How Many Hours Should You Study for the ACT?
Anywhere from 10 hours to a few hundred, which is why the number on its own doesn't help much. What decides it is how many points you need, and on the new ACT each point works a little differently than it used to. Here's how to turn your target score into a weekly plan.
Most students ask this question with a college in mind. Maybe it's a 26 for a state university, a 30 for a scholarship, or a 33 for a reach school. That's the right place to start, because the hours aren't a fixed price for "studying for the ACT". They're the cost of closing one specific gap.
Take an official practice test in the new format, subtract that score from your target, and use the table below. Most students chasing three or four points need 40 to 60 focused hours over six to ten weeks. The first couple of points come quickly. The ones above 30 don't.
The short answer: hours by points gained
These are our planning estimates, not official ACT figures. They count focused practice and review, not time with a prep book open while you text.
| Goal | Focused hours | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| +1–2 points | 10–20 | 2–4 weeks |
| +3–4 points | 40–60 | 6–10 weeks |
| +5–6 points | 80–120 | 3–4 months |
| +7 points or more | 150+ | 4–6 months |
Where you start matters too. Going from 20 to 23 usually takes fewer hours than going from 29 to 32, even though both are three points. Near the top of the scale you're fixing rarer mistakes, and each one takes longer to find.
What one Composite point means now
Since September 2025, your ACT Composite has been the average of three sections: English, Math and Reading. Science is optional and reported separately, and the average is rounded to the nearest whole number.
That changes the math of studying. To raise your Composite by one point, your three section scores need to rise by about three points in total, sometimes fewer if rounding falls your way. On the old four-section test it took about four. Each section point you earn now carries a bit more weight, and a big jump in a single section can move your Composite on its own.
Here's an example. Say you score 24 in English, 22 in Math and 25 in Reading. That's 71 points, an average of 23.67, so your Composite is 24. Raise English to 27 and the total becomes 74, an average of 24.67, and your Composite goes up to 25.
That's one reason English is often the best place to start. Its grammar and punctuation rules come up on every test, so the hours you put in there tend to turn into points faster than anywhere else.
What ACT's own data says
- Retaking on its own adds about a point. ACT's research found that students who first scored between 13 and 29 gained an average of one Composite point when they retested. So if you need three or four, most of them have to come from what you do between test dates.
- Plenty of students test more than once. In ACT's research on the class of 2018, 44% took the full test at least twice.
- The national average is 19.4. That was the average Composite for the class of 2025 in ACT's annual report. A score in the mid-20s is already well above average, which is also why each point beyond it takes more work.
How many hours a day should you study for the ACT?
During the school year, short and regular beats long and rare. Grammar rules and math formulas stick better with frequent practice, and school rarely leaves room for marathon sessions anyway.
| When | Hours a week | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| During the school year | 5–7 | 45 to 60 minutes on four weekdays, plus a two-hour weekend block |
| Summer before junior or senior year | 8–12 | An hour or two most days, with a full practice test each week |
| The last two weeks before the test | 4–6 | Timed sections and review, no new topics, and early nights |
Beyond two or three hours in a day, most students stop learning and just get tired. Full practice tests are the exception, because part of their job is building stamina. The core test runs just over two hours, and about two hours 45 minutes with Science.
Where your ACT hours should go
For a typical student working with six hours a week, a split like this works well:
| Block | Time | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| English | 1.5 hours | Two short sessions on the rules you keep missing, then a timed passage |
| Math | 2 hours | Your weakest topics from the last practice test, plus formula review |
| Reading | 1 hour | One timed passage, then checking every answer against the text |
| Review | 1.5 hours | Your error log, or going through a full practice test from that week |
Only add Science if a college on your list wants it. It doesn't count toward your Composite, so time spent there is time taken from the three sections that do.
Every two or three weeks, swap the review block for a full official practice test, and give yourself an hour or two to go through it afterwards.
Count back from your test date
Once you know your total hours, the calendar does the rest. Pick your test date, count the weeks until then, and divide:
- 50 hours with 10 weeks to go is 5 hours a week, which fits around school.
- 50 hours with 6 weeks to go is more than 8 hours a week. That's a lot during term time, so consider a later date.
- 120 hours means starting three to four months out, ideally over a summer.
ACT runs national test dates most months from September to July, so plan for two. ACT superscores your best English, Math and Reading across test dates, which means a second attempt six to eight weeks after the first is often where the plan pays off.
Is two weeks enough? What about a month?
Two weeks is enough to learn the new format, take an official practice test, review it and fix a handful of grammar rules. That can be worth a point or two, especially if you've never practised for the ACT before.
A month at five to seven hours a week gives you 20 to 30 hours. Spent on your weakest section, with careful review, that's usually enough for a gain of two points, sometimes three. It's rarely enough for five or more.
What counts as ACT study time
- Counts: timed sections, full practice tests, reviewing every mistake, updating your error log, and learning formulas and grammar rules.
- Doesn't really count: watching strategy videos without doing questions, rereading notes you already know, or doing only untimed questions in the last month before the test.
A full practice test is about two hours of work, but the review afterwards is where the points come from. Give it an hour or two, and log it as study time.
Know your real ACT hours
Log focused time by section, keep a streak going through the school term, and check off topics in our free ACT syllabus tracker.
Track Your ACT Hours Free →Mistakes that waste ACT hours
- Studying before taking a diagnostic. You'll spend hours on topics that were never costing you points.
- Splitting time evenly when one section is several points behind the others.
- Practising old tests at the old pace. The enhanced ACT gives you more time per question, so train at the new pace.
- Taking the ACT once, late in senior year. It leaves no room for the second attempt that superscoring rewards.
- Cramming the week before. The last week is for light review and sleep.
Keep an honest count
Ten weeks at five hours a week sounds easy until a big assignment, a tournament and a family weekend land in the same two weeks. The students who hit their hours usually aren't the ones who study most. They're the ones who notice a slipping week and make it up the next one.
Start a timer when you begin real practice, stop it when you drift, and tag each session as English, Math or Reading. That's what Group Study Timer does. It logs focused hours by subject, keeps a daily streak and lets you study with friends taking the same test date. For section-by-section strategy, read our guide on how to prepare for the ACT. If you're still choosing between tests, compare it with how many hours to study for the SAT.
Make this week's hours actually happen
A free study timer with subject tracking, streaks and heatmaps. It runs in your browser, so there's nothing to install.
Open the Free Study Timer →Frequently asked questions
How many hours should you study for the ACT?
Most students need about 40 to 60 focused hours to raise their Composite by three or four points, spread over six to ten weeks. A one or two point bump can take as little as 10 to 20 hours, while five points or more usually takes 80 hours or more.
Is two weeks enough to study for the ACT?
Two weeks is enough to learn the new format, take an official practice test, review it and fix a handful of grammar rules, which can be worth a point or two. For a bigger jump, give yourself at least six weeks.
How many hours a day should I study for the ACT?
During the school year, 45 to 60 minutes on most weekdays plus one longer weekend session works for most students. In the summer you can do more, but past two or three hours in a day the extra time usually adds fatigue rather than points.
How many hours does it take to get a 30 on the ACT?
It depends on where you start. From the mid-20s, a jump to 30 usually takes 80 to 120 focused hours over three to four months. From around 20, plan on 150 hours or more over at least four to six months.
Does retaking the ACT raise your score?
Often, but not by much on its own. ACT's research found that students who first scored between 13 and 29 gained about one Composite point on average when they retested. Bigger gains come from targeted practice between the two test dates.
Start from your points, not the calendar. Three or four points usually takes 40 to 60 focused hours, English is often the fastest place to find them, and a second test date gives the plan room to work. Track your real hours so the plan survives the school term.
Sources we checked in September 2026: ACT's enhanced ACT FAQs, ACT on reasons to retest, ACT research on testing a second time and ACT's 2025 national profile report. The hour ranges are our own planning estimates, and the Composite example is our own arithmetic using ACT's averaging and rounding.