Best ACT Prep Courses 2020-2021
Table of Contents
As you get ready to go to college, you’ll need to take either the ACT or SAT and get a great score to accompany your college application. To get your best ACT score, we recommend taking an ACT Prep Course to help you build the knowledge and strategies required to achieve a high score in the exam.
We’ve reviewed the top ACT prep courses which are most popular with students and compared their prices, resources, and study plans to help you choose the right course for you.
ACT Prep Course Reviews & Exclusive Discounts
 |  |  |  |  | |
Ranking | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
Rating | Best Value | Most Comprehensive | |||
Standard Price | $237 | $899 - $1599 | $1000 | $99 - $399 | $399 - $700 |
Discount | Needs confirming | Needs confirming | Needs confirming | Needs confirming | Needs confirming |
Free Trial | 7 days | Free Resources | Free Resources | Free Resources | Free Resources |
Guarantee | 4 Point increase | Score Guarantee | Score Guarantee | No Guarantee | Score Guarantee |
Course Length | 3 months | 1 Year | 6 Weeks | 6 months | 1 - 6 months |
Practice Questions | 1,300 questions | 2,000 Questions | 0 questions | 2,000 Questions | 3,000 questions |
Practice Exams | 4 tests | 7 full length Tests | 6 tests | 5 full length Tests | 2 Tests |
Delivery Options | Online | In Person, Live Online | Live Online | Live Online, Online | Online |
Videos | 250 video lessons | 18 hours live lessons | 27 hours live lessons | 16 hours live lessons | 50 hours videos |
Study Plan |  | | | | |
Physical Resources |  | | | | |
Essay Feedback | | | | | |
31 + Program | | | | | |
Mobile App | |  | | | |
Support Options | Email | Tutoring Available | Email | Email | Online Coach |
Full Review | Kaplan Review | Testive Review | |||
GET STARTED |
ACT Prep Courses are available as online self-paced courses, or as a structured course with online lessons run by expert tutors. If you’re a self-motivated student, you might gravitate towards a self-paced course. These tend to be cheaper, but still have great resources and can be excellent if you stick to the study plan.
If you’re the type of student that prefers structure, teacher interaction, and a classroom style, you may prefer a live online course. These can be more expensive but come with the advantage of interacting with an expert teacher in scheduled lessons.
1. Our Top Choice – Magoosh
Magoosh is an online learning platform that provides courses for lots of testing, including the ACT, GMAT, and IELTS tests. Magoosh is popular with students as they offer online prep through self-paced courses at quite cheap prices.
Once you sign up, you’ll have access to all the resources and can work through them at your own speed, and to your timescale. There are study plans available to help you pace out the work and stick to your online prep schedule.
Price Packages – Magoosh is a cost-effective option that offers good value for money, $237 for 3 months of access, and this falls lower if you use our discount codes too. Magoosh is one of the cheapest ACT test prep courses available, which is why it is so popular with students.
Resources – Magoosh offers 1,300 practice questions across the 4 main sections of the ACT exam, which makes around 200 practice questions for each ACT prep section. Compared to other providers, this is quite a small number. The online course from Magoosh is taught through 250 video lessons, each explaining different aspects of the exam, including answering strategies and knowledge. Also included are 4 practice tests, which you can take at any time.
Score Guarantee – Magoosh offers a score guarantee that your score will increase by at least 4 points out of the total 36 points available. If you work hard and are focused, this is quite an achievable task, and most students will be able to improve by this degree.
Free trial – If you’re not sure about what the Magoosh materials will be like, and whether these will be right for you, you can sign up for a 7 days free trial. This will give you a few examples of the resources, including video lessons and test prep questions, so you can see if the ACT practice style matches your learning type.
Mobile App – Magoosh is one of the only learning platforms to offer a Mobile App for their ACT prep course. This is perfect for on the go learning and can be vital for busy students to fit in additional study time. The app will keep track of your progress and allow you to watch short videos and complete some practice questions.
Cons – The disadvantage of using Magoosh for ACT prep is the quality of their tutors and the lack of support available. Initially, their resources are great, but unlike other course providers, they do not have teaching staff on hand to support you with learning complex concepts, boost your morale or help to keep you on track with test prep. If you’re the type of student that needs this support, consider taking a course that has Live Online classroom sessions and an assigned teacher.
2. The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an esteemed learning organization that has been supporting students for over 30 years. The Princeton Review has a great reputation for excellent teachers, as they employ the top percentile of test-takers and graduates.
This means that the learning resources are top-notch, and classroom sessions are taught to a high standard, making this one of the best ACT prep courses available. The Princeton Review is the most comprehensive ACT prep course package, with many brilliant resources to prepare you for test day, but their courses are on the expensive end of the scale.
Price Packages – The Princeton Review offers two price packages that are priced at $899 and $1599. The first course is the Ultimate ACT prep course, which covers all 4 main topics through in-person or live online classroom lessons, and has many practice exams.
Furthermore, they offer a 31+ points package, which is for students aiming for at least 31 points as their overall ACT score. The Princeton Review is one of the only providers to offer a plus points package, for those looking for an additional boost or more challenging prep material.
Classroom Lessons – Both the packages that The Princeton Review offers provide students with 1 year of access to the program. Within this year, there will be a scheduled series of on-demand or live online sessions, and you choose your schedule when you sign up. The classroom learning has 18 hours of lessons and provides you with a really comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the ACT.
Support – By completing a classroom learning experience, you will have the opportunity to connect with your teacher and students in your class. You can ask questions and lean on them for support when you need it. If you’re the type of student who benefits from this support network, consider taking a classroom course.
Private Tutoring – Private tutoring sessions are also available for additional costs, starting at $150 per hour. This is an expensive option for most students but can be hugely beneficial if you need additional learning support. The Princeton Review has an excellent staff base that is experienced in teaching the ACT and helping high school and college students through standardized tests.
Resources – As well as the 18 hours of classroom lessons, these courses also include 2,000 practice questions, 7 full-length official ACTs, physical ACT resources sent to your home, a personalized study plan, on-demand video learning, and a year of access to these resources. The courses also include some SAT prep and PSAT prep to help you across multiple tests.
The Princeton Review offers the most comprehensive and high-quality ACT prep courses available online. If you can afford the cost, which is lowered with our discount codes, then we recommend that you complete ACT preparation with The Princeton Review.
Their courses are particularly good if you’re looking for ‘ACT classes near me’ or an online series of classes taught by an experienced teacher. The Princeton Review also offers a money-back score guarantee – you’ll score higher than your previous ACT score or get your money back.
3. PrepExpert
PrepExpert is an online course provider that hosts scheduled prep for ACT live online sessions, in a 6-week course structure. Expert tutors teach Their online ACT prep courses, and when you book into the online ACT prep, you can choose which tutor you’d like to work with. All the tutors at PrepExpert are experienced in teaching and have scored highly in the ACT and other exams like the GMAT or GRE.
Scheduled Lessons – PrepExpert has created a 6-week course that includes scheduled video lessons, 6 full-length ACT tests, and access to a small number of online materials throughout this time. The 6-week course is intensive, with two sessions that last 3 hours each week and a practice test to complete too.
You will need to be available to attend every online ACT session and have time to complete the practice exams and additional learning in between. When you’re booking onto a 6-week course, make sure you are available and make the time commitment to your studies and employment.
Expert Teachers – When booking onto a course, you can choose from a range of dates and also from a range of tutors to select the best ACT prep courses for you. You can read through their bio information, which describes their teaching style and experience and select the tutor that you think will be best for your learning style.
This is a great flexible option that isn’t offered by many ACT prep providers and gives you options on who your teacher is. You can also use the information to do some additional research on the tutors, and see if they offer their teaching for SAT prep or other ACT test prep courses.
Price Packages – The standard price for a PrepExpert ACT test prep 6-week course is $1000, making it quite expensive compared to other online courses available. The cost of this course comes down if you’re using a discount code, which is a great option for many students.
Furthermore, some tutors may charge more for their courses on the PrepExpert platform. If the tutor has a high level of experience, or are looking to teach students that want a score of 31 points or above, they may set the price higher for their 6-week course. PrepExpert also offers a money back guarantee, if you do not increase your score set in their conditions.
Cons – There are a few disadvantages to mention with PrepExpert. Firstly, they offer a limited number of on-demand material, like practice questions or short video explanations. This means that outside of the ACT test prep classroom learning, there is little access to additional material to boost your understanding.
Furthermore, as the online prep course is only 6 weeks, it’s an intense learning experience, and access to online materials will stop once the 6 weeks is completed. Compared to other course providers, this is quite limiting and not the best ACT prep course.
4. Kaplan
Kaplan is a great all-around course provider, one of the best international providers, that hosts online learning courses, mostly self-paced, for a range of standardized tests, including online ACT prep and GMAT courses.
Kaplan is a large corporation that has used experts to create their learning programs and teach in their online courses. Kaplan offers a reasonable cost for the official ACT prep courses and a good range of high-quality resources.
Price Packages – Kaplan has one of the best ACT prep courses and offers it at a low cost of $99. This gives you 6 months of access to the self-paced learning course, where you can work through the materials at your own speed.
The classroom-style online prep course is made up of 16 hours of live lessons and costs $399, which is a brilliant price compared to other providers. These are taught through video calls with the ability to share screens and ask questions to the teacher. This course also comes with a physical and official ACT prep textbook.
Classroom Learning – The Live Online ACT prep course offered by Kaplan is a comprehensive schedule of 16 hours of learning, taking place within a two week period. You can choose from a range of dates and schedules and can position the lessons to be at the beginning, middle, or end of your 6 months of access and arrange this to be close to your test date.
Resources – Included in both the self-paced and Live Online sessions are 2,000 practice questions and 5 full-length official ACT practice tests for you to practice with and take at any time throughout the 6 months. The self-paced course is made up of short, bite-sized lessons that you can tap into at any time, or on the go.
This will help you to build the best ACT prep for you and your learning style. The live online prep course takes place over a two week period, so choose a schedule that works well for your busy lifestyle.
Free Resources – If you’re not sure that the Kaplan style will be right for you, try signing up to their free resources and online events. This will give you an experience of what the resources are like, and whether they will suit your learning style. You may even be able to demo some practice questions or practice tests to get an idea of what your score could be.
Kaplan is offering a fantastic all-round ACT test prep course that delivers on affordability, quality of learning materials, and the number of practice tests offered. We recommend Kaplan as one of the best ACT prep courses for both learners who are self-motivated or need classroom learning.
These complete ACT prep courses from Kaplan will help you be ready for test day, have completed 5 practice tests, 2000 practice questions, and hours of video learning.
5. Testive
Testive is a good learning provider that isn’t as well known as larger brands. This means fewer students use their services, but they are of high quality and worth considering. Testive was set up by two MIT graduates, looking to help students study for the ACT and other standardized tests using both technology and high-quality learning materials.
Technology – Testive is a learning provider that utilizes technology to help students and parents understand their strengths and weaknesses. When you join Testive, you’ll complete consultation and discuss your learning style, family routines, study habits, and more.
You’ll also complete an ACT practice exam to establish a baseline score for your learning, and help to understand where your test prep needs to take you. A Testive coach will be assigned to you, and they’ll help you to work through your strengths and weaknesses and create a study plan.
Support – As you move through your study plan and online ACT prep, your coach will check in with you weekly to see how you’re progressing. They will encourage you to take practice questions, focus on some ACT test prep areas in more detail, or change some study habits to maximize your learning. If you are the type of student who benefits from one-on-one support or needs external accountability, consider using Testive.
Packages – Testive offer 3 types of packages at different price points, ranging from $399 – $799. Their standard coaching package is available for 1 month at $399 and up to 5 months if you’d prefer a longer subscription.
This is quite an expensive package compared to other learning providers like Kaplan, but it does have the coaching element included. They also offer a 6 week Boot Camp ACT test prep that lasts for 6 weeks, priced at $799.
Testive is not explicit about what this package includes compared to their standard coaching package, so it’s hard to say if this is good value for money. The third package is Coaching Plus, which gives students an extra boost from tutors.
Resources – The learning offered by Testive is delivered through 50 hours of videos that are available on-demand for you to complete at any time. Your personalized study plan will help to guide you through each topic, building on your ACT test prep with every subject.
The course also offers 3,000 practice questions and 2 practice tests as part of the online act test prep. If you’re considering using Testive, have a look at the free online test prep resources, to see if this online ACT prep could be a good fit for you.
What is the ACT?
The ACT is a test that high school students take as part of their college application. The test is standardized across the US and used by colleges to decide which students to offer a place to. Your ACT score will support your application and show that you are capable of studying at a high level, with pressure and academic demands. The ACT is a paper and pen test that you will sit at a certified ACT centre, usually your high school.
The ACT is split into 4 sections, with an optional essay writing section. The test is long – at over 3 hours.
- English section – 45 minutes – 75 questions
- Math section – 60 minutes – 60 questions
- Reading section – 35 minutes – 40 questions
- Science Section – 35 minutes – 40 questions
- Essay Writing – 40 minutes – 1 essay
Should I complete ACT Prep?
Yes! That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you find the best ACT courses available. The ACT is a test of how quickly and correctly, you can answer questions on a series of topics. It’s fast-paced, and you’ll need to have a lot of practice to get a great score in the test.
Prep courses and practice tests help you to build an understanding of what the questions are like, how good you are at answering them, and where your strengths and weaknesses lie. We recommend choosing an ACT prep course with at least 3 practice tests in the test prep package.
Most students will complete an online course or in-person sessions to prepare for the ACT. If you’re attending a top high school, they may offer this as part of the curriculum. Online courses are available from a range of providers at a variety of costs, course lengths, and differing quality of resources.
We’ve put together this guide to help you find the best ACT Prep Course for you. Check out our individual reviews too, where we go into more detail about the ACT prep course and course provider.
We recommend preparing for your ACT test in the 3-6months before the test, so be sure to plan ahead and book your ACT with plenty of time. Most online courses are available for 3 months, which gives you plenty of time to complete the online lessons. Some students will schedule a second test to improve on their initial score.
What ACT score should I aim for?
ACT scoring is quite straight forward, with a maximum score of 36 points. Each section gives you a raw score, which is then converted into composite scores. The composite scores for each section are collated into an overall score, out of 36 points. This overall score is the main score that colleges will look at.
When setting your target score, first research the expectations of the schools you’d like to attend. The more esteemed schools will expect high scores of 31 points or above. Most students gain a score of around 28 points, which roughly equates to a B+ and is a great score for most colleges. Everyone is different, and you need to focus on achieving your best score and set your own target.
ACT or SAT?
Nowadays, most colleges and schools are accepting either SAT or ACT scores, so you can choose to take either exam. They are fairly similar to the topics they are testing and their design, with some small differences.
For example, the ACT has a science section, so if you’re taking a Science Major then you might consider the ACT. Some students choose to take both the ACT and S{“type”:”block”,”srcIndex”:1,”srcClientId”:”fa204ccf-a75b-4196-930d-d5a0df18e2bf”,”srcRootClientId”:””}AT to prove their willingness and intellect, but this is not necessary for many colleges.
Have a look at our ACT vs. SAT article to understand the differences and similarities between the two tests fully. This will help you to understand which exam would be most appropriate for you to take.
