Lisa Zimmer Hatch, MA, and Scott A. Hatch, JD, have been preparing teens and adults to excel on standardized tests, gain admission to colleges of their choice, and secure challenging and lucrative professional careers since 1987. For virtually 30 years, they have administered their award-winning standardized test-preparation and professional career courses for live college lectures, online forums, and other formats through more than 300 universities worldwide.
Lisa and Scott have taught students internationally through live lectures, online forums, DVDs, and independent study opportunities. They have written the curriculum for all formats, and their books have been translated for international markets. Together they have authored numerous law and standardized test-prep texts, including GMAT for Dummies, LSAT For Dummies, SAT II U.S. History For Dummies, SAT II Biology For Dummies, Catholic High School Entrance Exams For Dummies, and Paralegal Career For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
Lisa is currently an independent educational consultant and the president of College Primers, where she applies her expertise to guiding high school and college students through the testing, admissions and financial aid processes. She dedicates herself to helping students gain admission to the colleges or programs that best fit their goals, personalities, and finances. She graduated with honors in English from the University of Puget Sound and received a master’s degree in humanities with a literature emphasis from California State University. She has completed the UCLA College Counseling Certificate Program and is editor of the news blog for the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).
Scott received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. He is listed in Who’s Who in California and Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities and was named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America by the United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees). He was also a contributing editor to the Judicial Profiler and Colorado Law Annotated and has served as editor of several national award-winning publications. His current books include A Legal Guide to Probate and Estate Planning and A Legal Guide to Family Law, which are the inaugural texts in B & B Publication’s Learn the Law series.
We dedicate ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition, to Alison, Andrew, Zachary, Zoe, Dan, Paige, and Ryan. Our family demonstrated patience, understanding, and assistance while we wrote this book, and we’re very blessed to have them in our lives.
This book wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of Jackson Springer, Julia Brabant, Zachary Hatch, Zoe Hatch, Henry Swider, and Jennifer Seeley, who provided practice test material and helpful input. We also acknowledge the input of the thousands of students who’ve completed our test-preparation courses and tutorials over the last 30 years. The classroom and online contributions offered by these eager learners have provided us with lots of information about what areas require the greatest amount of preparation.
Our project organization and attempts at wit were greatly facilitated by the editing professionals at Wiley. Our thanks go out to Erin Calligan Mooney, Chrissy Guthrie, and Chad Sievers for their patience and guidance throughout the process and to Krista Fanning and Karen Berlin Ishii for their attention to detail and helpful suggestions during the editing process.
Finally, we wish to thank our literary agent, Margo Maley Hutchinson, at Waterside Productions in Cardiff for her support and assistance and for introducing us to the innovative For Dummies series.
We thrive on feedback from our students and encourage our readers to e-mail their comments and critiques to info@hatchedu.com.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Acquisitions Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney
Editorial Project Manager: Christina Guthrie
Copy Editor: Danielle Voirol
Technical Editor: Karen Berlin Ishii
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Project Coordinator: Suresh Srinivasan
Cover Image: ©iStock.com/Steve Debenport