<p>I took the ACT for the first time in March and earned a 31 composite with a 34 on english, 33 on reading, 31 on science, and a 26 on math. I took it again in October, hoping to earn a 33 by improving my math score to a 30. Instead, I earned a 29 composite with a 32 on english, 27 on math, 28 on reading, and a 28 on science.</p>
<p>I know that I did not take the October test in prime conditions, as I did not get very much sleep the night before and I was already distracted anyway. But now I need to decide; should I take the ACT again in December or just accept my 31 as my highest score? If I choose to take it again, what would be the best way to study to help me acheive a 33?</p>
<p>I've heard that it's very difficult to improve once you break 30, but I really did not study that much for either test, save a few math practices for the October test. However, I really want a 33 in order to qualify for the UF Honors College and to enhance my competitiveness for Duke, Vandy, and Emory.</p>
<p>Only YOU know if it’s truly a waste of time. If you’ve got the potential, then the only thing left to do is decide that you want it enough to work for it. If you want to get a 33, you had better prepare properly.</p>
<p>By the way, these standardized tests are more important than any single grade in school, next time if you’re deciding between studying and getting an A, or sleeping and getting a B, take the B. (usually, don’t quote me.)</p>
<p>My daughter took it in June and got a 28, but brought it up to a 30 in October. It’s a fine score for most of her schools. But, I told her it wouldn’t hurt to take it one more time for highly selective schools who accept the test taken in December. But, she’s concerned that if it should be lower, those schools will want all her tests from either ACT or SAT sent in—and would it hurt her chances if they saw it go lower IF it happened to? I had heard they only take the highest, anyway. Some schools even add the highest subscore out of each test.</p>
<p>No, it went straight from the second 29 to 33. The test I got the second 29 on was given to all students at my high school and I felt like it was a lot harder than the ones I signed up for individually.</p>
<p>Sorry, I misread your post. I practiced Science a lot. I was always good at English and Reading. I was good at Science too, but I just couldn’t do it fast enough. Once I got my speed up for it, it helped me out a lot.</p>
<p>Take a bunch of practice tests over the Science section, if that’s where you struggle for time. No one technique works for everybody and practicing it many times will help you figure out what works for you. Not to mention if you repeat something over and over you can usually do it faster eventually =P</p>
<p>Looking at your scores, I would suggest you do the same for Reading too. A lot of people struggle for time there. Some will tell you to read the passage and then answer the questions. Others say don’t read the passage, just scan for the answers. What I think I did was look over the questions and then keep them in mind while reading the entire passage. I’m a fairly fast reader though, so if you aren’t you may want to try another strategy.</p>