How Often Can You Take the ACT?

How Often Can You Take the ACT?

A significant component of several college applications is the American College Test (ACT). The greatest strategy to reduce test-day stress is to plan ahead of time, including how many times you want to take the exam. Do I have the option to retake the ACT? Yes, it is the answer.

How often can you take the ACT then? Up to twelve times can be spent taking the ACT, and many students intend to do so between their junior and senior years. The test has four areas, Math, English, Reading, and Science, and is graded on a scale of 1 to 36.

Although ACT goal scores are a matter of personal preference, it's crucial to know what score you must obtain to be accepted by the colleges you're applying to. Ivy League institutions like Yale search for ACT scores between 33 and 35, even though the majority of colleges do not have minimum ACT score criteria. The current ACT average stands at 21.  

Setting a goal that will help you become a competitive applicant for the colleges on your college list is crucial. Because every school is unique, be sure to conduct your research.  

Planning to take the ACT more than once is a great approach to earn the best score, whether you're applying to the Ivy League or not.

Reasons To Retake the ACT

Below are various reasons why it’s generally a good idea to take the ACT more than once.  

Better Understanding of the Test Environment

No matter how many practice tests you take, you will not know how you perform under the pressure of test day until you experience it. This does not mean that you shouldn’t study for the first time you take the ACT; you might get your dream score the first time, so don’t slack on studying.  

Identifying Areas for Improvement

When you get your first score back, you may find that you performed worse in a certain area than you expected. Resitting the test gives you the chance to adjust your study plan to tackle areas where you want to improve. Understanding your ACT score properly is a key way to help you identify where you need to improve.  

Clarifying Your Goals

Having a clear goal in mind when going into your first ACT exam is extremely important, but you may find that your goal is unrealistic after getting your score back.  While this can feel discouraging, it is also important for clarifying and setting realistic goals. If you take the ACT and your score is ten points below what you need, it is a good idea to add schools to your college list that will admit you on the score you already have.  

Improving Your Chance for Scholarships

Various schools offer merit-based scholarships, meaning recipients are chosen based on a combination of their SAT, ACT and GPA.  

While elite Ivy League schools do not offer merit scholarships, many great schools do! Georgia State University, for example, is known for its generous merit scholarship programs, including the Presidential Scholarship, which covers tuition, fees and cost of living.  

Increasing Your Confidence

All the factors above combine to create one great advantage for retaking the ACT; a boost in confidence! Nothing can prepare you better for test day than having a test under your belt, and believing in your own abilities is just as important to ACT prep as studying.  

It is important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t write the ACT simply for practice. The ACT is an investment of your time and money. Each time you write the test, you have to pay the $63 fee. This means you need to take each test seriously and study as hard as you can. Create a comprehensive study plan so that if you rewrite the test, you can easily tweak the plan to fit your needs.