Academic Fitness

When it comes to ACT/SAT prep software you want to make sure you find one that is certain to help you along in all aspects of ACT/SAT tests. Academic Fitness is mostly geared toward students needing help with math, since it has more lessons in this area.

When using ACT/SAT prep software you want it to be simple to jump into so you can get started right away. Unfortunately, Academic Fitness does not fit into that criterion. We found this product to be extremely confusing and difficult to use. Getting the feel of the program is confusing, as at first it seems to have nothing but product summaries and learning objectives. The tutorial on how to use the software is not helpful whatsoever unless you already know how to use the software, which at that point renders the tutorial useless.

Under the tutorial section it speaks about a video which will help you use the program, but unless you have read how to open programs in the help screen, this simply adds to the confusion and frustration of getting the program started.

To figure out how to use the program, we had to go to the help and support webpage and look for an explanation. Once you do this and know how to get the program started, there is the problem of figuring out the lessons and practice tests themselves. Some of the functions are self-explanatory, but others are confusing and take at least five minutes to get a grasp on the content.

Downloading Academic Fitness is not as simple as most programs we have come across. There is so much content on the disc, it is difficult to know what to click on first. The total time it took for us to download, install and be able to begin using the program was a full hour.

The help and support section of Academic Fitness is informational and provides all the necessary information to get any aspect of the program working. Without the help and support section, the program is nearly useless.

We were slightly disappointed with the overall content of Academic Fitness. It didn’t have as many subjects as the other programs and does not have as advanced tracking features. Academic Fitness is geared more towards the student that needs help with math rather than any other subject. In the test preparation section it does have practice tests for reading, writing and vocabulary, but there are no lessons readily available without purchase. There is a store tab where you can buy other subjects, but it is at an additional cost.

Overall the effectiveness of Academic Fitness was well rounded and the lessons did seem to improve the practice test scores.

Summary:

Academic Fitness is decent ACT/SAT prep software that will help you overcome some difficulties you might have with the testing process. It is not as advanced as some of the other programs and does not include as many subjects, but it is better than nothing.