Bombed first ACT!!!

<p>ok...junior daughter just got back ACT...ugh...she will re-take in June. Can anyone give feedback on incoming freshman's ACT scores for University of Miami? D is really bumming and is becoming more unhopeful for Miami. She 'bombed', her words with a composite of 21. EEK!!!! (English:23, Math:16, Reading:25, Science: 19, combined English/Writing:24, Writing: 9. GPA: 3.55/ Rank top 20%. (Doesn't test well). Help !!!</p>

<p>My son who is starting in the fall bombed his first ACT. We did not send those scores in because he did better on the next two. His next two scores were 26, but combined they were a 28.</p>

<p>June Scores
English 22
Math 24
Reading 21
Science 35
Composite 26</p>

<p>October Scores
English 24
Math 28
Reading 23
Science 27
(Combined english/writing 23, writing 8)
Composite 26</p>

<p>The first time they take it is hard. They are busy kids. I am sure she will do better in June. Good luck</p>

<p>Any ideas for math and Science. Her current math teacher is spending a little extra time with her. Also we payed extra for the questions to be sent back. Any idea on when they come in the mail, so she can see where she missed ?</p>

<p>You should be getting your answers very soon. I wish I could help you with the science and math. I know he studied some, but he is more a math and science kid.</p>

<p>Since my kids are younger, I'm not sure of the timeline - does your daughter have time to try the ACT again senior year? It sounds like she needs time to become more comfortable with the test, and the only way I can see that she might do that is by taking lots of practice tests. Unfortunately, June is right around the corner. Her highest score was the reading score, so try to get her to see the science section as another reading section. Perhaps she could focus some study time on this section to get more comfortable reading science selections. The answers should all be in the reading selection, although I think they could sometimes be in the form of graphs or tables. The important thing is that the answers are there, waiting to be found. I don't know if this will help, but it's all I can think of with so little time to prepare.</p>

<p>(Don't feel too bad... My friends daughter got a 19 and she has a 3.5 GPA too! She'll try the SAT next.)</p>

<p>Try the SAT too. She may do better on it in comparison. (Most of the kids I know that took both did better on the SAT. My son did better on the ACT though. The only way to know is to take them both).</p>

<p>Also, I read on one of the CC blogs a while ago that for the science portion they provide too much information. The kids suggested reading the question and looking at the graphs, etc. provided and answering the question without reading the entire passage. They said the passages contain too much useless information and it takes too long and you need to rush to complete the test in the allotted time. I guess you can try this on practice science questions to see if your daughter improves.</p>

<p>I hope this helps. (Don't despair. I think the schools know that the tests are difficult. I think they look at all the grades as a whole and will not reject outright based on the test. You can always call admissions to get more specific information.)</p>

<p>SAT or ACT prep works very well imo.
I took it and managed to increase my score by over 300 points. If u cant afford it, then books also work fine. Kaplan is the one I used aside from a prep course.
Anyways I bombed the first test as well but did very well on the second.</p>

<p>Try the SAT. My daughter also bombed the ACT (20 composite). This test was not for her. We will not send it to any colleges. She will not bother herself with it ever again. She did manage a 1730 on her January SAT...that is what will be sent to her college choices.</p>