The Day Before the ACT: What you SHOULD and SHOULDN'T do

It’s the day before you’re scheduled to take the ACT, and you’re starting to feel the pressure. The ACT is an important college entrance exam, and you need to reach your goal score in order to get into your dream college. BUT the ACT is not your typical exam. You can’t exactly cram for the ACT last-minute, so what should you focus your time on the day before the ACT?

The ACT is a particular exam that can take a significant amount of time to prepare for, depending on what your goal ACT score is. For this reason, you can’t wait until the last minute to start your ACT test preparations. You should be practicing and studying and, if possible, working with a tutor one-on-one for at least six to eight weeks leading up to test day. This will help you reach your full potential score on test day.

Spending at least a couple of months on test prep will ensure that you are familiar with the content that is examined and the overall format of the test, so you won’t be surprised about anything that shows up. You’ll also be familiar with the time constraints and know what pace you need to work at to reach your goal score.

Working one-on-one with a private tutor is beneficial for many reasons. Your private tutor will help to identify your areas of strength and weakness and focus on building content knowledge in weaker areas. Your tutor will also pay attention to your natural testing pace and patterns in your testing to determine what strategies may work well to assist you in answering as many questions correctly as possible in the given time constraint. They will also facilitate frequent, repetitive practice of certain concepts and strategies so that your confidence is high come test day, and you know exactly what you need to do to reach your goal ACT score.

If you’re planning ahead and will take the ACT in the upcoming months, consider signing up with a tutor. A Prepared Student tutor can guide you through concepts, strategies, and practice that will help you reach your goal score.

Whether or not you have been practicing and preparing for the ACT, there are some things that you SHOULD do on the day before the ACT test, and there are some things that you definitely SHOULD NOT do on the day before the ACT test.

Check out our recommendations below, and, if you’re taking the ACT soon, plan your Friday night before accordingly. Your brain will thank you on Saturday morning. Good luck!

On the day before the ACT test, you SHOULD NOT…

• CRAM FOR THE TEST The ACT really isn’t a test that you can “cram” for the night before. There are definitely some tests in high school that are like that. You can make flashcards and memorize a handful of facts, review your notes because your teacher told you exactly what is going to be on the test, etc. etc. etc… The ACT is a different type of monster. Unfortunately for students who tend to wait and study for exams last-minute, real ACT progress is only seen with real ACT prep, which takes time. Whether you’ve studied for the exam or not, don’t waste your time doing last-minute studying. Instead, focus on things we’ve noted below: resting your brain and getting enough sleep are huge factors that boost ACT test performance. This is what you should focus on the day before the test instead of last-minute studying.
  
• STRESS OUT There’s no question that the ACT is a stressful exam. In fact, the ACT could easily be the most high-pressure exam that many high schoolers will take. I mean, it does play a big determining factor in whether or not a student will be accepted to a particular college or university. And yet, stressing over it really does you NO GOOD. In fact, stressing about the exam will actually be likely to make you perform WORSE than if you act as if the test does not matter. (Obviously it does matter, but you get the point - chill and pretend it’s just another high school test!) I know this is easier said than done, especially for students who are naturally more nervous and anxious test-takers, but try your best to stay calm. If you’ve been prepping for the ACT, you know exactly what to expect on test day, so there’s really nothing to be worried about - there will be no surprises. Research shows that students have higher levels of anxiety toward an assignment or exam when they are under-prepared for it. If you find yourself getting stressed out over the ACT, consider taking more time to prep leading up to the test next time. We recommend six to eight weeks of test prep or more. This gives a lot of time for repetitive, focused practice that leaves students feeling knowledgeable about the exam as a whole, which in turn boosts confidence and lowers anxiety. While that may not help you out for the upcoming exam, another thing to keep in mind is that you can take the ACT as many times as you want. That’s right - you can turn around and take the ACT again in a couple of months if you aren’t happy with your score, so just breathe, relax, and work through the test as best you can.
  
• STAY UP LATE Have you ever noticed when you stay up late cramming for an exam that you don’t always feel so great the next day while you take the test? (Or the rest of the day for that matter…) In fact, you’re probably exhausted and could maybe have even performed better on the exam if you had just gone to bed and quit studying altogether. Think about that for a second. Sleep is a powerful thing. It may be tempting to stay up late trying to re-memorize all of the math equations that you know will show up on the test, but this isn’t the best use of your time. Your time is best spent resting your brain.

On the day before the ACT test, you SHOULD…

• TAKE IT EASY Rest and relaxation is the best thing you can do for your brain to prepare it for ACT test day. We’ve already talked about how any last-minute cram sessions aren’t going to see results, so, rather than wasting your brain’s energy trying to memorize equations and rules last-minute, take it easy the day before the test. You don’t want to do anything too mentally or physically draining the day before the ACT, so try to avoid these types of activities if possible.
  
• REVIEW YOUR BIG-PICTURE TEST PREP STRATEGIES & TIPS/TRICKS If you’ve spent the last couple months (or more) prepping for the ACT, you’ll know what strategies you should use on test day. Review all of these big-picture strategies to make sure they’re fresh in your head. You don’t want to waste time trying to remember what strategy you should be using, and you certainly do not want to forget to use your strategies altogether, so remind yourself of how you’ll manage your pace, whether you’ll be changing the order of any of the passages in the different sections, etc. Know your plan like the back of your hand so that when you sit down to take the ACT you don’t even have to think about it - you just know what you’re supposed to do.
  
• GATHER YOUR TEST DAY MATERIALS Don’t forget about the logistics. There’s a small list of items that you need to make sure you bring on test day. Rather than scrambling around to get all of these items prepared the morning of the ACT, take some time to get organized the day before the test (or earlier!). You’ll need to bring your ACT ticket that you got when you registered for the test. You’ll also need a photo ID that will be able to confirm your identity as stated on the ACT test ticket. Other items you’ll want to bring include a permitted calculator, number 2 pencils, a watch that does not have an alarm and that does not connect to the internet, and a snack for your short break time. Download our Test Prep Checklistto make sure you don’t miss packing any important items that you’ll want to have with you on test day.
  
• GO TO SLEEP EARLY We already talked about how relaxing is going to be more help to your brain the day before the ACT exam than studying will be, so this one shouldn’t come as a surprise. You DEFINITELY want to make sure that you give your brain enough sleep and time to recharge before you have to wake up and head to the testing center. Keep in mind that you’re going to be getting up early (possibly really early depending on where your test center is), and get yourself crawled into bed accordingly. The goal is to avoid as much cognitive fatigue as possible on test day, and, believe it or not, a well-rested brain is less prone to any kind of fatigue. Get some good zzz’s before test day to get started off on the right foot.

Check out our Test Prep Checklist for leading up to test day.
Download a FREE PDF CHECKLIST here.

All of the above day-before-the-ACT recommendations come down to two things:

1. Real ACT results take real time: You’re not going to be able to effectively cram the night before ACT and see any real results the next day. ACT test prep should begin at least six to eight weeks before the exam in order to see real progress in test scores.
2. Cognitive fatigue is real: Your brain will get tired quickly while its engaged in difficult texts and problems throughout the ACT test. Give your brain a head start by letting it rest and recharge on the Friday before the exam.

These two things considered, plan accordingly. If you’re taking the ACT this weekend, chill out on Friday. If you plan to take the ACT in the coming months, consider working with a tutor one-on-one who can help you reach your full potential on test day. Real ACT test score increases take real prep time. We can work with you make sure you’re performing at the level you need to be to get accepted into your dream college.

Good luck, and happy prepping!

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