<p>Those of you who hit 30 or higher, how did you prepare? Did you use books or take an online or classroom course? I take the ACT in six weeks, and I want to prepare effectively.</p>
<p>tux</p>
<p>as long as you've done well in school, you should be fine ( i got a 34)</p>
<p>I've done very well in school, but does this mean that I'd need to just practice on top of all that learning, and I'm good.</p>
<p>I would try the Princeton Review book. I have yet to get my scores back, they come out tomorrow, but my boyfriend got a 32 and he used the book.</p>
<p>Actually not that bad to read either.</p>
<p>Umm... I didn't... The night before, I went over my friend's house, and we took a practice test together out of her book (Princeton Review, I think). I don't think that you really need to prep that much for the ACT. Most of it is stuff that you should know already (math, grammar, comprehending passages), unlike the SATs, which have stupid little tricks. If you get good grades in Math and English, you really should be fine.</p>
<p>I went in with the mindset that the ACT likes us (unlike the SAT), is straightforward, and will simply test my knowledge</p>
<p>No preparation at all</p>
<p>I got my 36 composite, so I'm happy</p>
<p>You are crazy to not take at least one practice test before you go in.</p>
<p>Take a practice test this weekend, and then see if one or more sections is lower than you are expecting. If there is a section that you need to prep for, then you still have time.</p>
<p>If you want an old ACT, feel free to PM me and I will send you one that I have in pdf.</p>
<p>I agree with those who said that it's not really a big deal. It might be helpful to get a book simply for the Math section because a bit of review for that can always help. Beyond that, if you know what you're doing in school, you should be fine. That's my opinion, anyway.</p>
<p>I dont agree with those who said that it is not a big deal. Hopefully, there intentions are pure, but hit the prep hard and early, then if it turns out you are good, then great.</p>
<p>If you approach the ACT with the cavalier attitude presented here, but you don't do well on it, then the only person to blame will be you for following bad advice.</p>
<p>The people who are saying its no big deal will not be there for you if you don't do well, so err on the cautious side until you have sufficient information to the contrary.</p>
<p>I am not trying to cast aspersions on those who have stated that you dont need to prep for the ACT, but I am saying that the advice that works for them will not necessarily work for you, and more importantly it is your scores, and your app that is at stake here, not theirs.</p>
<p>I'm not saying preparation isn't important, but I was just trying to convey my mindset when i posted up there</p>
<p>I went in just thinking it was a test that was going to test me over what I've learned in school, and that in order for it to give an accurate indicator of how well my schooling is preparing me, I should just take it for what it's worth.</p>
<p>If you freak out over a test like this, you aren't going to do well....just stay calm, stay focused, get into your groove, and just dominate it</p>
<p>I had a 27 on my first test. After 3 practice tests and a while of studying the Princeton Review book, I brought my composite up to a 31. I'm retaking- hoping to bring up math and science. </p>
<p>I do have some advice:</p>
<ul>
<li>Take practice tests with the test day time settings. Only give yourself 35 minutes for science, etc. Do this as often as you want. The books I recommend are The Real ACT Prep Guide and the Princeton Review version. I'm running out of practice tests now, though. :(</li>
<li>After taking your practice tests, review the questions you got wrong and see why you got them wrong.</li>
<li>On test day, wear comfortable clothing. Get a normal night's sleep the night before. Eat a good breakfast and clear your head. Treat the test however you want to, but don't panic. Some people treat it as a game, some people remind themself "I'm taking the test, the test isn't taking me." etc. etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you feel you don't need to prep, don't. If you do, do. I think preparation is what helped me raise my score and I hope to raise it again. Try to review math and grammar concepts you've forgotten during your preparation.</p>
<p>Use the Real ACT Prep Guide for practice tests.</p>
<p>Umm...I took a couple of practice tests, and I just reviewed some stuff in the PR book.</p>
<p>I got a pathetic score.</p>
<p>Don't stoop the level of taking a prep course for the ACT. They want your money.</p>
<p>I took the MC practice test that's in the official registration/info booklet and got a 35. Then I went over some questions on ACT's website. I took one full practice test (with essay, graded for free by a tutoring service. I got a 9 T_T) and one practice test from the Real ACT book without an essay. And then two more reading sections in the Real ACT book because that was my weakest section.
So I don't think my essay score will be very good (to be released in a few weeks), but the 36 matters more.</p>
<p>Overly preparing or stressing about these tests seems quite frankly a waste of everyone's time. They're just one number which you can retake if need be; on top of that, they don't even really test your content knowledge, except basic math.</p>
<p>My prep: I think I took like the English practice test in that book. Then I went to sleep, ate a good breakfast, and took the test. Haven't gotten score yet but I'm pretty confident it'll be high thirties; the test seemed not bad at all.</p>
<p>just take a practice one i didn't prep or do anything, and got a 28 because i didn't finish any of the sections because of the time constraints...</p>
<p>I'm not saying this will work for you, but the night before I was out til midnight with my boyfriend and our friends, didn't take a practice test, no prep whatsoever, walked in and took the test, and got a 36. The most important thing for me was that I didn't stress at ALL about it (my SAT score was my cushion, and I was only taking the ACT for the graduation requirement). I see so many people choke up because they get too stressed, so do whatever studying works for you, as long as it's not TOO much.</p>
<p>Look at it this way: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Many (most?) colleges give equal weight to your grades and your test scores. </p></li>
<li><p>You spent four years working hard to earn good grades.</p></li>
<li><p>Should you spend, say, 20 hours studying for the other half?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I read the Princeton Review's Cracking the ACT and got a 30 on my first try. I knew most of the material, but it was a really good review. and in the case of trig, which my pre cal class hadn't started yet, it taught me really efficiently. </p>
<p>On math problems I didn't know, I guessed for the answer that seemed most logical. Such as, in an area problem, I chose the answer with X squared. Guess smart, since guessing is an easy way to pick up points.</p>
<p>My knowledge of history helped me on the critical reading. Luckily my history teachers favorite historical figure is Louis Armstrong, so I didn't even read the passage on that one.</p>
<p>Study. Practice. That's all there is to it.</p>