If you expect to take the ACT this upcoming school year, start planning how to study for the ACT.
The key to impactful ACT test prep is taking practice tests and studying topics based on your strengths and weaknesses. Read on for a guide to studying for the ACT in a consistent and structured way!
Taking the SAT instead, or both the ACT and SAT? Head to our Digital SAT prep timeline to see how to study for the new SAT this upcoming school year.
Studying for the New 2025 ACT
With the new ACT—which all ACT testers will take as of September 2025—the Science test is no longer part of the base exam. Students can elect to add the Writing selection or the Science section (or both) to their ACT for an additional fee.
If you know your school is participating in ACT District Testing, find out as soon as possible which version of the ACT they will be administering. That way, you know what to prepare for. If you’re taking the ACT on your own time, decide whether taking the Science and/or Essay portions will help you stand out as a college applicant.
Taking both add-ons and scoring well shows colleges that you’re a well-rounded student unafraid to go the extra mile—it also adds 41 questions and 80 minutes to your ACT. This means a wider variety and volume you’ll have to study and practice ahead of your test.
When to Take the ACT
Most students who take the ACT do so for the first time in the spring of their junior year of high school. This way, they have several months to review their score and retest in time for college application season in senior year. Spring is also the season with the most ACT District Testing test dates (administered twice a month in March April)—these provide juniors the opportunity to take the ACT for free on a school day.
As for all ACT test dates, the ACT is offered once a month throughout the year: in February, April, June, July, September, October, and December. So, if you take the ACT for the first time in March or April, you have 4-5 retest opportunities before most college applications are due.
Ideally, you can retake the exam until you have a good ACT score that you’re satisfied with. In reality, taking the ACT can get expensive at $68 a test. (And that’s without the Writing or Science Test add-on fees: $25 and $5, respectively) That’s why it’s important to study consistently to get a higher score in fewer retests.
When to Start ACT Prep
If you’re a rising junior anticipating the ACT next spring, you may be wondering: “How long should it take to study for the act?” Naturally, the more time you devote to ACT test prep, the higher you’ll score. This is even more true when you spread it out over time—gradually building and testing your knowledge over the course of months will strengthen your memory of concepts and techniques.
Every student will require a different amount of studying, but 4-6 months of ACT prep gives you plenty of time to gradually learn and absorb those concepts. If you plan to take it in April, that means October is a great time to start studying. It’s after the summer and start of school, it’s before the holiday season, and it gives you plenty of time to do a little practice every week.
Don’t have that much time available to study in the fall semester, or simply don’t want to be test-prepping for the whole fall semester? You can still make significant progress in 2-3 months. Use the timeline below as an example, amending it to fit your ACT needs.
How to Study for the ACT: Test Prep Timeline
An optimal ACT study plan includes both practice tests and retesting over time. Take several ACT practice tests before your first real test, then retake the exam as needed until you reach (or get close to) your desired score. Whether it’s an ACT practice test or the real thing, each iteration of the test that you undergo will make you a better tester while also serving as a benchmark.
Let’s say you decide to take the ACT in February. Here’s what an example ACT study timeline across your junior and senior years can look like.
October: Take a Practice Test
What’s scarier than a bad test score? Starting test prep before Halloween will net you four-ish months of prep for a February test date and five for one in March.
Whenever you choose to begin your ACT test prep, start with a diagnostic exam. A preliminary run of the ACT will give you a snapshot of your current abilities, showing how far you need to go to get to your goal score. You’ll also be able to identify your topic strengths and weaknesses—knowing your current capabilities will inform your practice going forward.
If you need access to ACT practice exams, Piqosity offers twelve free practice tests for the 2025 ACT. Simply register as a user and select the course “ACT 2025” to test your ACT preparedness.
How Late Can I Start ACT Prep?
If you’re reading this well into junior year, you may be wondering how to study for the act in a month, two months, or a week… However long you have before your test day, don’t feel like you can’t make significant progress by studying..
If you’re starting test prep for the ACT or any exam at the last minute, use your time to:
- Review test-taking strategies
- Take a practice test, using those strategies
- Review your results, prioritizing questions you were surprised to get wrong.
Although it’s possible to get a satisfactory score in less than two months of practice, having as least a few months of solid practice will help you earn one you can be proud of.
November–January: Practice, Practice, Practice!
Once you have your baseline score and know how much time you have before the exam, it’s time to study! The best way to ensure that you’re learning consistently and progressing towards your goal is developing a test prep routine. Set intermittent goals for your progress and create a realistic schedule that you’ll stick to.
Every student has a different learning pace and attention span, so there’s no ACT prep schedule that will work for everyone. Still, we recommend a solid pace of around 2-3 hours of test prep a week: 1 hour of learning and 1-2 hours of practice material. This will vary depending on which ACT you plan to take.
Learning ACT Content
The learning phase of your study sessions will teach you what you don’t know and refresh your existing knowledge. Generally, the learning part of your ACT study plan can consist of both working through the questions you got wrong on your initial practice test and reading/watching lessons.
As you learn new topics (using prep books, digital lessons, private tutors, video lessons, or multiple methods of learning), cycle through the topics tested on the ACT Math, Reading & English tests—plus the Science test and some essay-writing practice if you choose to take those ACT add-ons.
There are many ways to approach ACT studying, so optimize your learning with a focused study structure. Let’s say you’ve decided to take both the Science and Essay add-ons. A weekly study plan you could try out is:
- 20 minutes reading/watching lessons about any ACT topic, preferably in your weak content areas.
- 15 minutes reviewing tested concepts in Math. (Make your way through the questions you got incorrect, learning what you did wrong and how to answer correctly.)
- 15 minutes reviewing tested English concepts.
- 15 minutes reviewing tested Reading concepts or reading texts like you’ll find on the ACT.
- 15 minutes reviewing tested Science concepts.
- 10 minutes reviewing test-taking or essay-writing strategies.
As you learn, make sure you are listening and reading actively. Stay engaged with what you’re hearing or reading by taking notes, highlighting important information, and talking through ideas aloud. If you want a deeper understanding of a topic, discuss your thoughts with a study buddy or tutor, look it up to learn more about it, or use classwork on related topics to draw connections.
How to Practice ACT Content
After you’ve done some studying, practice what you’ve learned by answering ACT questions.
Work through an ACT practice test section-by-section. This will help you become familiar with the way questions are presented and improve your test-taking comfort while quizzing you on what you’ve been learning. A student’s weekly ACT practice could include:
- 20-35 minutes working through the Reading or English section from a practice test
- 20-35 minutes working through the Math section from a practice test
- 20-35 minutes working through the Science section from a practice test
- 25-30 minutes of supplemental practice based on the concepts you’ve studied that week.
- Occasional practice test sessions, simulating the format and setting of the real test as closely as possible. (Every 4-6 weeks.)
How to Study for the ACT Throughout the Week
Integrate these study sessions into your typical routine—on days you don’t have many extracurriculars or evenings that are lighter in terms of homework, set some time aside to get ready for the ACT.
Let’s say you want to spend about 3 hours on ACT prep weekly. Here’s how you can apply the ACT studying advice above onto week:
- Day 1: 30 minutes reading/lessons on math concepts you struggle with.
- Day 2: 30 minutes on an ACT Math practice test + 30 minutes on an ACT Science practice test.
- Day 3: 30 minutes on an ACT English practice test + 20 minutes reading about related concepts.
- Day 4: 20 minutes on an ACT Reading practice test + 20 minutes reviewing answers from your English practice.
February: First Test Attempt
Your first ACT test should probably be in the spring semester—take the ACT as early as February to maximize your time between getting your first official results and college application season.
In the week before your first real ACT, try to really hammer in those topics you’ve improved over the last few months and review test-taking tips. If you get really anxious when you take standardized tests, it’s also a good time to review tips to manage test-taking anxiety. The night before your test, though, take a break from studying and get plenty of rest.
March-May: More Practice!
Once you have your ACT test results back (usually 2 weeks after the test), evaluate where you stand in comparison to your diagnostic test back at the start of the school year. Maybe you still have the same areas of weakness but improved from last time, or your stats are completely different.
Use the rest of the spring to go over your ACT results. This is a time to strengthen your abilities in preparation for a retake that will get you to that goal score. Hone in on your weaknesses, spending most of your time on the content areas you score poorly on. You’ll still be able to review all the concepts when you take your practice exams, which will help you solidify your strengths and identify any unforeseen weaknesses.
June–October: Retest & Practice As Needed
While you’ll have hopefully gotten to your goal score in your first or second iteration of the ACT, there’s still time to improve if it’s not quite where you need it.
By taking your first ACT in early spring, you maximize your opportunities to retake the exam in the summer and fall. Remember to study between retakes and practice tests by using your own results to guide you, review test-taking strategies, and get a good night’s rest before each test day!
The Best Way to Study for the ACT: Piqosity
This breakdown of how to study for the ACT can help you organize your time and efforts ahead of this important test. Effective test prep is results-driven; practice tests help you get comfortable with an exam and provide scores you can use to study for a retake.
If you’re looking for an abundance of affordable resources to help you on your ACT journey, study for the ACT online with Piqosity! Along with our full-length, online ELA and Math courses for grades 5-11, we offer full SAT, ACT, and ISEE test prep courses, each of which includes 12+ practice exams, dozens of concept lessons, personalized practice software, and more.
For the new 2025 ACT, we’ve created an enhanced ACT course that includes 12 FREE ACT practice tests! Our free community account allows you to access these practice tests and try out all of Piqosity’s features—no credit card required! When you’re ready to upgrade, Piqosity’s year-long accounts start at only $89.
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