Senior Senses: Junior Year
Tuesday, March 7th is a dreaded date on each junior calendar- It’s the day of the mandatory Wisconsin in-school ACT. Although this annual tradition has been tormenting students for years, this shared experience presents an opportunity for future test takers to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors, aka the seniors. So, here is a collection of ACT and SAT tips from Brookfield East juniors and seniors.
English section:
“Do not rely on how things sound. It may seem tedious but brushing on basic terminology and grammar rules is important. It’s also helpful to read” – Sema Alghazzy
“It felt less concrete. There wasn’t really a way to prove or justify my answers. Review grammar rules and do a lot of practice with actual ACT questions.” – Mary Swietlek
Math section:
“When I first started it took me the entire time to get through one-fourth of the math section. Start with the individual skills you struggle with and keep taking practice tests.” – Zaynab Iqbal
“The most difficult part of the math portion would be the variety of math levels that are covered. It ranges from geometry to precalculus. Having to be able to determine what to do for each question based on my memory of what you studied was the hardest part for me. Studying each branch of math in separate chunks helped me overcome the issue of forgetting how to approach a problem” – Sema Alghazzy
Science:
“My least favorite section would be the science section because when I first took it was a completely different way of thinking than I was used to. I struggled with this section at first because it forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I did a bunch of practice tests and then one day it just clicked. I realized that there were about three different kinds of questions and I built a template in my head based on that system.” – Joshitha Senthil
Reading:
“I struggled with the timing and getting all of the questions answered. I made the mistake of taking my time to fully understand the passage which didn’t leave much time left to answer the questions. I felt rushed. I would recommend skimming the passages to get the main ideas because a lot of the answers can be found directly on the test.” – Kaitlyn Kosfeld
Study Tip:
“Start studying for the SAT or ACT really early. If you get it over with by the fall of your junior year then your junior and senior year will be a lot less stressful. If anything, try to avoid taking standardized tests after the end of your Junior year so you can focus on writing your college applications during the summer.” -Anonymous
No matter which test you take, be strategic about how you approach these tests. Don’t go in unstudied, and don’t cram the night before. However, you should avoid taking on too much stress. Whether it be the day of the test, or a compounding sense of dread, no amount of stress will improve your score. Besides, these standardized tests test a narrow set of skills. They certainly do not measure your future success or self-worth. Even in college admissions, standardized test scores are only one part of your application.
