Z I dont know a whole lot about the ACT except that more colleges are accepting this test than used to. The SAT is still the main test but it has undergone significant changes, so the ACT is a known.

My daughter is also in the 11th grade. I think its best at this time to keep an clean slate. I have asked my daughter what she wants to do (she does plan on attending college) and she has no flippin idea what she wants to do after that. I think thats fine. Plenty of time to check out diff. courses and get a feel for what she is good at and what interests her. As for your daughter, look at yourself. You were in the military and look what you are doing now...

I would only add that I think the 3 most important attributes that all of our kids need to keep in mind, while understanding the world has changed and we are now competing globally, are:

1. Reasoning and logic are terribly important. If you are not good at this, get good at it. This time frame (high school to mid 20's) is the prime time to get good at higher order reasoning skills. And these kids never know when their brain is ready. Something problem that totally befuddles them one year, will be a piece of cake the next, and they will ask themselves why they were such retards. I have seen it happen so many times. The light turns on suddenly, it is not a linear type of steady build up. Those neurons make the connections, and one never knows exactly when in early adulthood this happens, so you had better feed them the good stuff (higher order thinking problems) Once one gets to my age, forget it. The logic pathways are burned in and solidified.

2. Understanding people and getting along with them. Nothing like a good mind that can read people and play team ball. (Some will say I have my own website and I make tons of money buying and reselling off of e-bay blah blah blah... we will see how long that solitary game lasts)

3. Resourcefullness... if asked to do a job, get it done. Even if you dont know how to to begin with. Perservere, talk with people, use all resources possible to complete a task and do it well. It is so important to just get things taken care of, no matter how difficult or out of your area expertise something might be. This of course, in addition to the above, requires two bad words... Hard Work

Our kids are probably going to have to be well versed in a number of areas. The ecomonic/job landscape is changing rapidly as is not entirely predictable. These are the things I tell my students and my daughter. Just my view of a pretty tough world. Much tougher than the one I grew up in. But a world that can be very satisfying if mastered.