31 on ACT

Test Preparation
1

I got a 31 on the March ACT. Though this score lands me in the 97th percentile and my parents (one of them for the most part) were very happy with my score, I guess I could say I’m a bit disappointed. I’ve put it into perspective and I know where my score stands among the majority, which does not stop me from thinking I can do better.

Going into the test, I prepared the most for the reading section by far, and ignored most others. I’ve always been a great math student, I took AP Calculus as a sophomore and got a 5 on the BC calculus AP test. I also scored a 36 on multiple math practice tests. I usually never scored above 26 on reading.

My results on the official ACT were very weird to me:
English: 32
Math: 28
Science: 34
Reading: 31

Everyone that knows me as a student, including myself, thinks of math as a strength of mine, and this score was shocking to say the least. I finished the first 30 or so questions in the first 15 minutes, but I ended up not completing the last 7 questions. Perhaps the worst part is that I ran out of time before I filled in my guesses. I figured that if I had filled in random answers for those 7, my math score would go up by 1-3 points. All I needed was one more point on any section to raise my composite score to a 32.

Anyways, now that you all know the ins and outs of my score, I want to know how I can improve it. In the science section, I left the last two questions blank, so I believe I got the rest of the questions correct being that I got a 34. Next time, I will be a few seconds quicker on each question. As for reading, I am fairly sure 31 is my absolute max, I suck at this sort of test. In both English and math, however, I think I can improve a lot. The algebra questions were incredibly easy. The last 10 questions were much harder than any of those present in any practice tests I found, usually involving rather complex coordinate geometry or trigonometry. My English sub-score for grammar usage/mechanics was 18/18, and my rhetorical skills scored 14/18.

My goals for my next ACT are to get a 35 or better on the math and English sections, a 36 on science, and to maintain or increase my reading score. I want a composite score of 34+ so I can be much more likely to be considered by the Ivy League universities that won’t be impressed by my extracurricular involvement (I only play two sports through my school and I’m not an active member in very many organizations).

Specifically, how should I go about increasing my score on the ACT in the math and English sections?

2

I got a 31 on my March ACT, with my individual scores for English, Math, Reading and Science being a 34, 33, 32 and a 24, respectively. I wasn’t really shocked by my score in the Science section. I was very tired and sleep deprived, and was burned out for the science portion. I had more than two sections left at the end. I got a 32 on my April ACT, with my individual scores for English, Math, Reading and Science being a 32, 31, 36 and a 29, respectively. For the March ACT, I had studied sparingly for the English over a couple days before the ACT. I had also been doing some Math practice. I didn’t practice at all for this April one, and my English and Math scores reflected that. My science section was still the lowest score as I was tired, but it was an improvement over March’s. I had been relatively well-rested, so burning out was less of an issue. However, I could have still worked on sleeping. I took a practice test for science before and scored a 35… I just get tired by the time I reach the science portion.
Honestly, I believe that Math and English are the easiest scores to raise. Just do a lot of Math practice, and get well acquainted with types of problems the ACT gives you (by taking many tests). Also, just read a bunch of the basic English grammar rules. You’ll be shocked by how much they can help. My issues with the English now are just the rhetorical skills parts. I want to know how you do well on the science…