Okay, so here’s the deal. I’m a rising senior that took the old SAT and got a 2260. Although I think that score is fine, most of its weight comes from the writing section and not so much math, which isn’t ideal for schools like MIT. In addition, I also just really want a perfect score haha. I don’t intend to take the New SAT because I’ve heard varying opinions on its practicality since I’ll be part of the first group to submit new SAT scores, and so, to play it safe, I’ve decided to take the ACT.
But
I know virtually nothing about the ACT. I had a chance to take the PSAT before the SAT, and took the test 3 times. But with the ACT I have one, MAYBE 2 chances to get it right, and I have a 2 month time limit. So, I’d like to ask the many experts throughout this forum: What can I do?
I’m willing to put in the time, as long as it is spent efficiently, and I’m willing to pay for books that deliver great results.
What should my prep plan look like?
What books are MUST buys? (aside from the red book) (ie: like what Erica Meltzer’s Grammar book was for the SAT)
Are there any strategy guides on these forums that I should take a look at? (ie: My Fast SAT Prep Guide: How I went 2080 -> 2340 In 10 Days)
Any other thoughts/suggestions?
Here’s a little background from my first diagnostic test if it helps (I didn’t know what the format of the test was going into it so my time management was horrid)
Math: 30 (Need this to be a 36)
English: 30
Reading: 36
Science 28 (Need this to be a 36) (Didn’t get to finish)
Skip the books and hire a private tutor in your area. There is no book that has consistently solid strategies, and PT’
s in the books (including the ACT Red Book) are not necessarily reflective of the level of difficulty of the real tests.
From my 1000-plus students over the last decade, it is quite difficult to go from your PT scores to perfect scores.
Also, I would make sure that I don’t pin the rest of my life on getting into MIT or an Ivy. There are millions of us out here in the real world who are successful in life in spite of only having a state or midlevel private college education.
If you can afford it, I’d use Testive, which is what we did for our D. She had a composite 31 in Feb 2015 and got it to a 35 by Oct 2015. She did Testive for 3 months. It was tailored to her weak areas (science – she went from 28 to 36) and math. She did it religiously, about 25-30 minutes a day. Look into it. For what you get, I think it was well worth the money. She worked so many questions, that she was very comfortable during the test. Good luck.
The problem is, I live in a relatively small city so its hard to come by good tutors. On a slightly more positive note, I took a second test today and got a 34 composite with:
34 English
30 Math (poor time management)
35 Reading
36 Science
Judging by your name, I’m assuming you’re a tutor. Do you have any tips on how I can get those last few questions aside from just doing more practice problems?
@midtntutor For me, the red book helped a lot. It went from a 28 to 33 from the December test to the February test. It really did take some rigorous studying though. I will vouch for tutors - my friend went from 26 to a 35 in the same time frame.
@aabraham May ask what you’re using for your diagnostics? I’m also planning to raise my score this fall.
For my daughter it was the repetition of timed practise. After about 3 runs through she had a rhythm down that let her pace well through each section. Raised her score from a 29 last year to a 34 this year
Also, I disagree with the quote above as a general matter. In certain cases, private tutors make total sense but in many others self-studying makes sense. Motivated kids with an aggressive approach to learning who are on a budget should definitely consider self-studying.
The first diagnostic I took (I didn’t know the format of ACT going into it so my time management was horrid) was a 32 composite (32E 30M 36R 28S) (I messed the english sub up in the original post)
I took a second one yesterday and got a 34 composite (34E 30M 35R 36S)
@steffers456 That’s awesome! Do you happen to know if she did anything specifically for math? Although the questions themselves aren’t too bad, I’ve had a tough time pacing myself through the section.
@RiceFarmer Sorry I misread your post and thought you were asking me what my diagnostics were and not what I was using for them haha. I used the red book for the first one and crackACT for the 2nd
@aabraham No there wasn’t anything specific other than studying for her math class all year. She took advanced honors algebra II this past year and that seemed to fill in some of her knowledge gaps.
My son got a 35 with self testing. Take practice tests, specifically in the weak sections (math and science) STRICTLY TIMED. I can’t stress this enough, don’t cheat on the practice tests. Do a couple of sections every week in the summer (say 2 math , 1 science). But the most important thing is to review every single wrong answer and figure out WHY you got it wrong. Did you understand the concept? If not, study it. Timing? Do more practice. Stupid mistakes? Pay attention and skip hard ones to the end.
That said, I would not take time away from apps or hurt your GPA for this test. U are sitting on a great SAT score. focus on your essays this summer too. You will be shocked at how little time u will have in the fall to do apps and do well in school.
I think the reason Testive worked so well for my D is she enjoyed having a set curriculum with an “assignment” each week. Plus, she thought it was kind of fun working on the computer. The work also got progressively harder, and she realized that it was actually a little harder than the test. For science, this helped with the time aspect of it. But, it hasn’t worked for other friends, primarily b/c they didn’t stick with it. I think sticking with something and being consistent is probably the best plan no matter what you do! Good luck.
I agree with suzyQ7, except we did not do timed tests, because that was not his problem. My S worked the heck out of areas that needed the most improvement. He reviewed every wrong answer. M-F for 2 months leading up to the exam he did problems for 10 - 15 minutes. I corrected and gave the incorrect problems back to him with the explanation for how to do the problem. The next day he got more problems related to those he got wrong and a few new ones. He could easily take 15-30 minutes out of his day like this. You can hire a private tutor to do something similar or you can do it yourself. With my 16yo D I may hire a tutor, she pushes back more than S did.
I would never do one of those Kaplan or other classes. Why waste all that time doing stuff you already know?
I am biased because of the 8 to 10 parents I talk to each week whose sons or daughters have tried and struggled to self study. As a student back in the 20th century I was extremely self motivated but my math act could have used help from a tutor who could identify and fill the gaps in my knowledge. Yes there are those who get a 35 with self study, and others who have parents who can guide them, but in my professional experience they are the exception and not the rule.
I wonder if ACT allows you to pick which scores to send? If it does, I would concentrate on math using multiple repetitions of the math section. That should help with time management and familiarizing yourself with various examples of math content and questions. I would do this even if you could not select which sections from specific versions to send. After a number of trials of timed math, I would practice taking the entire test to maintain speed and accuracy of the other sections.
Absolutely! Hurray, midtntutor! Do not get would up in attending your dream school. Even if you don’t get in, your life isn’t ruined, over and such nonsense. You and your brain are going to school to think and learn; you are not going for a surgical procedure to transfer MITness into your brain. There are few limits on what you can learn and books haven’t been burned. College is what YOU make of it! Good luck on the ACT.
@RiceFarmer could you elaborate on your study plan (and also provide additional details on how your friend later improved his score by that much)? I’m working with the same time frame and slightly freaking out by whether I’ll be able to go from a 26C (first time, no prep) to a 32+ composite for the September test.
