I’m planning on taking the ACT in April 2016. I haven’t started preparing yet. I’m a sophmore (Grade 10) and I live in Australia. When I am taking the test I will be in Grade 11 and I will have exams around that time. Australian school system is very very different so when we reach grades 11/12 things are hectic at school. It’s the equivalent of taking 7 APs.
Anyway, when should I start preparing for the ACT and how should I prepare - with what materials and yeah how??
Well, I suggest waiting until maybe December or January to start preparing. Starting too early may cause problems in the future, and can sometimes ruin your test taking strategies if you’re not careful with preparation. I’d suggest getting the Real ACT prep guide 3rd edition, as it is amazing. I took 2 practice ACT tests in there, and easily got a 34. I’d suggest you look into purchasing that book. Also just make sure your Math is good, it needs to be at or above Trigonometry, however above is more preferable. I was at Honors Precalc level by the time I was taking my ACT, so many of the concepts were already known to me prior to taking the ACT.
I wouldn’t tense up so much yet about the ACT. It’s still a while till you take it, and you want to start at just the right time so you have a few months to prepare. I wouldn’t advise preparing too early, just start learning strategies in December, or late November if you really want to. Then again, I don’t really know how Australian schooling works, but you want to at least wanna have 3-6 months of prep before taking the ACT if you wanna do great on it.
I hope this helps!