ACT and SAT Preparation

Juniors planning to go to college, either directly 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). 

At Great River, all juniors take the ACT at school in April.  Students can also choose to sign up for the SAT and/or additional ACT dates before or after the April ACT testing date.  The ACT and SAT are tests students can study for and improve their scores on with additional attempts.  Briefly, my studying suggestions are the following

  1. Refer to PSAT results (available in December) and study areas where students have struggled.
  2. Use diagnostic information from the PSAT or from online practice tests to focus use of ACT and SAT study books – these have great features for content review and practice.
  3. Consider hiring an outside tutor to address specific content areas or test-taking strategies.
  4. 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, has enabled them to meet score requirements in connection to the colleges they are applying to.  

                                                                                                                      -Matt McElrath, Dean of Students

Test Dates and Registration Deadlines

For ACT and SAT test dates and registration deadlines, refer to the GRS School Calendar and Announcements blog. Or, contact Matt McElrath or Teresa Hichens Olson.

             Matt McElrath -mmcelrath@greatriverschool.org

Teresa Hichens Olson - thichensolson@greatriverschool.org