Gratitude and Growth: How ACT Prep Made College Affordable

For MaKensie, senior year came with a sense of urgency. She had her sights set on college, and the ACT score she needed to help get her there. “I’ve been wanting to get my ACT score up for a while now,” she says. “The only thing that was making my score low was Math.”

When an email from Arete Scholars landed in her inbox about an ACT prep course through a partnership with Studyville, she didn’t hesitate. “I was like, you know what? This is a sign that I need to get my score together. So I did it.”

Over the next several weeks, MaKensie and other Arete Scholars met regularly online, working through each section of the ACT. Each session focused on strategy, pacing, and understanding the types of questions students might face. “Especially with math,” she recalls, “they showed us how to break down the hard questions. That helped me so much on test day.”

The results spoke for themselves. MaKensie raised her composite score from a 17 to a 21, a jump that made her eligible for TOPS, Louisiana’s state scholarship program. “Now my parents won’t have to worry as much about the financial burden,” she says. “It really helps me go to college and focus on my goals.”

In Louisiana, the TOPS Opportunity Award helps students pay for college tuition if they earn at least a 20 on the ACT and meet GPA requirements. This money goes directly toward tuition costs at Louisiana public colleges and universities, making college more affordable for students and their families. By reaching the ACT score needed for the Opportunity Award, students significantly reduce what they have to pay out of pocket for their college education.

Beyond test scores, the course gave MaKensie clarity. “My highest scores were Reading and English,” she says. “That showed me where my strengths are, and now I’m thinking more seriously about majoring in something like law.”

For students considering the course, MaKensie has one clear message: “Do it. You never know the opportunities you’re missing until you miss them. If I hadn’t taken the class, I’d still be chasing that 21.”

When asked to sum up her experience in one word, she didn’t hesitate: “Gratitude.”

“I’m very grateful that Arete offered this,” she says. “Other prep tools are very expensive, but with Arete, all we had to do was show up.”

She also had a heartfelt thank you for Studyville: “Thank you for your time—and for being so accommodating. We were all in different time zones, and they still made it work for us.”

MaKensie’s story is proof that a single course, paired with determination, can open doors. If you're an Arete Scholar wondering if the ACT prep course is worth it, just ask her.