<p>I wish I packed mint or batteries. However, I did insist on dropping off DS instead of letting him drive and try to find the unformiliar school address.
Best luck to the ACT takers today.</p>
<p>East coasters should be halfway done by now, so English and math are done, theyāre probably doing reading now. The writing section seems strange, itās optional, and most colleges donāt use it, but it seems you have to do it just in case.</p>
<p>First time poster on this thread although Iāve lurked a little here and there. I have a hs junior taking the ACT test right now and am a little nervous. He was SUPPOSE to practice for the test but only opened the practice book once to take a pretest then never opened it again. The reason I am posting is I didnāt realize you could bring snacks and water into the test area. 2 older boys tooks the ACT and SAT and I though this was a no no (and if you needed to for medical reasons you had to get a waiver). I guess I was wrong. Good luck to all your kids, and donāt forget they can take it again in June and September if needed.</p>
<p>kjcphmomāI donāt know anything about ACT but my son was able to bring snacks and water for SAT. Had to store under his desk and only consume during the five minute breaks. Only thing on desk during test was test booklet, pencil and calculator, although calculator had to be placed under desk during CR & W sections. I also bought him one of those special count down watches but I donāt know that he used it. It remains in the quart baggie with the sharpened pencils and unused batteries.</p>
<p>I think the Sept ACT is a great option as the students have not gotten entirely immersed in school yet. I wish the CB offered a Sept option for the SAT.</p>
<p>Well, we got half a block up the street when I asked DD if she had her entrance ticket and she saidā¦āOOOPSā¦too busy thinking about sharpening my pencils.ā LOL. Fortunately we were very close to home. Baked a pan of bacon for extra protein to carry her through and suggested she pack it as a snack to help the curve by distracting other test takers with the smell! That coupled with peppermints would be pretty wild!</p>
<p>Last time she took it cold without any prep and did remarkably well. Sheās taken a prep class since then and actually put some time in studying so the goal is to get that math score up. Fingers crossed. </p>
<p>Captain, congrats on your dās acceptance to do service in Ecuador. What a fabulous opportunity for her! </p>
<p>Welcome to newcomers and best of luck to everyone today on the test. Iāve got a good feeling that everyone is going to come home positively!</p>
<p>@momreads, will have to try the peppermints! My son does not drink nor eat during the tests even if I pack water, pretzels, granola bars every single time they come back unopened. He is too nervous but I think he will like the peppermints! </p>
<p>Good luck to all taking the test! S is not taking the ACT eventhough he was signed up. He said heāll focus on SAT only.</p>
<p>If your kid forgot their calculator, donāt panic! I still remember how irate I was when my S11 came out of the ACT in the spring of his junior year and said, whyād you pack me all these dumb snacks and no calculator, Mom? I assumed heād brought his own. After all he wasnāt in middle school talent search any more! I immediately registered him for the fall test. When he got both scores back, his fall math with calculator was identical to his spring score without.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your D, AvonHSDad! My D13 spent a year in Ecuador with Rotary. She loved it even though it didnāt end up feeling as tropical as she anticipated. She only ate guinea pig once during the year. Canned tuna and rice were typical and not much fruit or veggies.</p>
<p>Just got back from picking up DS from an IB Calc review session at his school, where at least one friend is also taking the ACT this morning, and the street that the school is on is closed for several blocks in both directions due to a massive car wreck right at the entrance to the main school parking lot. Thereās a traffic light at that intersection (main street + parking lot entrance + residential street opposite lot). I picked up DS via a circuitous route to the schoolās side entrance and when I got home I checked the online police traffic log and it noted āvehicle crash w/injuriesāā¦praying it only looked worse than it wasā¦:(.</p>
<p>:( Hope everyone is okay. </p>
<p>D just called and is finished! She felt very positive. This was her second timeā¦she did some tutoring after the first test, so we will see. She said that she had time to finish every section except reading (which is usually her strength?), which is an improvement from the fall, when she had trouble finishing every single section! </p>
<p>Fingers crossed for great scores for all!!</p>
<p>Overall D felt better about this test as well. She said she had some time management problems on the science section, but she didnāt think it was as difficult as last time. The writing topic was something about if should a business be moved away from a school for health reasons or would it harm the economy. D gets the answer doesnāt matter, you could say anything as long as you write it well.</p>
<p>Weāll all have to break in early to the act site - Iāll be watching to see when her score changes to tested - lol.</p>
<p>S isnāt done yet 
6 hours if testing. I think having extended time is a mixed blessing. And he didnāt want to bring any snacks either. Iāve got to persuade him to do so in June. As soon as heās done, he has a double header. Who said junior year was easy? Not me!</p>
<p>D just came back from the ACT. She liked it better than the SAT (hopefully will like her scores better as well). </p>
<p>dowagercountess - sounds scary, hope everyone is OK</p>
<p>@Classof2015 or anyone whose child has taken ACT with extended time- I was wondering if the format is how ACT claims the test is to be given with the full block of time given to self-pace, not time and a half for each section? Also, do they have to go in the order that the sections are given or can they choose their own order? Are there breaks between each section? DS takes first ACT in June and I would like him to go in knowing what to expect. Thanks.</p>
<p>DS thought he did well today on his ACT. We will see when the scores come outā¦ I am anxiousā¦</p>
<p>Son said he finished all the sections except for the Englishā¦not surprising as heās a math/science type of guy. Fingers crossed he did well. Hope all your kids did too.</p>
<p>student4ever ā good question ā Iāll ask him. It would sound pretty tough to manage if he got one big block of time to self-pace. He said he liked the test better than the SAT, which Iām hoping translates into scores. I told him next time heāll take more snacks (things he likes and can eat in 5 minutes to keep his energy up).</p>
<p>On the way over to the test, he said he owed someone money. For what? Flowers. For who? (incoherent mumble). Finally, he said āto ask her.ā</p>
<p>I realized heās talking about the prom ā he gave this girl flowers as he asked her to go with him. How sweet. āI hope she said yes.ā</p>
<p>Thatās when he spilled the beans on who heās taking. If it wasnāt for the ACT, I never would have found out!</p>
<p>Classof2015: So there is big-time value in the test! Hopefully, he has a great time at prom.</p>
<p>My son just called me en route from a track and field meet. He was so excited, because he beat his personal-best in the 800-meter run by nearly six seconds while competing in a 4 by 800 relay. The team finished fourth. Then, later in the day, he ran the individual 800 in a very slow heat, because he did not have a qualifying time coming into the meet. He said he blew away the field, winning by 100 meters and finished ninth overall. </p>
<p>And while heās thrilled with his performance, he was just as concerned that no one had eaten the leftover mac and cheese from last nightās dinner. Thatās his late night snack, he said.</p>
<p>Momreads- congrats on the awesome PR!
I bet he was happy to see his favorite food saved for him.
Student4ever- I asked S-he said they had a big block of time, but once they finished a section, they could take a break.
And Iām not sure if extended time is done the same way at each test center.</p>
<p>My son got 50% more time for the sat. It is per section. One time he took it, when he was done with the section he asked to move on and they did. The next time the wouldnāt let him move on. You canāt roll over one bunch of time into the next section. It can make for a REALLY long day.</p>