{"id":8081,"date":"2016-12-03T10:28:36","date_gmt":"2016-12-03T18:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/?p=8081"},"modified":"2017-01-03T20:29:23","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T04:29:23","slug":"read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Well, Magooshers, it\u2019s the holiday season. A lot seems to be happening at once, mainly the unshapening. You don\u2019t know about the unshapening? It\u2019s the phenomenon that occurs between Halloween and New Years when people all over the country lose their shape after eating too much.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8082\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/11\/of-course-I-am-in-shape-round-is-a-shape-FUNNY-CAT-PHOTOS-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT! -Magoosh\" width=\"238\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/11\/of-course-I-am-in-shape-round-is-a-shape-FUNNY-CAT-PHOTOS-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/11\/of-course-I-am-in-shape-round-is-a-shape-FUNNY-CAT-PHOTOS.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Besides the perils associated with the unshapening, December also contains the last <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/act-test-dates\/\">ACT test date<\/a> of the year! That\u2019s right, between the food and gifts, there is one last chance to raise your ACT score! So if you\u2019re ready for some holiday-themed ACT advice, let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting Ready for the December ACT<\/h2>\n<p>Back in my day, we got only three days off for Thanksgiving. Today most school districts have extended that break to a full week. If you are one of the lucky students who gets a whole week off, there\u2019s no sense in letting it go to waste. Time to do a little ACT prep!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, Mr. B,\u201d you implore. \u201cIsn\u2019t Thanksgiving about spending time with family?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, but Thanksgiving\u2019s ONE day. You have EIGHT other days in that week off to study. And no, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=apTeM3KYswE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BLACK FRIDAY<\/a> doesn\u2019t count as a national holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Okay, so I know studying during a week off doesn\u2019t seem like a fun idea, but if you follow my advice, you can have a productive week AND still have some time off. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Days 1 &amp; 2: Continue your ACT Study Plan (Seriously, what else are you going to do during your family\u2019s hours long trip to your grandma\u2019s\/aunt\u2019s\/uncle\u2019s house?)<\/li>\n<li>Day 3: Take a full-length practice test.<\/li>\n<li>Day 4: Take an hour (or two) to review areas where you still need improvement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hey, will you look at that? You still have FOUR days off, not including Thanksgiving! Your study days don\u2019t even have to be back to back, either!<\/p>\n<p>See, that\u2019s not so bad.<\/p>\n<h2>Mental Conditioning<\/h2>\n<p>Besides studying, the December ACT test date also requires a bit of mental conditioning. Why? Well, consider all the other distractions vying for your attention: holidays, midterms, and for some of you, college applications. More on college applications in a bit.<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s my advice, which is certainly not the only advice out there about how to get mentally prepared for test day. Whether it\u2019s deep breathing exercises or going to your \u2018happy place,\u2019 you need to shove everything else aside during your date with the ACT. If you can do that, your score will reflect your true abilities.<\/p>\n<h2>Score Reports and College Applications<\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s the rub: If you take the ACT <strong>without<\/strong> writing, expect your score within 2-4 weeks. If you took the ACT <strong>with <\/strong>writing, expect a longer turnaround for your complete score.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, using your December ACT scores in college applications is tricky business. Will your scores get there on time? The best answer I can give you is \u2018hopefully.\u2019 I know that\u2019s not a very \u2018hopeful\u2019 answer, but every college is different.<\/p>\n<p>Between now and test day, here\u2019s what you can do to make sure there are no surprises. Email the admissions departments of the colleges where you\u2019re applying ask whether or not they accept December ACT scores. <strong>Most<\/strong> colleges will be flexible; they understand that ACT sometimes takes longer to process scores, and that the turnaround date may fall after their application submission deadline. No matter what, in your applications, make sure to include old ACT scores <strong>and<\/strong> note that December ACT scores will be on their way ASAP.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts on the December ACT<\/h2>\n<p>Well, Magooshers, I wish you the best of luck in your December ACT endeavors. Use these weeks before the test to make sure you\u2019re done preparing for test day\u2026and not done like the turkey sitting on the dining room table.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8083\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/11\/10.gif\" alt=\"Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT! -magoosh\" width=\"350\" height=\"197\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Till next time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The December ACT is the last ACT test date of the year! In this article, learn about everything you can do to have a successful test day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24915],"class_list":["post-8081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT! - Magoosh Blog | ACT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The December ACT is the last ACT test date of the year! 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In this article, learn about everything you can do to have a successful test day!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog | ACT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshSat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-03T18:28:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-04T04:29:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/11\/of-course-I-am-in-shape-round-is-a-shape-FUNNY-CAT-PHOTOS-203x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Thomas Broderick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshSAT_ACT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshSAT_ACT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Thomas Broderick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Thomas Broderick\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#\/schema\/person\/0a42ebf95f4c3aaf08c7f83b3ca64abe\"},\"headline\":\"Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT!\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-03T18:28:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/\"},\"wordCount\":658,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"ACT\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/read-this-if-youre-taking-the-december-act\/\",\"name\":\"Read This if You\u2019re Taking the December ACT! - Magoosh Blog | ACT\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-03T18:28:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"The December ACT is the last ACT test date of the year! 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