ACT accommodation

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

<p>Hello </p>

<p>Recently I was diagnosed with ADHD, Dissociative/Derealization Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder.</p>

<p>How I found out is very ironic.
I had been very stressed before ACT test that was in April (couldn't sleep and etc)
after I took the test I got DDD which I felt like I was stuck in a dream which was very
stressful and scary, so i persuaded my parents to take me to psychiatrist.</p>

<p>Psychiatrist told me that the level of anxiety that i was on was extremely high
that my body was literally F this Im outta here. So long story short, the anxiety disorder
sort of caused the DDD. (medication now got me fully out of DDD thank god)</p>

<p>I talked to my school counselor and psychologist and i recently started to get
accomodations (time extensions during tests) in school.</p>

<p>I do understand that many of you may find this unfair, but it is really painful.
When I'm anxious the words on the test literally turns into drawings and i have to read like
10times over and over to finally understand. It almost seems like the more I study, worse i do. My average practice ACT score is 32,but on real ones, i got 27 twice even with intense preparation between the two!!(sorry im little bit paranoid LOL)</p>

<p>Now the main question is, I am a junior and my counselor told me if ACT approves, Ill be start getting accommodations begining from september. But what if ACT denys?
I mean I'm starting to practice ACT with the new time adjustment (which i feel is just about ok),but if act ends up refusing granting accomodation, I would be screwd.</p>

<p>Sorry Im being too wordy,, ill bullet point my questions</p>

<p>1)What determines act accomodation approval? ( I have doc's note, am getting similar accomodation in school, but do I need anything more?)</p>

<p>2)I got 27 on previous score which isn't really that bad compared to national average, but
will this affect negatively towards their decision?</p>

<p>3)I have good GPA (3.8/4.1) will this act negatively too?</p>

<p>Thank you for taking time to read this</p>

2

<p>omg congrads bro</p>

<p>27 isn’t low compare to national average, national average is 21.</p>

<p>I highly doubt ACT will delay it, just check with ACT Services for Students with Disabilities</p>

<p>College might think about ADHD though… this might hurt (from what I’ve heard)</p>

3

<p>I think the ACT will approve you for extended time, though they take a long time to approve it (from what I’ve heard). I’m not sure how ACT approves extra time, but if it’s somewhat legitimate, they’ll give it to you. </p>

<p>I think you’ll do much better if you calm down and relax before the exam; remember, its just an exam, you can always retake it. Best of luck.</p>

4

<p>I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles. I’m glad you’re getting treatment, and hopefully feeling much better. Learning how to manage stress is going to be critical for you as you go into college, so keep up the counseling.</p>

<p>Now for your question. I do test accommodations consulting, and there are a few issues with your situation that will work against your getting accommodations. Of course, they may still approve you, but don’t plan your future test prep around getting accommodations since it’s far from guaranteed.</p>

<p>Get as much documentation as possible, especially from your psychologist, which documents your history going back at least three years. Three years is the time frame for which the ACT likes to see you getting accommodations in school. The point is that you need to demonstrate that your anxiety isn’t a brand new problem you “developed” after taking the test. They are very reluctant to give accommodations when you’re newly diagnosed. It’s not fair, but it’s how they are.</p>

<p>The other mark against you is that your current ACT scores are pretty good. You’re already above average, so you don’t look like you need additional help.</p>

<p>To sum up, it’s not impossible you’ll get accommodations, but don’t count on it. You might actually want to consider applying for accommodations with the SAT. They’re more likely to consider recently diagnosed difficulties, and you don’t already have a good score with them (at least not that you mention).</p>

<p>For now, your best bet is to focus on getting yourself feeling better and getting the anxiety under control. While that 27 seems low to you, it’s actually a great score, and your situation there could be so much worse. Even with accommodations, walking in to take the test again is going to be STRESSFUL and bring up lots of bad stuff. So get that application in (and think about the SAT), but otherwise, cut yourself some slack and chill for a while. You should almost certainly hear from the ACT folks by the end of July so there will be time to get up to speed before the September test. Good luck!</p>