Every year, juniors have to prepare for the ACT. The ACT is a multiple-choice, five-hour-llong test that most colleges require for admission. Luckily for juniors, Powell High School provides them with many resources to study. The library has books to help students. And of course, the counselors who are always available to help.

On March 24, many juniors got the experience the ACT for the first time, but junior Memphis Solberg was one of the few that had taken the test before.

“The first time I took the ACT, it was a paper-and-pencil test,” Solberg said. “There was a big difference between the online and paper tests. On the online test, I noticed that I was faster at answering questions, and I ended up with a lot more time left at the end.”

Most juniors, like Adriana Torres, felt unprepared and believed teachers should have helped students prepare for the ACT more. 

“The test was quite hard,” Torres said. “I feel like teachers should be more open to help students who don’t think they will study by themselves or are not sure what they have to study.”

Though Torres felt unprepared, she used many strategies to help her do well on the ACT.

“While I was taking the test, I had used this one strategy that seemed to help me a lot,” Torres said. “I read the question first and then read the passage.”

Some juniors, like Noelle Leighton, seem to have their own strong opinions about the ACT.

“I think it was a good opportunity, but I should’ve been more prepared,” junior Noelle Leighton said. “I also think standardized testing could be unfair because kids are so different in their learning abilities.”

Even students who had already taken the ACT in previous years have their own complaints about the test-taking process. 

“When I took it, it just felt like WYTOPP, but I really didn’t like the time limits,” senior Janicia Ramirez said. “When I was running out of time, it made me more anxious, and I hated that I got rushed.” 

Students may feel that taking the ACT twice is a waste of time, but not Solberg. 

“The first time I took the ACT, I was very nervous,” Solberg said. “But when I took my second ACT a few weeks ago, I felt much more confident. Whenever you do anything for the first time, there is always a fear of the unknown, and I feel like taking the ACT once before gave me a boost in confidence because I had a good idea of what the test was going to be like.” 

Some of the upcoming juniors are already thinking about taking the ACT. 

“I am a bit scared of all of the parts on the ACT that I might not be prepared for,” sophomore Andrew Shelby said. “But I am most worried about the math and writing part. But I hope not to fail and try my best.” 

While the ACT seems like a very intimidating, all-day test, it is an awesome opportunity to give juniors who attend PHS a chance at preparing for college and being able to discover their academic strengths.