<p>I am probably going to take the test in April, and my practice tests show mid 20's. If you got a 27+, how did you study and from which books? I have Barrons, but some say Princeton Review is more accurate.</p>
<p>Getting a 27+ is not too difficult as long as you prepare well and identify your weaknesses early enough so you can work on them. I strongly recommend the Real ACT Prep Guide (most accurate), Kaplan, and PR 1296 ACT Practice Questions is pretty good too. Those 3 helped me get a 31 in April, and then a 33 in June. Have you considered taking the September ACT?</p>
<p>DS studied for the SAT from Barron’s, and then took 2 practice ACT tests with not much other study from Barron’s ACT. On the practice ACT tests, it seemed like he was getting around 28. On the practice SAT tests (6 of them) he only cracked 2000 once. He ended up getting 2210 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT. Once and done.</p>
<p>I am in no way ready to take the ACT this Sept. I want to take it in April, and if I have to retake it, in June. If I get a 27+, I won’t retake. I want 3-4 months to be able to study for SAT II’s.</p>
<p>Thanks Sylvan. I will check Kaplan out, and definitly get the 1296 ACT book for practice to see where I am weak on etc.</p>
<p>Personally, i absolutely HATE Barron’s books. They’re just so tedious and way too hard…and no it does not “over prepare you” so the actual test is easier, it just makes everything much more stressful than it already is. I like McGraw Hill and Princeton books. I haven’t bought any yet but i have made a few trips to the bookstore to study and the 10 practice tests by McGraw Hill and Princeton’s 1296 book were pretty good. I’d focus on your strongest point on the test and work on that to get it as high as you can! Then, focus on your weak spots to bring it up slightly higher if you know you can’t raise it super high.</p>
<p>My strong points are math and english. I scored like 30 on both sections without prep so i am working to bring both sections up 32+. My weakest points are the reading and science and it’s honestly just time. When i am given no time, i can easily score 28-31 on both sections but with the time limit, i panic and i usually get 24-25 on both sections. it just takes practice. I’m trying to practice reading effectively faster and interpret graphs ugh. Anyways, i’d say about 2 months of good, effective studying you can easily score 27+. You also said that you score is about mid-twneties so you are getting there! Good Luck!</p>
<p>P.S., My first ACT i scored a 25. My average is now 29-30 on practice tests, so you can do it! My SAT sucks though. I got 1450 on psat and 1600 on the actual test. my practice tests are in the 1800 range so hopefully i can score above 1800+ on SAT and at least aorund 28-30 on ACT.</p>
<p>I got a 27 the first time I took it this past April only with practice from the first edition CollegeBoard SAT book. I’m now using the Peterson ACT book and the PR book getting a 29-31 on practice tests. I’m also finding helpful an algebraic expressions study guide that I bought from borders</p>