability, is great, but at the same time you still want to learn. Ten years from now, that\u2019s the piece of paper that\u2019s going to get you the job once your body breaks down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the long run, what they learn in this time is very important because an athlete\u2019s career is very short.\u201d<\/p>\n
That commitment to education is not lost on Jacob, a senior from Fairbury, Nebraska, who recently signed to play college football at Wayne State University. Even with that knowledge that he could pursue a scholarship for his on-field ability, Jacob said the academic side was drilled into him from a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt every football camp I went to one of the first things the coaches would tell us is to keep our grades up and make sure you take the ACT,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was extremely important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob\u2019s counselor also highlighted the importance of academics, and he was able to take the ACT for free as a junior through his school. To prepare, Jacob switched from the weights to practice tests, and did his best when he relaxed and trusted in his knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy tips would be just relax while taking it, and take it more than once,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
So it doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re college intentions are. You could be sizing up schools for academic programs and potential. You could be searching for scholarships. You can even be a football star trying to take care of the school side of things.<\/p>\n
The ACT is your first step in determining which path your college career will travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being a wide-eyed freshman. Building the nerve to ask your crush to homecoming. Crafting\/pulling off the perfect senior prank. Taking the ACT? It may not be the part that makes coming-of-age movies, but taking the ACT is a vital part of the high school experience for any student looking to continue toward higher education. And<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16,113,425,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-3873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-test-prep","8":"tag-act","9":"tag-admissions","10":"tag-athletes","11":"tag-scholarships"},"better_featured_image":{"id":3885,"alt_text":"","caption":"","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":1400,"height":500,"file":"s3:\/\/pcom-wp-media\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/10124836\/act-jacob-football.jpg","sizes":{},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":3873,"source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/10124836\/act-jacob-football.jpg"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n