The ACT and SAT are both standardized test that determine your “college readiness.” If you are a junior or senior you are probably already familiar with these. The ACT is three to four sections, reading, science, math, and an optional writing section. Each section has a limited amount of time. The SAT is similar, however is scored different and the sections are mathematics, critical reading, and writing. Coming from a personal point of view, doing well on this test was vital for getting into college. I also am terrible at standardized testing.
I believe that a standardized test should not be the deciding factor of whether or not one gets into college, and in some cases it is not. However the ACT and SAT are critical for the majority of colleges. In my experience I have found some smaller private liberal arts universities don’t check your ACT scores.
They check for other qualities, such as what did you do in high school, what made you different, were you committed to anything and how long, what kind of grades did you receive, and how will you impact their school? In a very broad way of describing the ACT and SAT, the test determines how well you perform at a subject under a short amount of time. I found that out of the three times I took the ACT, the one time I did not study I did the best.
I’m Not saying this is the case for everyone, although I believe it was because I wasn’t freaking myself out for three weeks before the test. It’s all about speed. For example, maybe you know the answer but would need more time to solve it, why should that lower your score, just because you weren’t fast enough? I’m not saying standardized testing is bad. Rather it shouldn’t be the only thing to base ones capabilities off of.
Potential students have much more to offer than how fast they’re able to solve problems correctly, and colleges recognize this! So don’t give up hope if you don’t score perfect on your test. A lot of colleges will list what different items, or activities are most important to them on their websites. It’s always good to stay involved with different types of out of, and in school activities.
