I am taking the ACT on the 12th, and I have not studied at all. It’s crazy, I know. But here’s the thing: I have studied for hundreds of hours for the SAT with a tutor. I got a 1990, which I’m not crazy about, which is why I’m taking the ACT.
I am currently taking AP Stats. Will that help me on the Science section? It seems to be all about designing experiments and interpreting data, which is exactly what I have learned thus far in Stats.
I got a 740 on my writing and a 690 in reading. Will I be okay on the ACT for writing and reading? The only thing that got me was the vocab.
Math is my weakest subject by far. However, I know SOH CAH TOA like the back of my hand, and am currently taking Honors Advanced Physics. Do I need additional Trig knowledge?
Two more questions: What score bracket should I aim for, considering my scores on the SAT and my extensive preparation? Is there anything else I might struggle with/should prepare for/know last minute? Thank you!! Any advice would be much appreciated!!!
to get better than a 1990 SAT on the ACT, you should aim for 30+ (source: http://blog.prepscholar.com/act-to-sat-conversion)
also, i am in ap stats and to be honest, it really helps very little on ACT science.
having a broad (and accurate) knowledge of the 3 main science subjects (bio, chem, physics) is really helpful.
even more helpful is being able to read graphs and data tables (so if ap stats taught u that, then i guess it would be very helpful)
your sat writing and reading scores probably indicate you will get around 32 subscore, which is good if u want 30+
Definitely, definitely take practice tests! Taking them will answer a majority of the questions you asked above. Instead of asking random people on CC these questions, find out yourself with practice tests.
With all the practice you’ve had though, I think you can do it! I didn’t do so hot on my SAT (just a little under yours) either but ended up with a great score anyways on my ACT (34). Turns out that the ACT was just a better fit for me. If you’re good under time constraints, can read fast, and prefer the more straightforward questions (but lots of them) ACT is the one for you IMO.
If you have trouble with time constraints, I’d recommend to practice especially on the science and reading section. Science is incredibly packed, with I believe 7 different labs to go through in just (I believe) 35 minutes. I had to guess on one problem at the end because I ran out of time. Time is essential, so during your practice, learn to make the most of it by skipping the little blurb at the beginning of each section and moving on when a problem is taking more than 1 minute to solve.
Also, don’t worry too much on vocab. You don’t need it for the ACT English portion. However, know your grammar rules and the way things are meant to be phrased. Phrasing is HUGE as you’ll be given a large chunks of reading with words/phrases underlined that you’ll have the option of changing or leaving as is. The reading portion is more analysis and being able to pick up details from the text, so no vocab really needed there. If you read a lot as a person, you’ll do fine.
Also read about what you need to do for the essay. As I recall they look for different things than the SAT folks. So review what constitutes a good essay in a review book.
Thank you SO much! Is this site a good review? This is what I’ve been practicing so far, but not really under time constraints (just getting a feel for the test). The questions are really easy - are they this simple on the test? It was from the actual ACT website. However, the SAT website provides questions that are on the easier side, so I wasn’t sure. Here’s a link to some of the math I’ve been working on (I’ve also been going through the other sections and will continue to do one subject everyday this week, unless that’s not a good strategy??)
The ACT rewards accuracy and speed. The more you get correct, the better your score, do not be afraid to skip a time consuming problem. There may be easier ones up ahead and you want to make sure you try them.