I took my Act test this year because it was required for my future graduation. I didn’t have a good score and I plan to take the test again this year. I want to gain some ACTtips and advice from people got a good score on their test. I would like to know what your practice schedule was, what apps, programs, and websites you used, and how were you able to manage time?
The guides produced by Prepscholar especially the “Ultimate Guide to the ACT ___” and "How to Get A 36 on the ACT " are fairly helpful. I found that the generic red book (Official ACT Prep Guide, 3rd Edition) and the ACT Black Book used together were really helpful for getting good practice (the black book has some great tips to test-taking as the ACT is more about testing skills than content). If specific sections are hurting you just sit down with a subject review book (Erica Metzler’s books in the humanities, Richard Corn’s in Math, and practicing Science and looking up graphs and such online should be helpful). Honestly, my schedule was to take a full practice test and then actually review. The number one pitfall to the average student is not reviewing practice tests enough. You can’t simply just see what you got wrong and then expect to get better. You have to intensely find patterns in your test-taking (Ask yourself: Is it time that hurts me?, What content am I repeatedly getting wrong?, and Why did I make the mistake?) Tackling the source of the problem is key to rapid improvement. This was probably 5ish hours each time I did this (however being a talent search kid I’ve taken the ACT suite of assessments since 4th Grade, so it may take additional time if you are unfamiliar with content/format). If I had to recommend a program (as in you need that formal nature of it) that would be the official ACT online, or if you are willing to pay more money Prepscholar (I have friends who have gone from the 20s to the high 30s). Don’t think you need a program though. Through practice tests/reviews with all of the red books and using the strategies on Prepscholar’s blogs (disagree with how he recommends bubbling though) and in the black book, I have experienced rapid growth similar to friends who did the costly online programs.
Practice, practice, practice. Take practice tests under circumstances that mimic real test conditions. Look over your mistakes and pay special attention to those type of questions. The day before the test. do everything but study for the ACT. On the day of the test, watch a funny video or something and chew gum. Gets the brain juices flowing.
That’s how I got a 35 the second time I took the test.
Good luck.