I took the April 2019 ACT and I was lucky enough to receive a score of 35!!! (36e, 32m, 36r, 34s) This is the first standardized test I’ve taken (besides the PSAT freshman - junior year). I studied only by taking a practice test and reading through some articles.
I’m going to retake it to get my math (and hopefully my science) section scores up, since I’m planning on majoring in physics. I had at least 5 extra minutes in every section, but for math, there were a few problems that I made educated guesses on, so I think it’s really just that I need to brush up on my skills (mostly geometry I believe).
I have three questions:
- I’m going to buy a prep book or two. Does anyone have any solid recommendations for math and science?
- I’m signed up for the May SAT. My original plan was to see whether I do better on the SAT or ACT, and then pick one to study over the summer to take again in the fall. Should I still take this test? I got a 1480 (750r, 730m) on the PSAT. I don’t want to do more testing than I need to, but if there are benefits to taking the SAT that I haven’t thought of, I would love to hear them!!
- I feel like I did well on the essay, but I won’t know for sure for another 2 weeks. If I get a score I’m satisfied with, do I need to retake the essay when I take the ACT again?
Thank you so much for any advice!!! I’m so excited to have gotten this score!!!
I typically wouldn’t recommend taking the SAT after scoring highly on the ACT - you know it suits you and you can focus on the areas that can improve. But if you’ve already signed-up/paid for it, and it’s 11 days away, you might as well take it and see what happens. 1530 would be about the equivalent.
Prep for the SAT math in the next 11 days. Khan Academy works fine. If you get a solid math score, no need to retest with either test.
I wouldn’t recommend taking ACT with essay again. There are very few schools that actually take a look at it. My kiddo had a 35C the first time when he took in October, then retook it in March because the whole state of NC takes the ACT as a standardized test. He got a 35C again, but this time brought his math from a 33 to a 34. It was worth retaking for this since he wants to be an engineer. We paid $40.0 for the ACT online test prep. He thought it was decent, and very convenient since they basically lay out a study plan for you. Spent about 30 minutes a day prepping for about 6 weeks. (This was before he took it for the first time; he didn’t study at all for the second)
Anyway- before taking ACT again, think about whether the time spent on test prep would be better devoted to classes or other activities. Your score is great as is.
Edit to add: not sure what year you are in? But my DS found that between October and March (the 2 test dates), the material he covered in AP Calc BC and AP Chem helped him. His math went up by 1 and his science went up by 2.
“Prep for the SAT math in the next 11 days” Why the recommendation? I’m not aware of many, if any, colleges that would superscore an SAT Math subscore with 3 other ACT subscores.
I’d agree that anything even reasonably supportive of your other scores means no need to take the ACT essay again (if taking the ACT again). Essay scores are minimally used.
If the OP gets a high enough score on the SAT, there’s no point in taking the ACT. Some people do better on one test than the other. Bad enough to have had one cold test for no reason; no point in having two.