Can I raise a 23 to a 30+ in 3 months?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

<p>So, I was very confident that SAT was my test. Then, I took the test in January, got my score, and realized SAT is NOT my test. I decided to forget the SAT (even though I spent all of Summer 2013 studying for it), and I started studying for the ACT. I took my first ACT with my school (barely had time to study), and I got a 23...I was super bummed. Three weeks later, I took it again...got the same freaking score...super bummed. Good news is, I got a 10 on the essay. I swear, I'm not dumb...I'm not a good test taker..obviously. I couldn't take the June 2014 ACT test because of personal reasons, so I'm planning on taking the September test. </p>

<p>tl;dr Is it possible to bring up my score from a 23 to a 30+ in 3 months...with hard work and dedication?
When I saw my 23, my heart sunk, because my dream school is Northwestern :( I need at least a 30 to graduate with distinct honors and qualify for scholarships. Please help me!</p>

<p>ALSO, should I retake the test WITH essay or NO ESSAY since I got a 10 on my last test?</p>

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<p>It’s possible, especially since you haven’t prepared much for it. First off, get a review guide or look online and make sure you understand all the material. Then you want to go through real past exams and take the different sections, go through your mistakes, and understand why you missed the questions that you did. With adequate prep, you should be able to get 30+.</p>

<p>These two guides are useful for strategy:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1071765-jeandevaches-guide-act.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1071765-jeandevaches-guide-act.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1325529-act-tips-succeed.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1325529-act-tips-succeed.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You probably need to take it with essay to be considered, but check with Northwestern and the scholarships. </p>

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<p>I’ve read that SAT prep courses can raise a score ~50-100 points. That’s less than a 10 percentile gain. </p>

<p>To go from 23 to 30+ on the ACT is a 25 percentile gain. </p>

<p>Impossible? No.
Improbable? Yes.</p>

<p>If u had only taken the ACT once, then u could argue that the 23 score was just a bad day. But you’ve taken it twice and demonstrated repeatability. </p>

4

<p>@GMTplus7 - I don’t think percentiles are the right way to think about it. To go from a 550 to a 650 in SAT CR is a 24 percentile gain, while going from 650 to 750 is only 9 percentiles, but the latter is much harder to do. </p>

<p>Many people here have made huge gains by preparing for the exams. If the OP improves his/her test taking skills and builds the base needed for the ACT, getting a 30 is not unreasonable. </p>