If you're thinking about taking the ACT, the first step is to create a MyACT account. A MyACT account will not only help you register for the test, it provides access to valuable resources for preparing for the exam, understanding your scores, searching for colleges and even planning your major and career.

Here are five things you will have access to when you make a MyACT account. Read on for more on each of them.

1. ACT Registration
2. Test Preparation Resources
3. Career Planning
4. College Planning
5. Scores Guide

1. Register for the ACT

The most significant reason to create a MyACT account is to register for the ACT! While you can sign up for the ACT through your school, the quickest way to sign up is online. By signing up for an account you can quickly and easily browse testing locations, testing dates, and register for the ACT. When you sign up for your account you’ll also need a form of payment (or voucher), high school grades (optional), and a photo to upload.

Tip: To avoid late fees, register for the July 16th ACT by June 17th, 2022. If you decide to retake the ACT, you can also reregister through your MyACT account.

2. Test Preparation Resources

Your MyACT account also gives you access to free test prep materials. The Official ACT Prep Guide offers seven complete practice tests, hundreds of flashcards, and tips to help you do your best on test day. Additionally, you can find free online tests to help you prepare at no cost. And, if you are in search of in-depth, one-on-one, or on-demand test prep, you'll also see options for paid test-prep courses within the MyACT dashboard.

3. Career Planning

The ACT website is also a great resource for career planning. The MyACT dashboard has an area where you can browse and search careers. You can get to know different career options, what types of qualities work best with each career, and discover what type of educational training will best prepare you for that job.

With the ACT’s career map, you can explore careers that fit your interest. The career map groups hundreds of careers into 26 career areas within six career clusters to help narrow your search. This is a great tool to use to use if you aren’t sure what career options align with your interests, or even if you are curious about careers related to any subject you are already interested in.

If you are unsure of how to explore future plans, the Inventories section will help you learn more about yourself and will suggest careers based on your results. By answering a few questions, the website can assemble an inventory of your interests, abilities, and values. Then, it will suggest majors and occupations that might fit you best.

4. College Planning

Within the MyACT dashboard, you can also access a section for college planning. You can explore schools, majors, and add selections to your favorites.

Exploring by School – Exploring by schools is a great way to explore possibilities. The search options allow you to refine the results by major, location, admission difficulty, annual cost, and student body population. For example, if you are interested in schools with a psychology major with a small student body population, the school search can help narrow your search. Through the school search, you can also choose up to three schools and compare them right next to each other.

Exploring by Major – Searching by major allows you to browse through majors that seem interesting to you. You can explore exactly what topics you might study under different majors, what types of degrees are available, related career paths, and related majors. This is a great resource to use if you are not sure what major to choose, because MyACT allows you to get an in-depth look at hundreds of possible study paths. If that seems intimidating, don’t worry – MyACT has a Major Map, which groups hundreds of majors into just 13 categories to help you find your best fit. The Major Map is a compass that helps orient students toward majors that align with their skills, preferences, and interests.

5. Scores Guide

When your ACT scores are released, you can see them by logging into your MyACT account. You'll also be able to see which schools your scores were sent to and links to resources to help you understand your ACT score.

In the Score Explorer section, you can see how your scores align with the average scores at the schools you've favorited. The score explorer compares the range of ACT scores typically accepted by any schools you favorited with your ACT score and tells you if the two scores align.

Tip: you can also search for colleges by ACT score on College Confidential.

The MyACT site offers a variety of great resources that can prepare students for the ACT, college, and beyond. If you plan on taking the ACT, don’t hesitate to create your MyACT account as soon as possible, so you can take advantage of all the college prep resources on the site!

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