Calling all BBQ lovers! It’s time to start preparing for the ACT – looking at you Kansas City juniors!
If you’ve stumbled upon this blog and you’re not in Kansas City, welcome! Most of these dates are national ACT dates, so even if you’re reading from the mountains in Colorado or from the beach in Florida, these dates are likely available to you too.
Here are the upcoming ACT dates in the Kansas City area for 2022-2023:
| Test Date | Registration Deadline | LATE Registration Deadline* |
| June 11, 2022 | May 6 | May 20 |
| July 16, 2022 | June 17 | June 24 |
| September 10, 2022 | August 5 | August 19 |
| October 22, 2022 | September 16 | September 30 |
| December 10, 2022 | November 4 | November 11 |
| February 11, 2023 | January 6 | January 20 |
| April 15, 2023 | March 10 | March 24 |
| June 10, 2023 | May 5 | May 19 |
| July 15, 2023 | June 16 | June 23 |
Testing on these dates is available at many testing center locations within the area. To find a center near you and start the registration process, check out this link.
The most common timeline for ACT testing is to take your test in the spring or summer of your junior year to leave time to retest if necessary in the fall of your senior year. You may not need to take the test more than once, but you want to plan your tests to give you the option to do so in case you end up needing to. If you take your ACT in the fall of your senior year and don’t perform as you’d like to, you won’t have time to retest before college application season.
Have a lot of commitments during the school year? Are you a student-athlete? If so, it may be best to plan to take your ACT in the summer so you can prepare without the added stress of extracurriculars or a heavy class load.
Before you go register for your test, consider how long you think you will need to study for the test. Every student is different and the amount of time you should reserve for preparation is entirely dependent on your goal score and your starting point.
Looking to raise your score by 1-5 points? You’ll be looking at around 10-30 hours of study time. If you’re looking for more of a score-raise than that, you could find yourself in the triple-digits when it comes to hours of prep. If you have the time to put in 5-10 hours of study time a week you may pick a date only a month or a couple of months out; on a more realistic timeframe of a couple of hours of studying a week, you may need to consider a more longterm test date. Prepare for about 1-6 months of study time depending on your needs.
If you find yourself hoping to get serious score improvement, you may want to pursue an ACT tutor. Multiple point increases aren’t easy to achieve and often don’t come from unassisted studying. Creating a study plan is integral to positive results, and a professional tutor can help you reach your goals. Find local Kansas City ACT tutors here.
Now that we know when the tests are and when you should take them, let’s get ahead of setting your goals for the big test. A good benchmark for a goal score can be to look at the average ACT scores in your area as well as the national ACT score.
Upon registering for the ACT, you should be provided with an admission ticket. Print this out and bring it with you to your test! If you forget your ticket on test day, your scores may be delayed. If you’ve lost your admission ticket, you can print a new one through your MyACT account.
This ID must be an original, current (valid) ID issued by a city/state/federal government agency or your school. If you do not bring one with you, you may not be allowed to take your test. There’s a very comprehensive list of forms of ID that are and are not valid. This ID must also be in hard plastic card format. Paper or electronic formats are NOT acceptable – looking at you, temporary driver’s license folks.
I could go on forever about everything you can and can’t bring to the ACT – wristwatch, yes. chainsaw, no. – but at the end of the day, you know yourself best. Definitely don’t forget those first 5, you will need those to actually be able to take the test; anything after that is up to you so long as it’s permitted. If you’d like a snack or a water bottle with you for breaks, feel free. If you’re wondering if you can bring something I didn’t mention, a “Can I bring x to the ACT?” Google search should suffice. More often than not, if it isn’t essential to take the test, it’s likely not permitted; don’t say I didn’t warn you.
All that’s left to do is to pick your test day! Book as far in advance as you can to ensure you get a spot on your chosen day; test centers can fill up quickly. Getting it on the schedule early can help you develop your study plan and avoid accidentally double-booking yourself with other things.
It goes without saying that you should study for the big test. ACT preparation can be a stressful and anxious experience, but it doesn’t have to be! Reach out to a local tutor to help you strategize your study plan and prepare you to reach your ACT score goal!
