<p>My daughter took the ACT on Saturday and she isn’t confident that she scored any higher. She is sitting on a 28. I am thinking of getting her a personal tutor until the October test. Any thoughts/reviews of ACT prep course/tutors that have or haven’t worked? </p>
<p>She has not taken the SAT but now I am thinking we should consider that as well. Ugh…this is so stressful.</p>
<p>This IS very stressful, we can empathize with you!!! Definitely have her take the sat. </p>
<p>If you are going to get her help, definitely go the tutor route. The group classes mostly focus on test taking, not content. Make sure the tutor can analyze her past tests to find her strengths and weaknesses. Some of the national chains like Kumon and Sylvan will do a diagnostic test that may help, but I am not sure how good their sat/act tutoring is. </p>
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<p>We sent our DD to Huntington Learning Centers. She got a 28 on her own in December 2011. She started Huntington in January 2012. After private tutoring at Huntington she had a 29 (wasn’t feeling well) on the April national test and then a 33 on the April state mandated test. Don’t remember the exact cost but it was around $3,000. Since the UA Presidential will save us just under $100k I guess it was worth it. But some friends only improved a point or two. There are no real guarantees.</p>
<p>My D’13 took ACT in Dec 2011 and got a 30. Before taking it again in Feb 2012 did a few practice tests, studied the big blue ACT prep book, but said that the Spark notes ACT online prep really helped her a lot. Said it was a good review and explained things well. The day before the test I let her stay home from school and she worked all day taking practice tests on Sparknotes.</p>
<p>She got a 35 on the Feb 2012 test. … and no cost! We were really hoping for “just” a 32 to get the Presidential so we were pleasantly suprised.</p>
<p>She took SAT during her junior year when she took the PSAT, but didn’t do as well on that, getting a 1980 for her highest score.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind if she will be taking ACT and SAT within a few weeks of each other…the strategies are different for each. I can’t remember which is which, but one penalizes for wrong answers and the other doesn’t. That’s one reason why I had my D focus on SAT and its test taking tips for several months, then focus on ACT for next several months. </p>
<p>Good luck to your D!</p>
<p>Without knowing her scores, grades and feelings about each part of the test, it is hard to say what will help her. As there an “expert” at her school that can help you evaluate what is best for her? Some need assistance with test taking strategy on one or more parts, some need help on brushing up on the types of questions they are getting wrong, and some just need help with timing and confidence. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>Momof3princesses, is your daughter a senior? If so, when is UA’s deadline for scholarship ACT scores and how many test days does she have left? Hopefully your D did better than she thinks she did. I think one of the best ways to prep for the ACT is to take as many practice tests as possible under testing conditions- meaning with a timer and not at home where there are distractions. My D went to the library and spent most of a Saturday taking practice test after practice test. A lot of the ACT, especially the science section, is about timing. Definitely have her go over what she got wrong and figure out why she got it wrong. Maybe she’ll realize she is weak in a certain type of math and should review it or find a tutor for that section. </p>
<p>Good luck to your D. I know it can be stressful. And she should definitely try the SAT if she hasn’t yet.</p>
<p>I forgot to say that my oldest did take a prep class and went from a 28 to a 33. However, it mainly was due to being “forced” to take repeated practice tests. The class didn’t necessarily go over each and every answer since there were 8 kids in the class and that would take a lot of time.</p>