Juniors at Arrowhead High School begin to sign up, and prepare for the ACT test. The ACT is America’s most widely accepted college entrance exam.

Students have the options of signing up for testing sessions at Arrowhead on October 22, December 10, February 11, April 8, and June 10.

Students can sign up for the above test dates, scheduled to take place at North Campus, here.

The ACT test is three hours long, and if students choose to take the ACT with the writing exam, the test is three hours and forty minutes.

According to the Princeton Review, the average ACT score in the US is a composite score of 21 out of a maximum 36.

In 2015 average composite score for Arrowhead High School was a 25.1. Kettle Moraine held the place of the highest average score in Wisconsin with a student average of 27.09.

According to collegecountdown.com, it is recommended that junior students attempt the ACT two to three times throughout their junior year, to ensure score satisfaction.

Lauren Henzlik is a senior at Arrowhead, and she took the ACT last year.

Henzlik says, “It’s tough in some parts, and weirdly easy in others. Everyone is different, but for me the biggest issue was the time we had to read. I found that I couldn’t read at my regular pace if I wanted to finish in time. I had to pick up the pace and do my best to finish the section in time.”

Arrowhead held an ACT prep class that initially began on September 24th with a diagnostic exam. The prep course will continue on October 8th from 8-10 AM, October 8th from 10-12 PM, October 15th from 8-10 AM,  and October 15th from 10-12 PM. All prep courses will be held at North Campus.

According to blog.prepscholar.org, the average composite score for students accepted into Harvard University, Caltech University, and Duke University is 34. The average overall score for students accepted into Yale, Vanderbilt, and Columbia is 33.

The average ACT score of an accepted student at UW Madison is 27-31 according to the UW Madison website. UW Milwaukee students have an average score of 22.

These prestigious schools have many more requirements other than a student’s ACT score; however, the ACT score is many university’s way of comparing one applicant to another.

“The Official ACT Prep Guide 2016-2017” is sold here for $26.05.

Other books intended to prepare students for the ACT can range between twelve and thirty dollars on amazon.com.

There are also online resources intended to prepare students for the ACT. Many websites provide tips and tricks for how a student can perform to the best of his or her ability.

Students can reference this article to view what to expect, and how to prepare for the ACT.