Should you take optional ACT Science?
Enhanced ACT (2025+). English 50 Q / 35 min. Math 45 Q / 50 min, four choices. Reading 36 Q / 40 min. Science (optional) 40 Q / 40 min. Short break after Math.
Science is optional on the ACT for 2025 and later. This page is the decision, not the technique. English, Math, and Reading still make the Composite. Science does not.
1.The Composite does not include Science
English, Math, and Reading still make the Composite, the number most admissions offices ask for. Science is a separate score, reported only if they sit the section.
Skipping Science does not lower the Composite. Sitting it does not raise the Composite. It is its own choice.
2.Check each college on the list
Open the ACT page for every college they might send scores to. If any one of them wants or requires Science, they sit Science.
If none of them ask for it, skipping is allowed. We do not keep a college-by-college roster here. Those pages change. The school's own ACT page is the source.
3.If the list is mixed or you have not checked, sit it
Skipping is the thing you cannot undo on test day. Sitting Science and not sending that score later is still an option at many schools. Leaving it blank is not.
When the list is mixed, or you have not opened the pages yet, sit it.
Want to see if this holds up under a clock? Take the free 10-minute check →
4.If they sit it, it is a figure test on a 40-minute clock
Forty questions, six passages, 40 minutes. Most points come from a table or a graph, not from a science class. How to read those figures is on ACT Science tips, not this page.
Practice on that clock before test day. A sibling's old Science set with a different length is the wrong shape.
5.What this means for an Iowa junior
A lot of older advice assumes Science is part of the Composite. That was the old test. For 2025 and later it is not.
Treat Science as its own yes or no, college by college. Do not default to "everyone sits all five sections" because a sibling did.
Practice it on the clock
The free 10-minute check is Science first, so they can feel the figure clock before they pay. If they sit Science, a Science Half-Pack is $4.99, one payment.
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