What’s the best way to prep for the ACT? I’m aiming for a 32+
I heard if you’re good at the SAT you’ll do badly on the ACT… is this true LOL
Hey!
Okay, I got a 2210 on SAT, and a 34 on ACT, which I was happy enough with, so I will not be retaking. Here is the advice I gave someone else:
"I think that my advice would be (and I only took the ACT once, so I might not be the best person to ask) to:
-get a study book (I had a Barron’s one)
-go online and read about strategy (I watched about 2 hours worth of YouTube videos from people who scored 36)
-GET A WATCH AND FIGURE OUT THE TIMING FOR EACH QUESTION (you can read about how many seconds to give yourself for each question so that you still have time on the end - time was the worst part for me - I didn’t finish math, I think, so I just guessed)
-GUESS!!! (there is no penalty!!! get every point you can!)
-do some practice on actstudent.org (they have sample questions with explanations if you get it wrong)
-mark questions to go back to, but ALWAYS fill in a bubble before you move on - a guess is better than a blank
-bring a working calculator and pencils with GOOD erasers
-relax!
To be honest, I slacked off more than I should have while studying. It was during finals week that I took it (well, two days after finals ended), and so I really wasn’t on my ACT game since I was so focused on getting A’s in my classes. Also, I needed to get my mind off things, so I did what I hadn’t done all of junior year - I read a book for fun (gasp!!! not time efficient!! haha I read Twilight, lol, so funny) and to be honest, I think that motivated me to do better because my mom would be so mad if she knew I wasn’t studying the whole time I was in my room, haha.
But yeah, I’ve read stuff about knowing what motivates you - what college do you want to go to? are you doing it for your parents or yourself? why do you want to do well? and those questions I think can help drive you.
Section-specific advice:
English - I love English, so the grading/editing part of the test was super fun for me, and very easy - I got a 35 on that part. Just study up on some of the tricks that they have, and some grammar rules. Know that “NO CHANGE” WILL BE AN ANSWER SOMETIMES. Don’t think that it’s a trick - sometimes the sentence is actually just correct.
Math - I’m not terrible at math, but it’s not my strength. ACT math is somewhat harder than SAT math because there is just more variety to what kinds of topics they have. The Barron’s book has a lot of info on this, and has an overview of each concept that you could possibly get. It’s brilliant. This is the section I got behind on - even when paying attention to my timer, I got stuck on a question and kept doing it instead of leaving it behind (I figured since they get progressively harder it would be a waste to go ahead). Anyway, work on that, for sure, and stick on your time schedule. I got a 32 on this section, and had to guess on the last few. Not ideal. Stressful.
Reading - There are different philosophies about reading the passage first or questions first. I promote the idea that you should skim the passage so that you know what you’re looking for when you read the questions, then go back to the passage to find the answers. I got a 36 on that section, so I guess it was better than it felt during practice.
Science - Okay, this section is kind of tough. I think that the timing is a bit brutal, and the different kinds of science can really intimidate you because you don’t know them and you’re like “ahhhhh!”. HOWEVER - keep in mind that everyone should be able to do it - it’s just a mind game. Look at the directions for basic information you can miss, look for key words, and look for formulas. Use common sense when looking at graphs and such. Just like don’t get intimidated when you see the sections - I know, they’re horrible, but you can get through this. That section was my worst, I got a 31.
Essay - ESSAY IS BAE!!! Okay, but for real - you have way more space than for the SAT essay. Psychologically, the graders will subconsciously give you a better score if you can fill up all the lines. I did, because I’m a fast writer, and I think that bumped me up. The cool thing is you can pick one side or the other, OR create your own solution. Use the third option wisely. BE CLEAR IN YOUR ORGANIZATION - I cannot stress this enough. When I started tutoring people on the ACT, I realized I needed to get my act together, so I read the rubric - clear flow and transition and ORGANIZATION are KEY. When you are reading the prompt, USE PREP TIME to write an outline and STICK TO YOUR OUTLINE NO MATTER WHAT - sorry if you have an epiphany in the middle - the graders can tell where your thought process switched, and that’s not ideal. Just spend the goshdarn time at the beginning to plan a good strong thesis with ~2 points, and then do intro, 1, 2, conclusion. Use a couple vocab words per paragraph - you max out points at about 2 per paragraph.
Seriously, my advice is to have fun with it. It is a cool test. Go to it with friends if you can, make sure you know the school/area okay, bring water, bring snacks. Smile as much as you can so that you psych yourself into thinking you like it. You are amazing, driven, and smart, and you can do this - you can kick so much butt!!!
Let me know if you have any other questions, and I hope it goes well!!
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