Hello,
I am a home schooled student that has never taken an standardized test in my life. I need to take the ACT next year so I can start applying to colleges in the fall. Can anyone give me a little info on what the whole experience of taking the ACT is like and some tips? Also, what would be the best time of year to do this and would I have to take the SAT as well?
You don’t even need to take the SAT now to confirm your PSAT score for National Merit as NMSC will start accepting the ACT for next year’s competition. However, you may find that one test or the other is better for you, so don’t be ruling out either at this point.
You will need to take a baseline practice test of the ACT. Your local test prep company should offer these; while it’s possible to find a test and time yourself, you really want as real an experience as possible. Start there (you might review the ACT’s description online in order to understand what’s on the test).
Best time to take ACT or SAT would be during a standard college prep curriculum corresponding to junior year of high school. Not sure if you are ahead of the game there or not - again, read about what’s included on the tests and figure out if you’ve covered the topic as part of your homeschooling or not.
These two tests are different from one another. The ACT is very time pressured but also very straightforward. The newly revised SAT is more like the ACT now, only w/o as much time pressure, but the questions are still different. It’s possible to prefer one over the other and even to do better (in terms of percentiles) on one vs. the other. Still, both test relatively similar content in terms of school curriculum. In other words, you should be able to take either - or both - at the same stage of your schooling.
There’s no “one right date” to take these. My kids tended to take them in the spring but you might prefer another date. There are several offered throughout the school year and the SAT now offers an August testing date, though not all test centers are available for that.
I recommend taking the sat and act to see which one you like better/do better on. Then choose to focus on that test by completing a prep class. Ideally this class should be with a tutor or with an online program, however you can self learn if dedicated with a prep book. I was also homeschooled most my life but took the ITBS when younger and the SSAT in 8th which helped get a feel for standardized testing and the Scantron system. I would first familiarize yourself with the general mechanics of standardized tests then take a baseline of both. Do prep with intent to test between Spring sophomore year and at the latest Summer between junior and senior year.