Despite being from another country, two of Notre Dame’s junior year international students, Eva Gillet and Vlada Klymenko, decided to take the ACT college exam. 

“I took the ACT because I think it was a part of the school experience, and I don’t know yet if I want to go to college here, so if I want to it’s always a plus,” explained Gillet and Klymenko agreed. 

The ACT is an optional exam that colleges and universities utilize as an admission factor in America.

It tests on English, math, science and reading and is scored on a 1-36 point scale. 

Because English isn’t their first language, international students can find the exam more challenging and one more thing to concentrate on. 

American college is very enticing for a lot of international students because of its fun nature and reputation as talked up by high school students. 

“The test was difficult but some parts after practice were easier,” said Klymenko, who is here from Ukraine.

They both agreed that taking the test was more of a ‘why not’ and part of the American experience rather than a requirement. 

“It was like a big test and the fact that the whole thing is in a different language makes it obviously more complicated. I think we are still very capable of getting good scores even if our scores aren’t very high,” said Gillet, here from France..

They both recommend taking the ACT as an international student because of the chance that you could come back to America for college, even if you don’t currently plan on coming back.

“If you are not planning to stay here, just take it and have fun just for your experience,” said Klymenko. 

Gillet offered advice for all other international students trying to decide if they want to take the test.  She said, “Don’t be nervous about it and don’t put pressure on yourself and try your best. One of my teachers said ‘always choose simple’ and I think it’s a good thing,”