<p>She is taking Princeton Review SAT prep class. Does she need to also do an ACT prep? She has never taken the ACTs. SATs were not that great but she is definately more confident since taking the prep course.</p>
<p>I don’t think she needs to take a separate ACT prep class. Just understand that the ACT is more curriculum-oriented (especially the science section). Maybe have her do a few practice ACT tests to prepare.</p>
<p>^^disagree on the so-called science section, which is less science than speed-reading graphs and charts. An AP Stats class is better prep than any science course, IMO. Of course, knowledge of scientific terms will help. Also, read any prep guide’s how-to-attack the “dueling scientists” question – sometimes it’s just better to leave it to the end so as not to waste precious time.</p>
<p>But, nymom, the key with the ACT is SPEED. The problems are more straight forward, but there is no time to reflect, particularly on the last section. Prior to taking the ACT, pick up the Red Book (Real ACT tests or whatever it’s called this year) and take a couple of practice tests at home, on the kitchen timer. Pace is key for a high score.</p>
<p>Note too, that the ACT Math includes 4 trig problems, two of which are always right triangle problems. (SAT Math only includes a handful of Alg II problems.) Thus, even for a kid that doesn’t know trig, it’s easy to memorize the Pythag theorem with trig inputs.</p>
<p>Per my S and D who did it last year, for the ACT, math is harder and exam needs more speed, but the vocab and English are harder in the SAT. Do practice ACT tests to see if you know all the material; if not, SAT preps aren’t going to help. For the record, both my kids did better in the ACT - 33 and 35 compared to low 2000 something and 2100 something.</p>