MaeveWharton
Spring has sprung, and to the dismay of juniors everywhere, so has ACT season. On Thursday, March 19, Marian juniors dove into prep sessions, practice tests and formula memorizations, marking the beginning of their journey towards test-taking success.

   Last year, juniors spent five mornings before school, often on late start Wednesdays, with Adam Snoza from Aim High Test Prep. 

   This year, Marian abandoned the early morning models in favor of three full-day ACT boot camps. 

   According to Marian’s college counselor, Mr. Ben Ascher, “we used to do Wednesday mornings … but it was tougher because students would sometimes forget, they would miss the email or things would happen outside of their control.”

   When some students missed this morning prep, “the only way that we could catch them up would be to have them watch a video or review the packet.”

   Marian’s administrative team felt that “getting that information from the experts,” rather than a make-up video, “was more important,” Ascher said. “Moving to a full day session not only provides that, but we’re also getting more dedicated time to it as well, rather than three or four sessions in the morning when students are barely awake,” Ascher said.

   But while this move was initiated by administrators, many juniors braced themselves. Junior Joselyn Bailey “felt like (she) was going to dread it.” 

   “I was obviously not very excited because it’s ACT prep,” junior Ella Watton added. 

   The Class of 2027 also recognized the bootcamp’s value. “I also know it’s valuable, so I was okay with spending a day or two on it,” Watton said. 

   “I knew it would help me,” Bailey said. 

   The first day of boot camp focused on the English section of the ACT, broken into four sessions with breaks in between. The following day kept the same format but focused on the math section instead.  

   After a short break, juniors finished the boot camp with another day-long session on reading and science on April 1.

   After the first two days, overall opinions on both the material and formats were mixed.

   Junior Maddie McGreer said she felt that “the math was very helpful, and it didn’t get too boring because it’s a lot of different things.” 

   On the other hand, “everyone I’ve talked to said the English one … kind of just got really boring. It was hard to pay attention for that long,” McGreer said.

   Conversely, Watton “thought that the English was really helpful” and “provided a good reminder of grammar rules.”

   Overall criticism of the boot camp centered on its “one size fits all” approach. 

   While every girl sat through lectures on the same material, not every girl is at the same academic level. 

   “A lot of the questions were for higher level classes and … his quick explanation, they understood it,” while “some girls have never seen this stuff before,” Bailey said. 

   “It’s hard because it’s the whole grade,” McGreer said.

   Although there was frustration with pacing and material applicability, “it was helpful for all students,” McGreer said. “Even if you haven’t taken [the ACT] before, I think it was helpful to get a baseline. For people that have taken [the ACT], it was a good reminder of the techniques [to use] while taking the test.”

   So, while methods and formats may change between the years, Marian’s goal remains the same. 

   Ultimately, “the focus is to help the students. We want the students to do the best that they can,” Ascher said.