ACT® Prep

Our most popular ACT Prep Course usually takes 26 hours and runs 8 weeks prior to ACT test dates. Depending on your teen’s goals and current strengths and weaknesses, the course may be longer or shorter.

Typically, ACT Prep courses average around $999. However, each of our Sylvan centers is locally owned and operated, so pricing varies slightly by center. Contact a Sylvan near you for up-to-date pricing.

Yes! Many local Sylvans offer live ACT Prep classes online as well as in person. Contact your local Sylvan for more details.

The ACT is a 3-hour, multiple-choice test designed to measure academic achievement in four major curriculum areas: English, Mathematics, Reading and Science. An optional 40-minute Writing Test is designed to measure composition skills.

The ACT will provide the following scores to your teen and the colleges/universities that they apply to:

• State and national percentile scores
• Progress toward national benchmarks
• Individual English, Math, Reading and Science scores on a scale from 1-36
• Composite score on scale of 1-36 (average of multiple-choice test scores)
• English Language Arts score on 1-36 scale that averages English, Reading and Writing scores
• STEM score on 1-36 scale that averages Math and Science scores
• Progress toward Career Readiness rating on a scale of 1-36, including levels of proficiency from bronze to platinum
• 5 scores for the optional Writing Test:
  • One combined average Writing score on 2-12 scale
  • Four scores on a scale of 2-12 for each domain of writing competency:
    • Ideas and Analysis
    • Development and Support
    • Organization
    • Language Use and Conventions

Prep courses like the ones we offer are a great way to prepare for testing and improve scores. But there are other ways to make sure your teen is ready to do their best!

Here are some great tips for preparing for and taking the ACTs.

Before the test:

• Start studying early: Set up a study schedule months in advance to eliminate the need for cramming.
• Take practice tests: Taking multiple practice tests will make students feel more comfortable with the testing experience and remove much of the mystery involved with college/university entrance exams.
• Sleep and eat: Studies have found that stress is elevated by fatigue. Be sure that your teen gets plenty of uninterrupted sleep in the nights prior to the test day. And, since the ACT is generally offered in the morning, it’s important to eat a good, healthy breakfast before the test. This will keep students energized for a long day and help them stay focused and alert.
• Come early and prepared: Make sure your teen is at the test site early and has all of their testing supplies. Plan bathroom breaks for before the test starts and during breaks in testing. Being late or missing materials will cause unnecessary stress.

During the test:

• Use process of elimination: If your teen is having trouble with a question, the best strategy is to get rid of any answer choices they feel can’t be correct and make a guess from the remaining answers.
• Never leave an answer blank: If your student can’t eliminate any of the answer choices, or if they feel it would take too long to answer the question, make a random guess — it can’t hurt!
• Keep going: The items on the test include a range of difficulties, and they appear in a mixed order. If your teen finds one type of question challenging, they should mark it and come back.
• Watch out for the dreaded “I’m one off” syndrome: Make sure students periodically check their answer sheets to make sure they have not misplaced an answer.

Mark it up: Marking up questions helps teens focus on key parts of the question or eliminate answer choices as they work. Marking up the booklet will not only improve both their understanding of questions and concentration on the day of the test, it will also help them manage their time efficiently.