<p>Well, I paid the $8 to see the scores early, all but the essay. As this is D's first go round with anything that counts for admission purposes, we were nervous. She did very well, and managed to score a perfect 36 on math. Yippee! That almost made up for her total bombing of the science section, but not quite. I certainly wish components were used in making up the best ACT score, but I assume there is some reason they are not that escapes me at the moment. </p>
<p>D actually and accurately predicted that she aced the math, tanked on the science reasoning. We'll see her mood when I show her how close she came to ace-ing the whole thing. Anybody got any advice on that science section on the ACT? It ate her up on the PLAN also, so she was expecting it. (She says the graphs are poor and require lots of time to decipher which leaves her guessing at the end.) I guess time management needs to get better.</p>
<p>I'm really quite pleased with the composite and D should be-but she won't be. She'll be ticked off. Maybe I'll just stay at the office.</p>
<p>Curmudge - the science is a little like critical reading on the SAT in the sense that often it is best to work backwards from the question. It is not necessary to really understand the graph or identify the science behind the graph - just figure out which multiple choice answer is correct based on a some what perfunctory reading of the graph - if you try to really understand what is going on, you run out of time!
DD's experience was that bringing up the ACT is a little harder than prepping for the SAT, partly because the difficulty of the sections varies more from sitting to sitting - she did unusually well in math (not her strong suit) and unusually bad in English (the question types threw her a little) the next time she took the ACT, her scores were more in line with what she would have expected, and she said the Eng was noticeably easier the second time and the math noticeably harder.</p>
<p>What do you mean by tanked? if her score is 32 or higher , possibly even 30 or higher, and she's trying to get a composite 36, then she gets into the the luck thing, because the number of questions you are talking about is so small, and shee may be sick next time she takes it, etc. DD was quite happy with her first composite score, but she had already registered for the second test, and had done so well on the math which is usually her downfall, and came very close to making 1 composite point higher, she went ahead and took it again - her subscores were closer together the second time, but her composite dropped one point. For her, there was a definite loss of intensity factor in approaching the second test, driven partly by getting her SAT in the interim, which she considered to be good enough, too.</p>
<p>My son had me do a few of the tougher science questions....not easy! SPENT ABOUT 10 MINUTES ON ONE OF THEM....agree that time management may be the issue.</p>
<p>A question...is it possible for me to check my daughter's scores without her finding out when she goes to check herself? I know...sneaky, sneaky, but....</p>
<p>What is the PLAN? I think my D mentioned that she took it. (And it seemed to have triggered some college mail). Is it a predictor test for the ACT, sort of like the PSAT? Another thing it seems I should know by now, but don't . . .</p>
<p>Congrats to Cur-daughter! A perfect 36 on the Math is worth celebrating. My S did worse than expected in Math and better on Science. He actually finished the Science but didn't get to two questions on the Math. He'll take it again to bring up the Math even if he doesn't bring up his composite.</p>
<p>The great thing about the ACT is that you can't lose taking the test again. If she tanks, she doesn't have to report it. Even if she improves taking it again, I would report this test, a 36 is not small feat.</p>
<p>I wish that I could tell you how my S prepped for the Science section. The truth is that he didn't really. One sample test that he timed and he did one section in the car during college visits. Now prepping for the English section....that is what he worked on. Did the Xiggi method.</p>
<p>The PLAN is a PSAT (without the scholarship aspect) for the ACT. It's taken in the fall of sophomore year and is suppose to predict performance on the ACT. The PLAN is graded on a scale of 30 instead of 36. I thought that it was helpful to know what to work on in regards to the ACT.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter for a wonderful first shot at the ACT!! My son, who tends to get the highest grades in school in math and science, aced the English section on his first try and nearly aced the Reading (35). He wasn't very low on any of the sections, but he was just surprised that his verbal stuff was higher than the math/science. He ended up only taking it the once, figuring that if he brought up his math/science, surely he'd go lower on the English/reading! <em>lol</em> At any rate, tell you D WAY TO GO!! ~b.</p>
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Can you get the ACT scores multiple times on line or only once?
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<p>You can view them multiple times, but you have to pay $8 each time you view them. </p>
<p>AFAIK, there is no way to tell the difference between viewing the scores for the first or second time. [If that's really what you're asking. ;) ]</p>
<p>Mudgie has a lot of time to fortify scores, etc, although how do you do better than a 36:). Good news is you are looking at this all so early. Would be helpful to know what tanked on science meant for advice on future strategy. And tell Mudgie - cc knows all will go well for her.</p>
<p>I am not so sure about PLAN as an accurate prediction, since my D made 99% (don't remember the score, just remember it was 99th percentile) and just got a 30 today on the real thing. 35 in English...25 in Science. The dew point thing threw her totally. Oh, well, maybe this will encourage her to work a little harder to prepare for SAT if that is possible since there are only two more weeks, with two AP tests in between. Juniors, I feel your pain!</p>
<p>Congratulations! I was thinking of your daughter yesterday as I had lunch with an old high school friend who lives in Indiana and mentioned Hanover as being a great little school. Surely you guys will start thinking of other options now that you have those great ACT scores in hand!</p>
<p>With no test prep (well, a cup of tea and a #2 pencil), my D got 35 composite, 35 English, 33 Math, 35 Reading, 35 Science. Is this good enough for elite schools (she has not taken the SAT) or is the Math score damaging?</p>
<p>Your D should be congratulated on such a great score. My conversion chart shows that a 35 composite is equivalent to a 1580, and a 33 Math is still in the 99th percentile, so she should be quite competitive! But if she wants to go for the perfect score, more power to her. </p>
<p>My Sophomore S took the ACT for the first time and I was happy with the results. No HYPS or Top 25 LAC, but we knew that -- and it was a great effort for a Sophomore's first attempt. Well above the average score for a lot of the schools he's just starting to look at, and above the 75% mark for several of them. </p>
<p>Just wish I could figure out his d**n math issue. For the last two years it's been his best class at school by far, yet he still tanks (and I mean TANKS -- 70% and below) the math portion of every standardized test he takes (PSAT, ACT, our state's standardized test). I don't get it. FWIW, on the ACT I've read how many people find the math easier than the SAT, but the Science section is really tough. S got a 95% percentile in Science and a 55th(!) percentile in Math. To be fair, I didn't expect him to do well on the Intermediate Algebra questions, but still. A 55% from a kid who is getting a 98 in his math class?? Aargh.</p>
<p>I guess I'd better go look at the instructions again. I looked twice today but son's scores weren't in. Do they trickle in? Score them alphabetically by last name, east and west coast last because we tend to dis the ACT??</p>
<p>A 35 ACT is quite good, my S. was admitted to very selective schools, with a 33, and no SAT. GPA, essays, and EC's are also very important, however.</p>