Forty-one students earn induction into the 21 Club for scoring a 21 or more on the ACT Test, a crucial test and factor in determining where students will earn their Bachelor’s Degree.

“The goal of the 21 Club is to encourage students to strive for a minimum score of 21 on their ACT,” explained Finley King, the Central High School Principal. “The reason for the score of 21 is because 21 is the minimum score for a student to qualify for the Hope Scholarship, which is about $4,000 a year to go to any in-state college or university.”

Members of the 21 Club are given the privilege to go off campus for lunch on Fridays for the second semester of the school year.

“When I was trying to look for ways to reward the students there was a restriction,” elucidated Principal King. “It had to not be expensive, so that I could continue giving out this reward, and I realized that the ability to go out for lunch is highly sought after.”

In comparison to last year’s group, the Class of 2017 has ten more students in the 21 Club.

“Any time a senior takes the ACT test and we are notified, we verify the score and then add the student to the Club member list,” stated Principal King. “For students who are still struggling with the ACT test, I advise that they continue to take the test as research shows that the more you take the ACT the higher your score will be.”

While some students struggle more than others, there is one thing in common among most of the 21 Club members, they all studied for the ACT.

“I took the ACT five times to get my current score,” began senior student Emily Feist. “One thing that I recommend to students who are struggling with the ACT is to take an ACT Prep course. My science score went up by nine points after taking one of those classes, although the results vary depending on the person.”

A score of 21 is the minimum for not only induction into the 21 Club, but also the qualification for the Hope Scholarship. However, some students have higher goals.

“My original goal was to get a 30 on my ACT, but I’m pretty happy with my current score of a 28,” stated senior student Avionne Snakenberg. “I would like to take the test again to get a higher score, but I don’t have the time to study for it.”

As beneficial as it is for students to be in the 21 Club, there is no academic consequence to not being in the club.

“For students who do not make it to a score of 21, although they do not qualify for the Hope Scholarship, they do have the Tennessee Promise,” elucidated King. “The Tennessee Promise is a program where students may go to a community college for two years and it is paid for them.”

Some seniors have already been accepted into their ideal college and now it is just a matter of choosing which college to attend.

“I have been accepted into Carson Newman, Tennessee Tech, and Austin P,” lists Feist, who scored a 27 on the ACT. “I may go with Carson Newman.”

While getting into a college is a big deal, having the finance to attend a college is another matter.

“Although the colleges that have accepted me did offered me some scholarships,” concluded Snakenberg. “You really need to go out and apply for other scholarships in order to avoid having to pay for most of your college tuition, which may prove to be a problem depending on where you decide to go.”