<p>I'm a junior right now and I have never taken the ACT, so I have a few questions about it:
-How useful is a good ACT score?
-Would I be considered at relatively competitive schools with a very high ACT score and a mediocre GPA?
-Those who have received good scores, what did you do to prepare? Which books should I buy?
If anyone could provide insight to these questions it would be very helpful. Thanks.</p>
<ol>
<li>Very useful if you get a high score</li>
<li>Higher GPA shows consistent rigor. Higher standardized test scores show test taking abilities and a glimpse of intelligence</li>
<li>I got 35 on the ACT, and substantially lower on the SAT. I used old tests, the Red Book and other resources.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the response. Did you use an ACT tutor/prep class? My school offers a prep course that is an hour long and everyday after school, and I am considering taking it.</p>
<p>Nope. My parents spent a small fortune sending me to SAT tutoring programs but once I got my head straight and practiced like there was no tomorrow, I got a great score on the ACT.</p>
<p>I see. Thank you.</p>
<p>Although you got responses, I’ll just add to the above poster’s statements:</p>
<p>1) It could very well replace your SAT score if you do significantly better. I just learned that colleges weigh ACT and SAT the same, so a good ACT can be VERY useful.
2) I got a 32 (translates to ~2120 SAT). I got a 1930 on my SAT, so my ACT will be used instead of my SAT
3) I had no preparation, but from taking the test here’s some tips that may be useful
-Practice working fast on ACT practice tests. The time constraints are pretty harsh; I had about 5-20 seconds left after finishing the last question of each section
-i don’t know books you should buy, but online practice tests are always helpful.
-There’s no wrong answer deduction, so guess away if absolutely have to</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I have a relatively low GPA, so I’m just hoping I can get decent scores to actually have a shot.</p>