Evaluate the ACT practice books?

<p>Well so far I've been relying on three different sets of books: The Princeton Review (1296 ACT questions), McGraw-Hill's 10 practice tests, and the Real ACT.</p>

<p>Could somebody kindly evaluate how they are such as their strengths and weaknesses? For example, here's my evaluation:</p>

<p>Princeton Review: Great Book. Seems to be a tad bit harder than the actual test. Encountered lot of typos/mistakes on the answer keys, but otherwise a very reliable book.</p>

<p>Barron's: Waste of money (just imo). Way too hard that I seriously doubt the material on it will be on the real ACT. It's not a matter of getting frustrated on getting a low score, but more about unnecessary difficulty.</p>

<p>McGraw-Hill: I think it's a great book but majority of people I talked to didn't really like it. Why is that? Seems to be very slightly easier than the actual test.</p>

<p>Real-ACT: I would say one of the most valuable books. The way the answers are placed is a bit annoying, but the test material and difficulty accurately parellels the actual test.</p>

<p>Are there any more useful ACT books? Please state difficulty comparison as well as its strenghts/weakness, why you liked it/why you didn't like it, etc.</p>

<p>P.S. Good luck to all those September ACT takers! I am one too!</p>

<p>i agree with you pretty much.
Princeton review: decent, a lil hard. </p>

<p>Mcgrawhill: I am using them now. I love it. I think it seems easier cause the answer choice kinda seems more obvious, but they are still really good questions. The strategies described in the book is so concise and useful. I really like it a lot. </p>

<p>Barrons: terrible. </p>

<p>Real Act: real tests… what could you say.</p>

<p>real act: exact difficulty
princeton: a little harder
barrons: much harder
mcgrawhill: a tiny bit more than a little easier</p>

<p>depends on what score you are seeking. IMO, Barron’s is great for math and science if you want to get them all correct. PR is good for English/Writing.</p>

<p>Real ACT is always best, but only three practice tests is limiting…</p>

<p>What’s best for Reading?</p>

<p>So true, I agree.</p>

<p>Barron’s is way too difficult. There will only be 4 trig questions on the test, but it covers almost ever aspect of every topic. Reading and English seem fine, but even the science is too difficult. I’m using it anyways, since I’ve already purchased the book.</p>

<p>PR and PR 1296 seems excellent. Questions seem fair/bit harder, but will probably look like the real test.</p>

<p>Barron’s is great for the information that it gives, but the exams are way to difficult. I scored a full 5/6 pointed higher on the real ACT than on the Barron’s exams. I got a 28 on the April '09, and I took that on 2 hrs of sleep because I was cramming b/c I was afraid I was going to do poorly b/c of the Barron’s exams. I wonder what I would’ve gotten if I wasn’t stressing out.</p>

<p>I just finished PR 1296, and I think it’s great, but it does seem a little bit harder.</p>