<p>Hi everyone, I'm really trying to raise my act score and I only have a month. I am a senior and need to get a 34 +. I have been practicing for 3 months now but I messed up on the October exam and scores lower than my normal. I currently have a
28-M
28-R
26-E
23-S
27-C
I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the high score, but I just need help planning how I could do it efficiently. Has anyone been able to make that score jump? If you help me, I will bake you cookies. </p>
<p>Work on your Science score. the answers are in the charts. Don’t think that you have to “know” the answers. </p>
<p>I am not sure what your “normal” test score is - but do think jumping up from a high-20s composite to at 34+ might not be realistic. Unfortunately there aren’t any secret tricks and there are two things that have to come together - preparation and testing ability. Preparation is straight forward - review the content areas and then practice as much as possible. A lot of the ACT is time management and that can be learned. Tutors can definitely help, and I know kids that have recommended the online test prep applications. Testing ability is a bit trickier because it depends on your academic abilities and how you test. Reality is that some kids are good test takers and some are not. Don’t drive yourself crazy - ACTs are not as important as other parts of your application (especially your high school record) so don’t sacrifice your grades for a test score. </p>
<p>If you do move up to a 34, please come back and tell us how you did it. A lot of people will want to know 
</p>
<p>Practice tests worked for me. A lot of people get good scores because of cumulative work - they’ve read more books, written better essays, done better in math, etc over the last four years. When you score starts in the twenties, getting used to the test and practicing the hell out of old tests seems to be a good bet. </p>
<p>I can say that becoming more studious really worked for me. My sophomore year, I had never taken an ACT but got a 29 somehow. My breakdown was something like E:30 M:25 R:29 S:30 W:9. Over the course of my junior year, I took the SAT, found out I liked the ACT much more, studied the ACT workbook, worked in 5 AP classes, and really became a better student in general. I became more analytical and picked up on a lot of really obvious material covered on the ACT. My AP Comp teacher was very picky with grammar, and over the course of my junior year, I learned a lot of stuff that was applied on my English and reading sections from this year. I scored a 34 composite, E:34 M:33 R:33 S:34 this September, and really, I can only attribute it to working slightly in the ACT workbook, but mostly on my teachers prepping me.</p>
<p>congrats, @npswimmer44, it can be done in some cases. very good work.</p>
<p>The OP should note that npswimmer44 made her first attempt at the ACT as a sophomore. Her score increase was impressive, but some of that is a predictable improvement with mastery of subjects over two years. An increase of that sort is highly unlikely over two months, and a high school senior is probably better off concentrating on writing essays, performing well in what should be a very rigorous courseload, participating in extracurricular activities at the highest level, and fine-tuning applications to schools that he or she has a decent chance of getting into with current stats. Schools that demand a 34 are a reach for everyone. While you are expending all your energies on a chimerical score increase, the students who already have those scores you want are doing all the things I mentioned above. A 2-point increase will be very good. Most students are delighted when they achieve it. I hope that your reach schools are all ones where a 29 or 30 would make you competitive. Good luck! </p>
<p>Everyone’s situation is different, @woogzmama. A student who needs a 33 or 34 to get into a particular school OR to get merit has nothing to lose by trying to increase the student’s ACT from 29. This applicant may find it much easier to increase her or her ACT than increase the quality of her or his essays proportionally. </p>
<p>jkeil911 - I’m not suggesting that the OP shouldn’t retake the ACT, or attempt the SAT, on the hope of boosting her score, but the increase she is contemplating is statistically improbable, and any competitive senior should also have a full array of high-level classes and extracurriculars lined up, and should be close to finalizing a list and working on applications now. That list probably shouldn’t include colleges where the applicant will only be competitive under extremely unlikely circumstances. A two-point increase would be cause for celebration. A student who says she “has to” increase her scores by seven points within a matter of weeks should probably be re-directing her energies. Last year, my son increased his ACT by two points, and his composite SAT by 170 (most of it in the critical CR & Math scores). That was exciting, and it undoubtedly improved his results significantly. He was still rejected by his reach colleges, and his AP and IB course rigor and leadership positions on Student Council, Model UN, and Junior States were at least as critical for his competitiveness as a candidate. No senior should be applying to colleges where he or she has no hope of admission with current stats. </p>
<p>Some states reserve specific scholarships to kids who score 34. That maybe why. </p>
<p>OP: statistically, most students increase by one point. Keeping in mind you “messed up” , add one point to your “usual score” - does that make a 34? If not, forget it. The ACT has become harder* in the past few years, especially for top scores (it’s not changed for students aiming at 24 or 26-27). The Reading and Science sections tend to have a 2-3 point differential between practice tests and actual tests.</p>
<p><a href=“Is the ACT Getting Harder?”>http://www.thecollegesolution.com/is-the-act-getting-harder/</a>
<a href=“Is the ACT Harder? Another Expert Weighs In”>http://www.thecollegesolution.com/is-the-act-harder-another-expert-weighs-in/</a></p>
<p>I came across statistics regarding SAT score increases not long ago, and I have shared them on a number of threads when students casually post predictions that their scores will increase by hundreds of points. The College Board obviously would like students to re-take their tests many times, and so they have a vested interest in encouraging re-testing. These are their figures. The majority (55%) of students who re-take the SATs will improve their scores, but the median three-test increase is less than fifty points. In other words, only 27.5% of students re-taking the test will see an increase in more than 50 points. More than one-third of students will have a decrease, and 10% will remain the same (although super-scores might improve). It is likelier, therefore, that a student’s scores will not go up at all than it is that they will go up by more than 50 points. If you extrapolate those results to the ACT, students have less than even odds of a one-point rise in the composite score (super-scores might be better). The OP is talking about a seven-point increase. Undoubtedly, somebody, somewhere, has achieved that, but it’s highly improbable. Translating that to the SATs, it would be 450-500 points for a 3-score composite, or nearly ten times the median increase (which 70-75% of re-testers won’t attain). If the OP is linking his or her college dreams to that sort of miracle, disappointment is inevitable. </p>
<p>once again, @woogzmama, not necessarily. “inevitable” is such a final word, and it has no place in this discussion. there are no such things as miracles, but there are students who increase their ACT from 29 to 34. give me the kid who wants to increase their score from 29-34 and I would want to see what she or he can do before anyone here tells them no. you’re right. very few people want to work that hard. That’s why I’m interested in those who are and who are willing to take the chance. I’d hate to have every kid who reads these posts think it’s impossible for everyone when it’s not. </p>
<p>I used the word “inevitable” to describe disappointment. I think I used it fairly when a student initiated a thread saying he or she “had to” accomplish something that is statistically improbable. It’s not impossible, of course, but declaring it a necessity is a formula for disappointment. The “Misery Index” is the gap between expectations and reality. If you think that you’ll only be happy “if . . .” and that “if . . .” is winning the lottery or marrying a superstar, then chances are that you’ll be unhappy. After all, plenty of celebrity marriages fail, and lottery winners famously have imperfect fortunes later on. As I mentioned in an earlier post, most colleges or scholarships that require a 34 ACT scores are probably pretty competitive in the first place. The OP (and any other student) should be thrilled if his or her score rises from a 27 to a 30. Instead, he or she has already said that a great increase like that will be a bitter disappointment. </p>
<p>Only 0.5% students get to a 34. So it’s statistically improbable indeed.
This student has one advantage: s/he “underperformed”. So rather than the statistical +1 point that can be achieved from studying, +2 is quite possible.
But indeed, if OP manages to increase his/her score by that much, s/he should absolutely start a thread to explain how s/he did it, as many students would be interested in a method or in techniques that are especially helpful.</p>
<p>The OP is hoping for a seven-point increase on his or her next seating. </p>
<p>I have also this fear that if the student focuses on a particular score it’s the kiss of death. I don’t know that there’s any evidence to back up my fear, or that there ever could be, but it seems to me that if you want to improve your score a lot you should focus on identifying correctly the type of question you’re facing each time, on the amount of time you’re spending, and on not making mistakes rather than the score you want to achieve. </p>
<p>27 to 34? That’s pretty difficult to do in three months. Two years? totally feasible. .</p>
<p>My daughter went from 27 to 31 between her second and third try. She probably spent three months actively studying but she had an entire school year (pre calc was key in raising her math score). The other big difference is her Reading score was already 33,34 and she had gotten 30 in Science (she also had received a 25). Her math and English scores were mid 20’s (24-27). </p>
<p>The first and second months, she did untimed section practice tests. The key was identifying the weaknesses and working on them. The first month she worked on Math. The second month she worked on English. I would grade the section test, mark the ones she got wrong, she would have to go back over them. But an obvious trend came out on both sections - so she knew what to study and work on during the rest of the week. </p>
<p>The last month, she worked on timing. She took one entire exam over a week’s time, taking only one section a day. The last week I made a mistake and suggested two sections a day. That totally stressed her out. Her math took a dive.</p>
<p>Third try was
E 34
M 27
R 33
S 31
C 31</p>
<p>But here’s the thing, when I say her Math took a dive, the highest she or I expected was a 30.That would have only raised her score to a 32. Another thing to consider, D’s goal was 30 and I would have been thrilled with 29. The 31 was golden. She was done and more than happy with this score. There’s pushing yourself to do better and there’s setting yourself up for disappointment.</p>
<p>SlackerMom somewhat reinforces my point (which I have reiterated in other threads). Her daughter’s results were exceptional, and she did not dedicate herself to the task in the fall of her senior year. Any potential candidate for admission to an elite, selective college will already be drowning in tasks and responsibilities at this time, and doesn’t have several hours per day to dedicate to test prep. </p>
<p>ITA, @woogzmama. In fact, I would say that D absolutely needed the time between October her junior year through June her junior year. It was obvious after her second try (she scored 27 the first two tries), that she was stressed by this whole testing thing. We set it aside and used the 27 ACT score to put together a school list. She found great schools - some reaches (including the one your son attends) and some matches. </p>
<p>The whole point of re-taking the ACT in June was NOT to gain admittance into the top 20 (or even the top 50) schools. It was to make her a much stronger candidate for the schools she already had on her list. </p>
<p>Further, if you want to score a 34 and if 34 is the <em>highest</em> section score, that means you cannot score below a 32 on any other section. To give yourself any leeway on another section (down to 27), you need to score 36 on at least two sections. If your highest section score is 35, then the lowest you can possibly score on another section is 29. (35,35,35,29). Who needs this stress?</p>