Hello there fellas. I am taking act test April 19th at my school and have no idea how to study for it. Any tips on what to do would be helpful. I wanna try and earn a really good score to my make up for my lackluster 3.4 unweighted gpa.
To be honest, many of the Asians who ace standardized tests start studying and preparing for these tests around age 4, by going to Kumon and other math tutoring where they do daily math worksheets for years and years, well in advance of the SAT and ACT. We’re not Asian, but by the time my daughter took the SAT and ACT in junior year, she had already taken the SAT several times starting in middle school (for talent identification programs). Each time she took it, she started studying months in advance, and taking practice exams to find out what areas to work on and improve before the big exam day. She also went to Kumon and another tutoring place for math whenever new concepts were introduced, to get extra practice. Her SAT and ACT scores were in the 99th percentile on both tests.
Asking how to prepare for the exam 17 days beforehand is sort of pointless, but to maximize your chances of doing well, you need to at least buy an ACT test prep book or online test preparation where you can take actual sample tests and see how you do. Get familiar with the types of questions, and refresh your memory on math problems. Also see how the timing is for you, so you can pace yourself on test day to be able to complete the sections in the allotted time. This will take several hours at a time, but it will be worth it.
Thank you, will get right on that!
I don’t think anyone really starts at 4. Don’t freak out. I have a kid who scored a 35 with no studying, and a 2380 on the old SAT with less than 6 months of studying a few hours a week. Not saying you wil do that, but you don’t need 12 years of prep, either.
Now… you don’t realistically have much time to prep for the April test. @mommyrocks has good suggestions for what you can do in the short time you have. But assuming you want a higher score, plan to take again in the fall and do some serious prep this summer.
Yea I’m not really planning on seriously considering this score as my final, just trying to do the best I can, thank you!
Just input from a 34 scorer. I personally, did not study much for either of the ACTs I took, (first score was a 29, took the two tests nine months apart, one in march of junior year and one in october of senior year). But since you are short on time I would try to identify which component of the ACT you are the weakest in.
For me, I am very strong in reading comprehension (if you are weak in reading comprehension, I’m not sure how you can cram for it because good reading comprehension skills comes from a lot of reading, often for pleasure, over years) as well as grammar. If you are weak in English, I’d brush up on basic grammar rules (its/it’s usage,conjugation,present/past tense,plural/singular are examples).
I am weaker in math so the small amount of studying I did do was brushing up on old algebra II equations. The math on the ACT will not exceed what you learn in trig, but if you don’t remember how to find a point on a graph given a function, I’d look into that.
The science one is also a bit difficult to study for. I took a practice test for that to study. It is probably the section most beneficial from using practice tests because you need to get used to the kind of fast data analysis and graph reading they want you to do.
Also search up the type of essay they want you to write for the ACT and example prompts. You don’t even have to practice writing an essay but just knowing what type to mentally prepare for will help a bit!
This is just from personal experience but I hope this helps! On a side note, I am so glad I don’t have to stress about ACT/SATs anymore, and a 34 is great, but on campus next fall I’m not going to be bragging about that.
@mommyrocks : I am one of “the Asians” who aced the ACT. And no, I did not start studying at age 4, I did not go to Kumon or any other tutoring center, and frankly, I do not appreciate your decision to turn to a racial stereotype for an unnecessary introduction to a post about your daughter.
@aicragorutra : I studied for about 2 months to get from a 32 to a 36. I know that that’s a lot longer than your time frame, and I am basing this advice off of my personal experience with the test, but I believe that you should familiarize yourself with the most concrete rules that appear on the ACT. For example, in the English section, memorize grammar rules. For the Math section, make flashcards for formulas (look up a list). For Reading and Science, things get a little messier, so maybe practice those the most. If you have the time, do practice tests (you can find some for free online to print). When you grade your practice tests, write down all of your mistakes and lucky guesses in a notebook, as well as a reason for why you missed the question. If it’s a math problem, rework it until it’s right. If math problems require formulas that you don’t know, make some more flashcards. Read through the “mistake book” every other day. I hope that these tips help you. I cannot guarantee that they will be enough for you to reach your goal score on April 19th, but I would advise you to take them under consideration, especially if you plan on taking the ACT again at a later date.
@18college1111 No harm intended. My daughter was the only non-Asian at the Kumon and Enopi tutoring centers she attended off and on for years, so it was like stumbling upon a secret weapon. At the centers she went to, many of the students started at age 4 and continued through high school. The National Merit Semifinalists in our metro area were also mostly Asian. I did not say – and did not mean to imply – that ALL Asians use math tutoring or start at a young age or ace standardized tests. My apologies if it came across that way. There is a book by some Korean-American sisters called “Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers–and How You Can Too.” Many non-Asians admire Asians for their success (statistically speaking), and want to know how they can also be successful. My reference to Asians was meant to be positive along those lines.
I’m an Asian. I started the ACT June of my senior year. I took the December one. START EARLY.
- practice a section each day. Visit crack act . com for all the past tests.
- understand your weaknesses.
- TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
Just realized that CC bans copyrighted test material. Buy the red book.