My sister who is a Junior got a 23 on the Feb ACT and she would really like to get a 32. What online prep course should she take that aren’t super expensive? She needs help in all areas but especially Math and Science. I have heard of Prepscholar, and know they have an amazing blog. Does their test prep work? What about ACT’s prep? Reviews on any other courses would be appreciated. Is a 32 too ambitious?
Unless that 23 represents a day she had a fever after a night of being sick, and is this weird, it’s virtually impossible to go from 23 to 32. Most students improve by +1. Students who work very hard and systematically improve by +2. Let’s say the 23 included a bad luck element and a realistic goal would be 25-26.
@MYOS1634 I don’t know. In a little over a year I was able to go from a 22 to a 32. Do you have any prep courses do you recommend?
Were you a junior?
While not absolutely zero, the odds of this happening from February to summer junior year are pretty improbable.
Since you already did it, help your sister with whatever method you used.
Did she take any practice tests or read any prep books before taking the test or did she go in cold?
Did she miss questions because she ran out of time on any of the sections?
If she went in cold AND she was seriously running out of time, she will probably naturally see a 3 - 5 point increase the next time she takes the test. The ACT is very tightly timed, but the instructions are the same on each test and the question types are the same. Familiarity with the format makes a huge difference.
If money is an issue but you can spend a little, get the official ACT red book that has 3 full length actual ACT tests. Sit down and take the first one untimed. Review your answers.
If she scored just as low on the untimed version she took at home then it’s a knowledge base problem. She is going to need to relearn the areas where she did poorly. A tutor would probably help a great deal. If she is highly dedicated, searching out specific youtube help for her problem areas might work a bit.
If she scored well on the untimed version, then she has a mechanics problem with the test. This is something that you can fix yourself with dedication if you really cannot afford tutoring. Take the other practice tests on subsequent weekends, trying to get through a little faster each time. By the time she has finished her third book practice test she will be much more familiar with the format of the questions and will start to develop her own methods of getting through the questions quickly.
Agree that if you had successfully gone from 22 to 32, then you are in a better position to help your sister, in particular, you knew her better than most of everyone here.
More importantly, she needs to want to improve.
Yes but unfortunately she doesn’t want me to teach her. So I’m trying to find something that will. I think I stress her out because I work so much on it lol.
My DD took it cold freshman year and again this month as a junior with some prep. She increased by only 2 points. However, she did go entirely through the book For the Love of ACT Science and raised that particular section by 6 points from 22 to 28. There’s also For the Love of ACT Math which I’d like her to go through and raise her 23 in math.
@naturecreative If she does not want you to teach her, may be you can find someone to tutor her. IMO, to go from 23 to 32, someone needs to want to improve the score. She needs motivation which is difficult to get from an online course. It also depends on what her weaknesses are.
If you had gone from 22 to 32, you knew it is achievable.