ACT: All about this entrance exam for UG courses in the US
American College Testing, popularly known as ACT is an international entrance exam for admission to undergraduate courses in the US. It is conducted by the ACT Incorporation, a US based non-profit organisation that aims to support global students to achieve “education and workplace success.”
ACT is usually conducted six times per year for international students, however, this year, it will only be conducted four times. While the February edition recently got over, the April, June and July editions are still awaited. Registrations are now open for those sessions. The exam dates for the remaining sessions are 1st and 2nd April, 10th and 11th June, 15th and 16th July.
ACT is a standardised admission test accepted by majority of American universities. Some of the popular universities that accept ACT scores in the US are the University of Georgia, University of Central Florida and University of Illinois. Alongside US universities, 225 other universities across the globe accept ACT scores. Each student can take 12 attempts for ACT. Almost 2 million students across 130 countries including India appear for ACT yearly. In India, interested candidates can appear for ACT in 19 centres across 19 cities. Here's everything students aspiring to study in the US need to know.
Eligibility criteria
- Candidates should be aged above 13 years.
- Candidates should possess a valid international passport as proof of identity.
- Candidates should have successfully completed their high school education.
- Candidates should be interested to pursue undergraduate degree programmes in the US.
- Candidates should appear for ACT at least 2 months before their university application dates.
Process of registration
Registration for ACT can be done both online and offline. Fees for online registration is INR 4134 and for offline is INR 5261. Although ACT registration can be cancelled anytime, fees are non-refundable. Registration can be done on their official website www.actstudent.org. Applicants need to register using their personal information, academic record, social security number, and a digital headshot. ACT scores once released can be shared with 4 US colleges for free. Thereafter, USD 12 is charged per college.
Syllabus
ACT follows a global high school level academic syllabus. The English section contains basic grammar usage or mechanics and rhetorical skills while the Math section consists of algebra, geometry, elementary trigonometry, problem-solving and reasoning. Reading section, on the other hand, comprises Comprehension and Science section contains Interpretation, Analysis and Evaluation.
Exam pattern & Marking Scheme
The ACT exam paper has a total of 215 questions and is divided into four parts namely English (75 questions), Reading (40 questions), Math (60 questions) and Science (40 questions). The questions are multiple-choice ones (MCQs) and there is no negative marking. There is also an optional subjective (essay writing) section called ACT Plus Writing. The ACT score has a range of 1 to 36. Each section is scored out of 36 and then averaged.
Mode & Duration
ACT is conducted online through computer-based mode. The duration of the exam is 3 hours with 5 minutes reading time. An extra 40 minutes is allotted for the optional writing section.