Introduction

Planning for College

Taking the Tests

» SAT & SAT II

» ACT

» AP Exams

» PSAT/NMSQT

» CLEP

» Test Day

Finding the Right College

Getting into College

Paying for College

Taking the Tests:
   » Meet the ACT

The ACT Assessment, or "A-C-T" as it is commonly called, is a national college admission examination that consists of tests in:

• English
• Reading
• Mathematics
• Science Reasoning

ACT results are accepted by virtually all U.S. colleges and universities.

The ACT includes 215 multiple-choice questions and takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete, with breaks. Actual testing time is 2 hours and 55 minutes.

In the U.S., the ACT is administered on five national test dates, in October, December, February, April, and June. In selected states, the ACT is also offered in late September.

The ACT Assessment test is prepared according to the:

• Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (1985).
• Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement, National Council on Measurement in Education. (1995).
• Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education, Joint Committee on Testing Practices. (1988).

Why Should I Take The ACT?
There are at least four good reasons to take the ACT:

• The ACT Assessment tests are universally accepted for college admission. The ACT Assessment is now accepted by virtually all colleges and universities in the U.S., including all of the Ivy League schools.
• The ACT Assessment tests are curriculum-based. The ACT Assessment is not an aptitude or an IQ test. Instead, the questions on the ACT are directly related to what you have learned in your high school courses in English, mathematics, and science. Because the ACT tests are based on what is taught in the high school curriculum, students are generally more comfortable with the ACT than they are with the traditional aptitude tests or tests with narrower content.
• The ACT Assessment is more than a test. In addition to the four tests, the ACT also provides test takers with a unique interest inventory that provides valuable information for career and educational planning and a student profile section that provides a comprehensive profile of your work in high school and your future plans.
• The ACT Assessment is a good value. As a private, not-for-profit organization governed by educators, ACT is committed to providing services at the lowest possible cost. Accordingly, the ACT Assessment provides a comprehensive package of educational assessment and career planning services for college-bound students at a modest fee that is lower than the fee for the competing admission test.

When Should I Test?
First, be sure to check the application deadlines of all the colleges and scholarship agencies you might want to apply to. Pick a test date that is at least two months ahead of these deadlines. It typically takes four to eight weeks after a test date for you to receive your score reports.

Advantages to testing in your junior year:

• You've probably completed the coursework corresponding to the test material.
• You'll have your test scores and other information in time to influence your senior year. (For example, you may decide to take an additional class in an area in which your test score was low.)
• Colleges will know of your interests and have your scores in time to contact you during the summer before your senior year when many of them are sending information about admissions, course placement, scholarships, and special programs to prospective students.
• You'll have information about yourself and the schools you're interested in prior to your campus visits, making your visits more focused.
• You'll have the opportunity to retest if you feel your scores don't accurately reflect your ability. ACT research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once:
  
  • 55% increased their composite score
  • 22% had no change in their composite score
  • 23% decreased their composite score

How Often Can I Take The ACT Assessment?
You may take the ACT Assessment as often as you wish. Many students take the test twice, once as a junior and again as a senior.

There are no limitations on how many times you can take the ACT, but there are some restrictions on how often you can test. For example, you can test only once per national or state test date.

You should definitely consider retesting if you had any problems during the test, such as misunderstanding the directions or not feeling physically well. You may also want to consider retesting if you are not satisfied that your scores accurately represent your abilities in the areas tested.

If you see a discrepancy between your ACT scores and your high school grades, or if you subsequently complete coursework or an intensive review in the areas covered by the ACT Assessment, retesting may be beneficial.

If you take the test more than once, you control which scores are sent to colleges or scholarship programs.


Test Dates

Meet the AP Exams

Introduction to the Advanced Placement Program
Looking for a challenge? Take an Advanced Placement course. AP courses are college-level courses that you can take while still in high school. Depending on your high school's offerings, you can choose between 33 half-year and full-year courses in 19 different AP subject areas.

AP Exams
At the conclusion of an AP course, you have the opportunity to take the corresponding AP Exam. AP Exams are two- to three-hour exams, given in May, made up of multiple-choice and free-response (essay) questions. They're graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with 3 considered a "qualifying" score. There is a $77 exam fee. If you're in financial need, contact your AP Coordinator about a fee reduction.

Are AP courses difficult?
AP courses are usually more demanding than regular high school courses. Most AP classes are comparable to first-year college courses, so they aren't easy, but they aren't impossible either.

Why should I take an AP course?
The extra effort and time you'll put into an AP course are definitely worth it. Consider these benefits:

• You'll have the opportunity to study a subject in-depth, at the college level, so you'll be more prepared for college work.
• If you receive a qualifying grade on an AP Exam, you may be eligible for advanced placement or course credits at the vast majority of colleges and universities in the United States.
• More than 1,400 institutions in the United States alone grant a full year's credit to students with satisfactory grades on enough AP Exams. It's called "sophomore standing."
• The AP Program offers a number of Scholar Awards to students for outstanding performance on AP Exams.
• This achievement is noted on the AP transcript and recognized by colleges.

How do I get into an AP course?
First, discuss your interest with the teacher of the AP course at your school or the AP Coordinator. Find out if he or she feels you can handle the extra work. You may also want to discuss the course with your parents.

How do I sign up for an AP Exam?
Your AP teacher or AP Coordinator will tell you exactly when in May the AP Exam will be offered at your school, and how to register for it.

AP Exam Fees
The fee for each exam is $80. The amount you pay, however, may vary in some special cases:

• Fee reductions of $22 per exam are available from the College Board for students with financial need. In addition, schools forgo their $8 rebate for each fee-reduced exam, making the final fee for these students $50 per exam. For internal purposes, such as an audit or invoice verification, a state may request from the College Board the names of its public school students who receive fee reductions; in such cases, the state will agree to maintain the confidentiality of such data.
• In addition, many states and school districts now cover AP Exam fees whether you can afford to pay for them or not. Check with your AP Coordinator or download the AP Legislative Initiatives flyer to learn more about fee reductions and state and district subsidies.
• Occasionally, extreme circumstances make it necessary for students to test late using an alternate form of the exam. Depending on the reasons for late testing, schools may be charged an additional fee, part or all of which the school may ask students to pay. See the late testing policy.
• If you are testing at a school that is not your own, the Coordinator may ask you to pay a different fee to recover the additional proctoring and administration costs.
• You may ask for a refund if you do not begin an exam for which you have paid. Local school policy determines the amount of the refund. You will probably be required to pay the $13 fee the school is charged for each unused exam. Once you begin an exam -- that is, write on an exam booklet or answer sheet -- you cannot receive a refund.

Grade Reporting Services

Initial Grade Report	Free
Grades by Phone	$15 per call
Additional Grade Reports	$14 per report
Rush Grade Reports	$22 per report
Free-Response Booklets	$10 per booklet
Multiple-Choice Rescore Service	$15 per exam
Grade Withholding	$5 per grade, per college
Grade Cancellation	None

Your AP Exam Scores
Each AP Exam grade is a weighted combination of the student's score on the multiple-choice section and on the free-response section. The final grade is reported on a 5-point scale:

5 -- extremely well qualified
4 -- well qualified
3 -- qualified
2 -- possibly qualified
1 -- no recommendation

The AP Program periodically conducts college grade comparability studies in all AP subjects. These studies compare the performance of AP students with that of college students in the courses for which successful AP students will receive credit. In general, the AP composite score cutpoints are set so that the lowest composite score for an AP grade of 5 is equivalent to the average score for college students earning grades of A. Similarly, the lowest composite scores for AP grades of 4, 3, and 2 are equivalent to the average scores for students with college grades of B, C, and D, respectively.

AP Grade Reports are automatically sent in July to you, your high school, and the college you designated on your answer sheet. Each report is cumulative and includes grades for all the AP Exams you have ever taken, unless you have requested that one or more grades be withheld from a college or cancelled. Subscores are not available (except for Calculus BC and Music Theory) nor are scores analyzed to determine strengths and weaknesses. Most AP Grade Reports are sent by mid-July. Please allow for an additional week for the actual delivery to reach you, your school, and the college(s).

Some reports take longer to process because of problems with identification information or the late arrival of materials from the testing location. Contact AP Services if you have not received a grade report by August 15.

Fax:	(609) 530-0482
Phone:	(609) 771-7300
	Toll free: (888) CALL-4-AP
E-mail:	apexams@info.collegeboard.org
Address:	AP Services P.O. Box 6671 Princeton NJ 08541-6671 USA

Note: On extremely rare occasions, it is possible for a portion or all of an AP Exam to become lost in the shipping and handling process. In such a case, the student is presented with multiple options, which typically include an opportunity to retest using an alternate form of the exam or to cancel the grade and receive a refund. In addition, a projected grade based on the remaining portion(s) may be available for some AP Exams.

AP Grades by Phone for the 2003 exams will be available starting July 1 for students in the United States, U.S. territories, and Canada for a fee of $15 per call. This service will be offered 24 hours a day by TouchTone phone and will remain available for about six weeks. The toll-free number is 888 308-0013. Students outside the U.S. and Canada can call AP Services at (609) 771-7300 from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

When you call you will need:

• your AP number, OR your Social Security Number;
• your birth date;
• a valid credit card (American Express, MasterCard, or VISA)

Additional Grade Reports
The AP Program maintains a record of your AP Exam grades indefinitely. If you change your college choice after the exams and want a copy of your AP Grade Report sent to a second college, or if you didn't designate a college on your exam answer sheet and now want to:

1. Fill out the second part of your AP Grade Report, and send it (with credit card information or a check made out to AP Exams) to the address given on the form. The fee for each transcript is $14. OR, if you don't have the AP Grade Report form, mail, e-mail, or phone in your request and include your name, gender, birth date, AP number, the years you took the AP Exams, and the name, city, and state of the college(s) you want to receive your grade report. Include a check made out to AP Exams or credit card information. The fee for each transcript is $14. Note: a $10 billing fee is added to the total amount for each regular transcript request received without payment. Usually, your grade report request will be processed one week from the date it is received.
2. If you need your transcript sent sooner than that, a rush service is available for $22 for each college that you want to receive your grade report. Call the AP Program with your request. Rush reports are mailed within two working days.

Withholding AP Grades
It isn't likely that any AP grade you submit, no matter how low, will hurt you. One reason is that timing is on your side; AP grades are released long after college admissions decisions are made. Another reason is that colleges and universities recognize that applicants with AP experience are much better prepared for the demands of college courses. Therefore, submitting all evidence of your college-level work is generally to your advantage.

However, if you want to withhold a grade, a signature is required in order to process the request, so write to the AP Program and include:

1. your full name, home address, gender, birth date, and AP number(s)
2. the year(s) that you took AP Exams
3. the name, city, and state of the college you specified
4. the name(s) of the exam(s) for which you want a grade withheld. (All your grades will still appear on the reports sent to you and your high school.)
5. a check for the exact amount due made out to "AP Exams." For each grade withheld from a given college, there is a $5 fee.

Because AP grades are released in July, your request for changes in reporting grades for the current year must be received by June 16. After that date, you may have a grade withheld only on a report for a college you did not previously indicate.

The "hold" is permanent for both the designated grade and the college until you notify us in writing to release the hold. There's no fee to release the hold, but if you later request that the college receive your grade, the regular grade report service fee of $14 is charged.

Canceling AP Grades

You may cancel an AP grade permanently (e.g., you'll never, ever see the grade and it's deleted from your record forever) only if your request is received by June 15 of the year in which the exam was taken. The full exam fee is still charged for the canceled grade. There is no fee for canceling a grade, but a signature is required to process the request. Write to the AP Program and include:

1. your full name, home address, sex, and birth date
2. your AP number
3. the name, city, and state of the school you attend
4. the name(s) of the exam(s) for which you want a grade canceled.

Remember that AP Services must receive your request no later than June 16 to cancel grades for the current year.

If "Getting Your AP Grades" hasn't provided you with, "All you ever wanted to know about getting, sending, not getting, and not sending AP grades," send for the current edition of Bulletin for AP Students and Parents by writing to:

AP Order Services
Dept. E-22
P.O. Box 6670
Princeton NJ 08541-6670
or by calling AP Order Services at 609-771-7243.

Ordering your free-response booklet(s)
For a fee of $10 per booklet, you may obtain your free-response booklet(s) from the 2003 exam administration by contacting AP Services. No comments, corrections, or scores are included. AP Services must receive requests by September 16. You will not be able to order your booklet(s) after this date. Students who test late using an alternate form of the exam will not be able to request their booklet(s).

Multiple-Choice Rescore Service
You may request that your multiple-choice answer sheet be rescored by hand. This score and your free-response score are then appropriately weighted and combined. The resulting score is converted to an AP grade and compared with the reported grade. The multiple-choice section is not disclosed, and therefore scores on this section are not available. The free-response section is not reread. Studio Art portfolios are not reevaluated. AP Services must receive your request by October 31st of the year in which you took the exam. The fee is $15 per exam. Please allow six to eight weeks for a response.

Taking the Tests

Standardized Testing: The Big Picture

Meet the SAT & SAT II

» Meet the ACT & AP Exams

Meet the PSAT/NMSQT

Meet the CLEP

Test Day

The White House Initiative gratefully acknowledges collegeboard.com for providing the content found on this page.