My PSAT and pre ACT scores weren’t as good as I hoped they would be, but I definitely did better on the pre ACT. I’m currently a sophomore and I’m in my second year in the IB program.
I didn’t have a calculator at all during both of these tests including the calculator active sections, so I think that may have affected my score a little but not much. I am taking SL l next year as a junior (which is similiar to pre-calc I believe) though all of my friends, who all did IB in middle school, are taking it now and all achieved higher math scores.
Pre ACT
Composite - 31
Math - 24
Science - 35
English - 28
Reading - 35 (I got all questions right in this section)
PSAT
Composite -1230
Math - 560
Reading - 670
I did much better in the sections that didn’t have anything to do with math. I am looking to raise my score and will be taking both tests next year. I know I definitely have to work on my math, which has never been a strong suit of mine.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a course of action I should take to maximize my test scores for next year? What are realistically the scores I could achieve if I studied generally and worked on my math, and what kinds of schools are in my reach? Did anyone else get a much higher level ACT score?
I think you can do much better with improving your ACT if you focus on Math and English. It’s impressive that you got such high scores on reading and science. Your PSAT isn’t near the same level. You can of course improve your SAT too, but you have a long way to go to get high enough to qualify for NMSQT. It really depends on how much energy and time you want to spend to get an even higher score. I think you seem to be on track to get into some pretty selective colleges if you can raise math and English for the ACT, but of course I have no idea what your grades are.
If your paretns can afford it, get private tutoring for math and English. If you can’t, get a really good study guide and n official ACT study guide too. You have plenty of time, so maybe spend time over the summer, or whenever ver you have time. Cramming for,the ACt doesn’t work, IMO.
I believe that the ACT is more “your test” than the SAT. In my opinion, the math and english sections are easiest to improve, which is good for you. In my experience, math is about knowing how to apply formulas. Math is a strong section for me naturally, so I don’t know if this tip will really work for you, but the most important thing for me to do was memorizing formulas and knowing when to apply them. Especially the “when” part, because formulas are useless if you don’t actually apply them correctly. Also, bring use a calculator. When I took the ACT, I got a 36 in math, and I had 10 minutes left. I used a calculator wherever I could. I don’t know if timing is a problem, but it will certainly help you there. Even if the time limit is not a problem for you, there are some things that the human brain just can’t do as well as a calculator. I don’t know how the Pre-ACT differs from the real thing, but the real one has all sorts of trig stuff that you cannot do mentally. For English, you just have to memorize rules, honestly. You should study grammar and punctuation rules, and maybe read more if you don’t read a lot already. I didn’t have to study for the english portion (36 again) because I had read so much as a child that the rules were sort of rooted in my brain, even if I couldn’t pick them out and define them.