What to Do the Day Before the ACT The Princeton Review
You’ve spent months gearing up for this moment and now it’s almost here — the
day you’ll be sitting for the ACT.
You may have planned out an entire prep schedule — right up until the day before the exam.
That’s a day when a LOT of students get stuck.
They don’t want to do too much, but they feel strange doing nothing to prepare.
I’m going to walk you through how you can make the most of this very strange, strangely
important, sort of confusing, fast and slow day before the ACT.
First things first — let’s get all the usual advice out of the way, because it’s
good advice!
Make sure you know how to get to the test center.
If you haven’t been there before, do a dry run.
Test day is no time for surprises.
Next, spend some time organizing everything you’ll need to bring with you in the morning.
The nice folks at ACT have put together a list of the items you’ll need:
For starters, you’ll need your ticket.
Print it off from your online ACT account, even if you received a ticket in the mail
— that way, you'll know about any last-minute changes to the location.
If you don’t bring that, your scores could be delayed.
You’ll also need photo ID, number 2 pencils (not mechanical ones), a non-beeping watch,
a permitted calculator, and snacks for your break.
In addition to the items you must bring, the ACT folks also provide you with a list of
items that you must not bring into the testing room.
These include textbooks and study aids, highlighters and white-out, any electronics besides your
permitted calculator, and of course cell phones and smart watches.
(If you need to bring your cell phone — to call for a ride after the test, not to Snapchat
your friends after the test — turn it off before going into the test center, and leave
it in your bag the entire time!)
After you’ve packed your bag, lay out what you plan to wear — and make sure you’ve
got layers!
You don’t know how warm or cold the test room may be.
ACT gives you the option to change whether you're taking the Writing test on test day,
resources-permitting (you’d get billed later).
But now that I've told you about this option, I want to discourage you from exercising it
unless you absolutely must.
The decision about whether to take the Writing section should have been made well before
the day prior to the exam — and adding uncertainty to those final moments is precisely what I
hope you will NOT do.
As of September 2020, you’ll have all sorts of other options — whether to take the test
in its entirety on paper or on a computer; or whether to take the test, subsequent times,
in up to 3 individual sections on a computer.
Check out our ACT video for a complete rundown of all the changes.
Now, back to your day before the test.
You may be tempted to log more study hours — whether it’s cramming geometry formulas
or taking yet another practice test.
Do not indulge that urge!
You’re not really going to pick up new information at this point.
Instead, you’re more likely to feel burned out.
You need to trust that your preparation was enough.
This is important so I’m going to say it again — your preparation was enough.
Believe in yourself.
Believe that you’re ready.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you should avoid looking at your ACT materials altogether.
If you want to review some general strategies, go ahead.
If you’d like to re-read your notes, or work through an easy problem, go for it.
The point, though, is to increase your confidence.
Besides increasing your confidence, do a couple things to help you be physically ready for
the test.
First of all, do some light exercise during the day — this will help you relax and give
you a bit more oxygen to help you think better during the test.
Overall, you should aim to have a relatively quiet night doing something that you find
calming.
Maybe kick back with a favorite movie — whatever gets you laughing and relaxing!
Don’t try and blow off steam by going out partying.
Eat a healthy, balanced meal — of food you’ve had in the past — and try to make it an
early night.
Set an alarm.
Or three.
If your anxiety makes it difficult to sleep, don’t panic.
That’s just going to send your mind racing.
Which means it’ll be even harder to drift off.
It’s a vicious cycle!
Instead, try one (or several) of these techniques:
Do a few deep breathing exercises.
This will slow down your heart rate and help you relax.
Put on some music that’s 60 beats per minute.
This should have a calming effect Avoid screens.
I know it can be rather tempting to pick them up, but the light emitted by these devices
actually tricks your brain into thinking the sun’s still out.
Ultimately, this can make it a lot harder to fall asleep.
When you get up in the morning, do a little bit of low-key exercise — think jumping
jacks — to wake up your body, and work through an easy question that you’ve done before
to wake up your mind.
Finally, if you’re feeling a rush of anxiety in the days leading up to the ACT, know you’re
not alone.
It’s very common!
Channel your stress toward purposeful action.
And take deep breaths.
And watch our videos about reducing test anxiety.
Thanks so much for watching!
Subscribe to our channel for the latest, greatest test-anxiety-relieving strategies and ACT
tips.
I hope you feel a little more relaxed heading into the ACT now.
Remember — you’ve got this.
And we are cheering you on every step of the way!