Holy ACT

            I took my ACTs for the first time yesterday morning and let me tell you, it SUCKED. Granted, it wasn't as hard as I was expecting, but I wasn't the least bit prepared for it.

            First off, the process of getting started with the tests took way too long. I had to be there at 8 am, and we didn't begin testing until around 9. Normally, dragging the time before a test would make me happy, but I really wanted to get this one done and over with. The rules for the test are a little ridiculous, too. I mean I know they want it all to be super standardized and uniform, like phones off and under our chairs, but come on; not even a water bottle allowed in the room?

            And another thing: don't teachers usually encourage students to have a free-reading book to read after a test if they finish early? Apparently these people think reading after the ACT is "distracting" to the other test-takers, so they require you to sit there like a zombie and stare at the walls. The crazy part? They said that getting out of your seat to get a new pencil, or blow your nose, or even LEAVE THE ROOM DURING THE TEST to go to the bathroom was okay to do. Like those aren't distracting at all.

            After I tried getting over my annoyances, it was time for the tests to start. I could say the same for all of them that they started off pretty easy. I felt like I was managing my time well and I could possibly finish early. But no. Once I got halfway in about four of the five tests, I hit a wall. The problems either got significantly harder, or the writers of the tests got drunk in the middle of writing them and made their questions and answers make absolutely no sense. The math test was horrible. I was doing fine with the basic skills, but once it got to the geometry shit, I knew I was done-for. That test was the longest, and it had 60 questions for its 60 minutes; I thought it'd be a piece of cake, one minute per question, but I didn't get it finished, unfortunately. To add to my other annoying problems, the test administrator lady was walking around the room, looking at our tests. Totally not a distraction.

            I decided to take the writing test in hopes of it helping my score a little bit. The prompt was an easy question and I could quickly choose a side to the issue, and I wrote out my response. The girl next to me was a total over-achiever; she wrote on all four pages, completely. Mine was a page and a half. I'm not saying I was jealous or anything, because I knew I got my point across, but I was a little miffed that mine looked inadequate because I didn't write nearly as much. Hopefully they don't score it partially on how much you write; they said nothing about a length requirement anyway.

            Unfortunately, since I'm pretty much sure I bombed the hell out of this test, I'm going to have to take the damn thing over again. I won't get my results for 5-8 weeks, and by then it will be another test date. I might as well just sign up at take it again because I don't think any colleges will want me when they see how atrocious my tests are.

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