ACT and SAT Preparation
Juniors planning to go directly to college, or after a deferment, have two 'assignments' to complete by the end of the school year. Based on their interests (location, majors, programs, size, etc.) students should identify five schools they plan to apply to. Based on the information provided by these schools, they should complete their ACT or SAT testing by the end of June (they can take these tests as seniors, but it adds a level of stress).Beginning last year, Great River began having all juniors take the ACT at school in April. Students can sign up for SAT and/or ACT dates before or after this testing date. The ACT and SAT are absolutely tests students can study for and improve their scores with additional attempts. Briefly, my studying suggestions are the following
Use PSAT results and online access to study areas where students may have struggled on their PSAT tests (These results will be available in December
Use the same diagnostic test information from the PSAT, or from online practice tests, to employ the larger ACT and SAT study books – these have great features for content review and practice
Consider hiring an outside tutor to address specific content areas or test taking strategies.
Consider taking an ACT or SAT prep course. I offer this as the last suggestion because they can be very costly and time consuming. That being said, if a student is really interested in improving their score and engages will all the class sessions and ‘homework’ they recommend, many have seen a significant increase in their scores. However, other students have found that following the above suggestions, which are less costly and time consuming, have meet their score requirements in connection to the colleges they are applying to.
-Matt McElrath, Dean of Students
ACT Test Dates & Registration Deadlines (Late registration is possible)
Test Date – Dec. 12th 2015 Registration Deadline – Nov. 6th 2015
Test Date – Feb. 6th 2016 Registration Deadline – Jan. 8th 2016
Test Date – April 9th 2016 Registration Deadline – March 4th 2016
Test Date – June 11th 2016 Registration Deadline – May 6th 2016
SAT Test Dates & Registration Deadlines (Late registration is possible)
Test Date – Dec. 5th 2015 Registration Deadline – Nov. 5th 2016
Test Date – Jan. 23rd 2016 Registration Deadline – Dec. 28th 2015
Test Date – March 5th 2016 Registration Deadline – Feb. 5th 2016
Test Date – May 7th 2016 Registration Deadline – April 8th 2016
Test Date – June 4th 2016 Registration Deadline – May 5th 2016
Please contact Matt McElrath or Teresa Hichens Olson with any questions:
Matt McElrath -mmcelrath@greatriverschool.org
Teresa Hichens Olson - thichensolson@greatriverschool.org