<p>Hey all, I’m a bit new, but I’ve been watching here for about a month if not more. Thanks for the laughs so far.</p>
<p>A bit stoked, because I ended up with a 36 on my second try(35.5 up). I got a 34 on math because I forgot the calculator in the car, and that darn mean question and a few others threw me off. </p>
<p>My first try was a 35 and I retried for the essay, which seems to be my trouble spot. Though I’ve been rated at 5+ in most of the practice tests(at school-didn’t really study for the ACT, just the SAT) I can’t break 4 on either the SAT or the ACT so far… and I really thought I wrote a great one this time around and ended up with a 7. (GPS is a trust issue-> recidivism rates, personal experience, positive feedback theory)…</p>
<p>Anyways, to all looking to score higher, really time yourself. Luckily I figured this out on the first try, but all my friends said they didn’t realize how far behind they were until it was too late.<br>
Don’t second guess yourself too much but definitely try to check your work if you have time. (There was a weird section with a few B’s in a row-I got thrown off by this but still ended up with an 18/18 in the section).
I read the science sections personally, but quickly(compared to my usual speed). Pay attention to the specifics of the graphs if you don’t want to read-2 word differences make the whole test in science, I kid you not. If all you take away from this is one thing, remember the 2 word differences in science.</p>
<p>Good luck all and congratulations to everyone who got the score they wanted. Nothing is a guarantee though!</p>
<p>1.)Did you consider the ACT to be “hard”?
-No. I took SAT after just barely skimming through a book for prep and got a 2130. Once I started prepping for ACT I loved it. If I got something wrong, I understood EXACTLY why and could learn from my mistakes really easily. I’ve heard people say SAT is more reasoning based, while ACT is purely what you know and how you can interpret what you’re given.
2.)Were you confident on all your answers?
Yes (see above). The one mistake I made was stupid and I could have gotten a perfect 36 if I’d slowed down and reread the question more thoroughly when I came back to it.
3.)How much prep work did you do?
I was supposed to do 4 weeks of ACT tutoring then 4 weeks of SAT tutoring, but then I got a 36 so I stopped after the 4 weeks. Basically went through each section and learned the strategy, did some practice sections of just reading or just math, etc., then put it all together.
4.)How many time had you taken the ACT before you got the 35/36?
None. First try: 36/36/35(math)/36/8E(eww)
5.)Do you have any tips for me to get a score of 34+?
do lots of practice sections (don’t start with whole tests, just break it down - take a practice math section, evaluate, do a few more, move on to science…) and then start putting it together. Really look over ones you get wrong - you can learn from your mistakes really easily and plus I saw two math problems on the test that were nearly if not exactly identical to ones on the practice test I’d taken the night before. Good luck! :]</p>
<p>1.) I find the questions to about as difficult as the SAT. Difficult for different reasons, but still not easy. There are always those 1-2 questions / section that I’m not 100% sure about.
2.) See above, all but one or too
3.) Skimmed the Real ACT book, took 2 practice tests
4.) Once
5.) I don’t really have much to give here, sorry. I would recommend doing a lot of practice tests. For me, that’s the most helpful, to get into the “rhythm of the test.”</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips - this thread is really helpful.</p>
<p>How do you guys approach the Reading passages? Do you read the entire passage and then answer the questions or do you read the questions and search for the answers in the passage?</p>
<p>I have always read the entire passage through before answering questions. Though those ones that refer to specific lines are annoying(especially on the SAT, there seem to be more of them), I feel the wholistic approach is better. Although this may contradict some approaches, I can at least agree with some who say you have to force yourself to love the passages-take a fake interest for those few minutes.</p>
<p>Did you consider the ACT to be “hard”? No. The timing was tricky at first, but once I got used to it, it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t consider the subject matter hard.
Were you confident on all your answers? Not all, but for the most part yes.
How much prep work did you do? I mostly took timed practice tests the summer before my junior year.
How many time had you taken the ACT before you got the 35/36? Once or twice, I believe.<br>
Do you have any tips for me to get a score of 34+? Tons of practice tests, stopping after each one to go over questions you were unsure of. Going over math formulas and stuff you’re a little fuzzy on is a good idea as well.</p>
<p>The ACT for me is easy material, hard timing. I thought it took more time practicing than learning. Guess it really depends on what type of person you are.
I went through the Red Book, all of the “Preparing…” tests, and looked for other practice tests. I actually did Red Book twice.
I thought the June ACT was very hard, in all sections. I however had always done well in English and Math, and was hoping for a hard (more generous curve, though) ACT.
All about strategies for me. Each of the sections will benefit tremendously from familiarity.</p>
<p>I received a 32 on the reading portion, but thought I had answered them all nearly perfectly, checking all the ones I had trouble with in the Reading forum post. Should I chance a rescore for a 36? Should I order the TIR first?</p>
<p>Anyways, either I made a careless mistake or the Science curve is 35 -1.
And very interesting to see the 36 -1 Math.</p>
<p>Also, it seems that either I never knew - or from now on - the only ACT subsections that matter, apart from the composite score (in terms of objective application consideration) are Math and English and Writing (if you get from 10-12 on Essay). I gathered this from the new article about the legitimacy of the ACT and from the Stanford and Harvard sites. Everyone probably already knew this though.</p>
<p>1.)Did you consider the ACT to be “hard”?
As a whole, no, I did not think it was too hard. However, there were sometimes a few questions I thought were just tricky (mostly on the Math when there’s supposed to be a shortcut for a seemingly-endless problem). In the reading section, the science section, and sometimes the math section when there’s a diagram, the answer is always <em>there</em> in in the passage or diagram so it’s really just being able to distinguish it in the shortest amount of time. Time is the killer, not necessarily difficulty.
2.)Were you confident on all your answers?
I actually wasn’t. During English, which has always been my best ACT section, I am usually sure about all questions but maybe one tricky one. Math, which I’m good at but no genius in, left me a little confused because I didn’t get about 2-3 questions. Math was my lowest section with a 34. I was confident in all my reading answers. Science is always my worst, but miraculously the passages were really clear for me this time and I jumped from a 26 last time on science to a 35.<br>
3.)How much prep work did you do?
I never wanted to spend money on a private tutor or classes because I’m a good self-teacher. I knew that no ACT test prep classes would give me the golden key to a 36, but I knew that they would have plenty of practice tests. That’s why I just bought two books last summer (the red book and Kaplan’s massive ACT book with a random CD I never opened) and honestly just read a bit of the guides whenever I felt like it. I did not want to go through the entire book step-by-step but instead just went through the lessons of the subsection I wanted to review. But Kaplan’s book had 6 practice tests and I just took individual subsections from about 3 or 4 of the tests whenever I felt like it. I’d just grade myself afterward. I simply could not put myself through the an entire 5-hour practice test so I never took a whole one by myself. Instead, I took the ACT in September, twice in April, and then June when I was surprised by my 35. For me it was just re-taking it over and over again until I got the hang of it. I don’t think that it was a waste of money to test over and over again when I could have just taken entire practice tests because I think I needed to practice coping in the high-pressure atmosphere at my high school on the test days.<br>
4.)How many time had you taken the ACT before you got the 35/36?
Three times. In September, with only a bit of English prep with the red book, I got a 30 (35/28/30/28/10). On the national April test date (with a bit of prep during spring break a few weeks before), I was disappointed by a 31 (32/33/32/28/10). I then received another 31 shortly after on my my State-mandated ACT…and it was all over the place! (36/31/29/26/10). I was still determined to get at least a 32, though, but I never expected getting a 35 in June (35/34/35/35/11)!<br>
5.)Do you have any tips for me to get a score of 34+?
Take many practice tests! I agree that practice tests are the key to building confidence, making you feel more comfortable with the question-styles, and helping you truly evaluate what your strengths/weaknesses are! I would recommend buying a few books with loads of practice tests rather than seeking out books that claim to “guarantee higher scores”. Also, please stay determined because it’s the first key to getting you to a high ACT score. I hesitated to sign up for the ACT in June after I got my state-mandated April scores because I felt like I was just wasting my parents’ money. I honestly knew I didn’t prep as much as I should’ve for all the test dates and just relied on my confidence/critical thinking abilities. Buuut I still did and moved from a 31 to a 35! godspeed!</p>
<p>So I was reading through this thread and it seems to me that there are two totally different methods for the science section: reading through the material and not reading anything. Personally, I don’t really understand how not reading anything is helpful. Could someone please elaborate? I’m having trouble raising my score (from a 32) because my science section score was pretty low. As of now, I’m still reading the content, but any advice would be appreciated. </p>
<p>^ because most questions always read, “according to graph x, what is the y when z is 30?”, you only need to refer to the graph or table mentioned. </p>
<p>The only one where you really have to read the content is the Conflicting Viewpoints passage. I would suggest reading that first. I tried it out and it worked. </p>
<p>For two of the ACT tests I took, it was the exact same test (I got lucky.) For the first one, I did all the passages in order. I scored a 32 and I knew I had made mistakes on the conflicting viewpoints passage. The second time I did the conflicting viewpoints passage first. I scored a 36.</p>
<p>The people who say not to read the passages in the science section claim that it’s almost necessary to have enough time… This isn’t true and there are other ways of saving time. I read every word of the passages and got a 34 science, 35 composite. </p>
<p>My strategy was to start with the last science passage and work backwards, as they are increasingly difficult when done in order. By doing the hardest one first and working easier, you gain more momentum and find yourself with a few minutes to spare to go back and complete any questions you weren’t able to figure out the first run-through. Allot yourself FIVE minutes for each of the seven passages. Spend no more than five minutes on any one of them. Go through all of the questions, skip any (for now) that you cannot quickly figure out the correct answer to, and then move on. Provided you finish a few of the sections in less than five minutes (which you probably will be able to do, especially the last (technically the first if you’re going in order) ones), you’ll have a few minutes to go back and either find the remaining answers, or bubble in guess answers.</p>
<p>Half the battle with the ACT is strategy and timing.</p>
<p>Honestly, I disagree. I got a 36 on the Science, and I didn’t read a word of the passages unless needed. You have to realize when you are missing a piece of information when reading the questions. ACT is very predictable in regards to the fact that they either reference something in a graph/table, or they make it very obvious that they are referencing something in the passage. Sometimes its nice to get a clearer understanding of the experiments when reading the passages, but its not necessary. Hell, I remember not knowing what the heck they were talking about half way through the questions on one particular set, but that didn’t stop me from thinking through each question and finding the right answer in the data.</p>
<p>That’s interesting. Thanks for the input guys. I’ve been doing a combination of the methods described, I think. I read the conflicting viewpoints and experiment passages but don’t read the table/graph passages. I guess what I was mostly wondering was how people managed to get away without reading the experiment passages; those have a lot of text that’s useful, if not vital.</p>
<p>For me, the ACT was easier than the SAT. I wasn’t very confident in my answers because I didn’t really prep; I took 2 full ACTs before the test. I just bought the official ACT book. I would say that the questions are just extremely straight forward and don’t over think. The answers to the questions for the science and reading are literally right in the passages, just take practice tests to do it faster. Math is like what we learn in school and writing, just memorize the common rules. I ended up getting a 36 on the ACT ^_^</p>
<p>I just wanted to ask some people about their experiences.
For those of you with 35/36:
Did you consider the ACT to be “hard”? Time is an issue, especially on the essay but the individual questions themselves were not too difficult.<br>
Were you confident on all your answers? Since I did not have the time to go back and check there were some questions I was unsure of, especially on the science.
How much prep work did you do? Very little (a few practice tests at home)
How many time had you taken the ACT before you got the 35/36? Third time
Do you have any tips for me to get a score of 34+? It takes some gaming of the system I think… I got a 34 my first time and after that I would calculate different ways to get a better score and literally calculate where I could afford to lose points.</p>
<p>I’m usually an SAT taker, but took the ACT in february to see how I would do. I ended up getting a 35 (34, 36, 33, 36)</p>
<p>Did you consider the ACT to be “hard”? I found the test to not be too difficult. The reading section’s time restrictions, on the other hand, were tough tough tough. </p>
<p>Were you confident on all your answers? Confident on all of the math and science. I had an uncertainty with the english and an uncertainty with the reading.</p>
<p>How much prep work did you do? Basically an afterthought from the SATs</p>
<p>How many time had you taken the ACT before you got the 35/36? First time</p>
<p>Do you have any tips for me to get a score of 34+? The only prep work I did with an ACT was with a stopwatch. I timed myself and set a pace. This is truly important for the ACT. You do not want to be going too fast (prone to silly mistakes) or too slow (wont finish).</p>