emilyevans

It’s Wednesday morning on March 16 at 7:05 and juniors are rolling into Marian’s parking lot, but they aren’t fighting for spots in upper lot. By 7:15 on late start days the PAC parking lot was full and inside sat 177 juniors with coffee and pencil in hand as they began the 3 Moms and a Test ACT prep class in preparation for the April 9 ACT.

It’s not news that colleges are becoming more competitive. However, it was news that for the first time ever Marian provided mandatory free test prep to all juniors.

Why is the ACT even important? Colleges use ACT scores to test students’ readiness for college and to get a sense of their academic strength. “It’s very fair of colleges to ask for an ACT score,” said Mrs. Mary Kay Leatherman ‘81, teacher and manager of 3MT. Schools have various intensities of curriculum and the ACT creates a level playing field.

“The ACT will probably always be a part of college admissions, they [ACT scores] aren’t going away,” school counselor, Ms. Kathy Janata, said.

ACT classes seek to provide students with skills that will prepare them to get a better score on the test than they did last time. “The goal of 3MT is to help students reach the top of their range,” Leatherman said. However, students must be willing to put in the work, even if that includes coming to school one hour and fifteen minutes early.

“Anything you want to do well on, you’re going to prepare for. You have to do the work to get the score,” Janata said.

The question is raised: should the class be required or optional? Some juniors have already taken an ACT prep class. “The first time I took the class, I thought it was very effective, and it increased my score a lot, but since I already knew what the class was going to cover, it was hard for me to stay focused each Wednesday morning, which I felt was the issue for most people—trying to pay attention and stay awake for that long,” junior Rachel Johnson said.

It was announced on Nov. 24 that the class would be provided, so some students were taking two classes at once. “Taking two prep classes at once was confusing because the classes contradicted each other and didn’t have the same material,” junior Reese Hartman said.

Originally the class costs $225 per student. Marian got a deal on the group class. “Well, my mom wasn’t too happy about it because they just started offering it this year, but… I think it’s a great step into making Marian students less nervous and not having the pressure of paying and taking a class for the ACT,” senior Lily Boyle said.

Everyone knows that higher ACT scores can enable students to get into better schools and qualify for more scholarships. While the ACT is a vital component to the college process, it isn’t something to pull your hair out over.

“I think it’s great that Marian is offering an ACT class. It’s comforting knowing I’ll be prepared for a test that impacts my future,” sophomore Tara Sanchez, who will be taking the class next year said.