Maybe this day has been circled on your calendar for months.
Maybe it’s taped to your mirror along with a growing list of inspirational messages such as “You’ve got this,” “You’re a winner,” and “The area of a circle is pi r-squared.”
Or maybe your mom just told you about the test.
Whatever situation led you here today; it’s going to be ok. Your inspirational Post-it was right: You’ve got this. And we’re here to help!
One disclaimer that we just have to add here (we are educators, after all):
We don’t think that one week is enough time to fully prepare for the ACT and get the highest score you are capable of. But it is a reality for some students, so we want to help you make the most of your ACT test date. However, we highly suggest you spend 1-6 months (and maybe more) preparing for the ACT in order to get your best score. If you do have more time before the test, or are planning for a retake after this one, see our other study schedules for more long-term prep!
The first step is to assess where you are at right now, and what is realistic for you to accomplish with only one week until the test date.
So first, I would like you to categorize yourself into one of the following groups, and then jump down to the study plan that is right for you.
Student A: You haven’t studied for the ACT at all, but you’re ready to study now and make the most of the time you have before the test. Follow our “One Week ACT Study Schedule for Newbies.”
Student B: – EITHER- You’ve been studying for the ACT a little bit, but other things got in the way and you’re not feeling like you did all the prep you could have done. You want to make sure you maximize the time you have left to focus on the concepts the ACT tests the most. -OR- You’ve already taken the ACT once or twice, so you are familiar with the test, but you haven’t studied much (if at all) for a retake. You need to brush up quickly in order to improve your score. Follow our “One Week ACT Study Schedule for Quick ACT Score Improvement”.
Student C: You’ve been studying for the ACT, maybe for a few months. You feel like you’ve put plenty of time in, but now the test date is looming and you want to make sure you are really ready. Like REALLY ready. Follow our “One Week ACT Study Schedule for a Last-Minute ACT Refresher.”
So you procrastinated a little bit on your ACT studying. Ok, let’s be honest. A lot. But that’s ok!
The important thing is that you are here now, and you still have a week before the exam. That may not sound like a lot, but there are plenty of things you can do this week to boost your confidence and your score before the big day.
This schedule assumes that you have about 2 hours a day to devote to your studying (with the exception of the full practice test day, during which you’ll need 4-5 hours). Hopefully, this is a manageable amount for one week of studying balanced with your schoolwork. If it is too much, you can adjust the plan to focus primarily on reviewing your weaknesses and taking practice sections. If it is too little, there are plenty of extra practice questions that will be left in Magoosh ACT for you to add on an extra practice section or two a day.
For ACT Writing Test-Takers:
If you have landed on this post because you have been studying for the ACT (or have already taken it once or twice), but are wondering what you can do in this last week before test day, that’s great! This is what we live for here at Magoosh—helping students maximize their success! This study schedule can provide an excellent final refresher and review to make sure you have all your bases covered.
This plan assumes you are familiar with the ACT and have already taken a practice test, or the real thing, once or twice, so you won’t be taking a diagnostic test on this plan. If you haven’t taken an ACT test before, jump back up to the “One Week ACT Study Plan for Newbies.”
This schedule assumes that you have about 2 hours a day to devote to your studying Hopefully, this is a manageable amount for one week of studying balanced with your schoolwork. If it is too much, you can adjust the plan to focus primarily on reviewing your weaknesses and taking practice sections. If it is too little, there are plenty of extra questions that will be left in Magoosh ACT for you to add on extra practice!
Whenever you are taking practice sections on this plan, follow these guidelines:
For ACT Writing Test-Takers:
Nice work! You’ve been preparing for the ACT, you’re familiar with the test, and you know what areas you need to study a little more. You need something a little more tailored that will help you feel extra confident in the final week leading up to ACT test day. Sounds great to us! We love helping students maximize their success here at Magoosh! This study schedule will help you brush up on your weaknesses and hone your strengths so you can have a great ACT test day.
This plan assumes you are familiar with the ACT, have already been studying regularly for the ACT for 2+ months, and have taken a practice test or the the real thing. If that doesn’t sound like you, jump back up to the “One Week ACT Study Plan for Newbies” or the “One Week ACT Study Schedule for Quick Score Improvement.”
This schedule assumes that you have about 1-2 hours a day to devote to your studying. This is actually a lighter load than our other one week plans. Because you’ve already been preparing, you can take the time for a little bit of extra sleep, meditation, deep breathing, and exercise to help you feel calm and collected for the big day. If you do have more time, there are plenty of extra questions that will be left in Magoosh ACT for you to add on extra practice!
There are hundreds of lessons in Magoosh ACT! That’s why many of our students love our ACT prep—because they can truly customize a plan that’s right for them. If you are using this study schedule, you’ve already been preparing for the ACT, so you likely have a good idea of what types of questions you need to practice more. For that reason, I’ve highlighted videos that are strategy-focused; lessons that discuss techniques you may never have even realized you can use on the ACT to help eliminate answer choices or simply understand how the test-makers think. Working on good standardized test-taking skills may be the key to improving your ACT score! That being said, feel free to swap out any of the lessons for lessons that target concepts you know you need to review. The important thing is that you dedicate the time to studying.
Whenever you are taking practice sections on this plan, follow these guidelines:
For ACT Writing Test-Takers:
*Disclaimer! You can’t fully prepare for the ACT in one day, and we would never suggest that! But you can learn how to be ready to do your best on the test tomorrow morning, and that’s what this guide is for!
If you only have one day before the ACT, there are certain things that will be a good use of your time and certain things that will be a bad use of your time.
Here are the things that will be a BAD use of your time:
Here is what is a GOOD use of your time: this plan! It will take you about 2-2.5 hours to complete and you’ll be in a much better position to do well on the test tomorrow!
Dr. Kristin Fracchia has over fifteen years of expertise in college and graduate school admissions and with a variety of standardized tests, including the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT, with several 99% scores. She had a PhD from the University of California, Irvine, an MA degree from The Catholic University, and BA degrees in Secondary Education and English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. She was the recipient of the 2013 Excellence in Teaching Award and the Chancellor’s Club Fellowship from the University of California, Irvine. She’s worked as a high school teacher and university professor, as an independent college and graduate school admissions counselor, and as an expert tutor for standardized tests, helping hundreds of students gain acceptance into premier national and international institutions. She now develops accessible and effective edtech products for Magoosh. Her free online content and YouTube videos providing test prep and college admissions advice have received over 6 million views in over 125 countries. Kristin is an advocate for improving access to education: you can check out her TEDx talk on the topic. Follow Kristin on LinkedIn! View all posts
