As the next ACT date nears, a bootcamp will be held starting today through Sunday to help students improve their test-taking skills.

“I am going to the ACT boot camp to try and improve my test scores,” junior Olivia Long said. “Although my prep scores were passing, I want to give myself the best chance at getting a good score and getting into a good college. I’m hoping that I actually learn some valuable stuff in this course and that it helps me out for the real test.”

The weekend camp lasts for a total of 20 hours and will cost $149 for SWCTA students and $299 for individuals from other schools.

“The ACT prep is super important because colleges will look at it,” counselor Elizabeth Hare said. “The higher the score you have, the better chance you have of getting accepted. When kids go to college and they don’t have those scores, they’ll have to take remedial courses. The Millennium Scholarship does not cover those courses and they’ll have to pay thousands of dollars for those classes.”

Participants will be taking a practice test to asses their current scores, then learn ACT test-taking techniques afterward. The course consists of two fully proctored formal ACT exams to make the practice test as realistic as possible.

“We just want to give every single student an opportunity to score the best they can the first time,” Hare said. “Taking the ACT boot camp anywhere elsewhere is generally $700 to $800. We’re expecting about 150 kids since there’s only so much room.”

If students miss this week’s bootcamp, they can go to the next ones at Desert Oasis or Las Vegas Academy on March 8-10. Students can register for the ACT prep here, or call (702) 818-5444.

“I’m going to the ACT prep course because I heard that it helps your score by raising it by a couple of points, and those couple points could help me get into the college I want,” Valentina said. “I hope to see my score go up because then I would know that the course was worth it.”