<p>I am a junior at a very low performing, rural school in MS. To most people in my school, my score basically makes me a freaking genius . I am fully aware that this is not true, I am average. I've never really studied for the ACT, just a few practice test every once in awhile. Do any of you have tips to help me find an effective study plan to help me improve my score from 27 to at least a 30 by April ACT? I would really appreciate that. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I promise that it is possible!
I took it December of 2011 (junior year) with no prep and got a 25.
Then I retook it March of 2012 (junior year) with no prep and got a 27.
Then I finally retook it December of 2012 (senior year) and prepped with the Real ACT book and got a 32.25! It really works! Just get it and take it seriously :)</p>
<p>Thanks. I really am looking into applying to Stanford and maybe some other top schools. I think if I can get my scores up to at least a 30 I could stand a good chance. I’m African American by the way and I’m from a not poor but kind of average middle class family. These are major hooks that I really don’t want to completely rely upon. Time for me to get motivated and study hard. Thanks for the response. By the way, did you have a specific study schedule or something?</p>
<p>Yes, anything is possible!</p>
<p>My school had us take an ACT practice test early in my junior year and I got a 26. I took the real thing with no prep and got a 28. I wasn’t satisfied, so I signed up for a few weeks of tutoring and managed to get it to a 30 and a superscore of a 31.</p>
<p>I know that if I would have done more tutoring and practiced more frequently on my own I could’ve achieved a 32 no problem. So just work hard and if you do that nothing can stop you from reaching your goal!</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!!!</p>
<p>Thank you and congrats on your score.</p>
<p>I would definitely suggest the prep books! They made a world of difference in my scores!</p>
<p>Which ones specifically?</p>
<p>Just practice, practice, practice! I have a book called The Real ACT Guide or something similar to that and it’s great. It has 4 ot 5 full practice tests with answers and explanations. I would make sure if you’re not going to see a tutor that you also buy a book that teaches you strategy and different methods for attacking the seperate sections.</p>
<p>Just a note: don’t get caught up in raising your lowest score. My science was super low, a 24, so I assumed I should put the most effort into that because I had the most room for improvement. Well I was wrong. I have come to find that even though my English and Reading scores were initially good, they were also the easiest to raise because they are my strengths. So before you tackle your worst section, make sure you focus on getting your best section as high as you possibly can.</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to go get those and thanks for the advice on the scores and which ones to focus on.</p>
<p>It’s definatly possible. Just do practice tests and actually go over your answers and figure out WHY you go them wrong and learn from your mistakes. That’s the most important part if you already have timing down.</p>
<p>I would definitely buy the red book and complete it. I also recently bought Barron’s 36 as a supplement. You can get it for $12-$15.</p>
<p>Yes. I got a 34. PM me if you want some help :)</p>
<p>Sychmano,</p>
<p>I haven’t posted enough things yet to have PM, sorry. But what books did you use to prepare? Especially for math & science b/c those were my lowest scores. Thanks :)</p>
<p>The Real ACT Prep Guide (aka the Red Book) is the most useful in my opinion. What’s your problem in math and science? Do you not understand how to do the problems, or are you just rushed for time?</p>
<p>If you can give me an email, I can send you a study guide that I wrote to prepare for the ACT and get an awesome score!</p>