“All the seats are filled!”
It seems we are back into the days when ACT and SAT seats are filling up, and fast. We have already heard from at least one parent that there are no seats available near their house for the April ACT (and it isn’t even February yet!). Below are some tips to help you register for the test and get the best seat available:
Check to see if the ACT has any closer seats available with writing or without writing. Take whichever one is closer. If you don’t want to take the essay, but the only spot that’s available is with essay, sign up for it anyway and see if you can change your seat on test day. We had a student last fall report that only half of her classroom actually sat for the essay (in a class full of students who had signed up for it). Currently, there are still two local sites available for the April test with the essay (and zero without). If you want to take it with the essay but can’t find a seat with one, sign up for the closer site without the essay anyway - your composite score matters more than your essay score.
Sign up for the closest seat available, even if it’s a few hours away and you have no interest in driving that far. First, because you may change your mind, and second because if new seats open up, ACT will sometimes allow you to change your registration site (and only offer this to previously-registered students). In some instances last year, ACT auto-moved students to closer locations when they were previously booked for a site hours away.
Check back every few weeks to see if another location has opened up closer to your house. If there is a hotel site available, grab that one. The hotel sites are hosted by ACT (the organization itself), and will always have enough staff to run. They are more reliable than any other site you can sign up for. We don’t know if they’ll make an appearance again in 2022, but if you see one for a date you’re looking at and it’s less than an hour away from your house, book it.
