<p>1) I feel that the ACT is much easier than the SAT, although I’ve scored a 36 and 2350 on both respectively. I like how there’s just one section per subject, which I find helps me focus and do better. Also, I feel a lot less rushed in general on the ACT, but sometimes it’s tricky to get your timing right (more to come on that). If you can get the timing down, you should be on track to getting a 34+ with practice.</p>
<p>2) On the June ACT, I wasn’t at all confident in the math section, because of my own stupidity. Because I’m used to SAT timing, I rushed through the math section on practice ACTs with about 20-30 minutes to spare. So I thought to myself that I would work more slowly, and double check each math question after I did it, to save myself the pain of checking all 60 questions again. Well… I paced myself TOO much. I ran out of time in the math section, did 15 questions in 5 minutes, and was not confident at all. I ended up getting a 36, which I’m still really shocked about. But anyway, timing is very important! Remember that.</p>
<p>3) I did very little prep work for the ACT compared to the SAT. I took a short series of classes over about a week, which devoted a 2-hour class to each section of the ACT, plus a full-length practice test at the end. I also bought McGraw Hill’s book of 10 practice ACTs, but I only did 2 of the practices the Friday before the test. This is not to say that I advise you not to practice, but rather to show you that there’s a bit less need to know all the weird strategies/nuances of the test compared to the SAT.</p>
<p>4) I took the April ACT and got a 35, and I just got a 36 on the June ACT. I didn’t mean to retake a 35, but I had already signed up before I got my scores back, and thought I might as well retake it under very low pressure, rather than waste my $48. Most people I know see huge improvements between retakes if they practice.</p>
<p>5) Timing, timing, timing! Most people find that they have extra time after the English section (first one), but maybe start to slack off in the other sections. Don’t do this! The math section gives you an hour for 60 questions, so you’ll be fine as long as you don’t try to slow down too much, like I did. The questions do get progressively harder, though, so try to save the most time to work on the last 10-15. The reading section is pretty basic, but you might have more trouble if you’re a slow reader. If you’re a fast reader, I advise skimming the entire passage before looking at the questions. You’ll probably remember enough to answer most of the questions. If you’re a slow reader, I’ve heard of people reading a chunk of the passage, then seeing if they can answer some of the questions based off that, then repeating for the rest of the passage. Sometimes you don’t even have to go through the whole thing. For the science section… go as fast as you can without resorting to blind guessing in the first run through. If you don’t know a question, skip it and come back later. If not, there’s not penalty for guessing, so just fill in random bubbles in the few seconds before time is called.</p>
<p>I apologize for the length of this post (got a little carried away), but best of luck to you! Just remember, it’s only a test, not a measure of your worth as a human being, haha.</p>