How to get an act of 34-36

<p>I took the SAT in March and got 2120. This converts to probably 30 on an ACT, but I have to score above 34 on the September test. WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE. Therefore, I DESPERATELY need help! Please tell me which prep class is best, which book to get, and any useful strategies or methods you have used during your ACT prep. I really appreciate your help! Thnx!</p>

<p>I got the same score on my SAT but when I took the ACT in June I got a 35. Personally, I did not prep at all, but after taking it, I can tell you that by far the best way to do better is to do practice tests and time yourself. The timing was by far the hardest part and if I had practiced that, I would probably have gotten a 36. So make sure you do that. And by the way, the SAT score is not a good indicator of ACT score. The tests are significantly different and you shouldn’t let your SAT score discourage you. A 34 is definitely doable with a 2120.</p>

<p>Personally I’m against not prepping. Your SAT score roughly translates to a 32, which is an admirable score. A 34 is about a 2250. I got a 34 on my ACT after a 2030 SAT, this is what I did. </p>

<p>I prepped A LOT - couple weeks before the test I made sure I understood all the math formulas and basic english grammar. I also recommend that you DO NOT read the Science background information and go straight to the diagrams. As for reading, I didn’t really have a set structure … but don’t be afraid to jump around passages. </p>

<p>The week of the test I did tons of practice. That is the best way to score big, tons of practice. </p>

<p>Books I used:
1296 ACT practice questions by Princeton Review
The book is slightly harder than the real deal, however it wasn’t significantly harder and it prepped me very well.</p>

<p>I got like a 2030 (2080 superscored) SAT but a 35 ACT…</p>

<p>I barely prepped - I took a practice test the night before. The best advice I can offer you is to pace yourself and know your math. You also need some luck; anybody who gets 34-36 has a little bit of luck involved.</p>

<p>^ agreed. Science could’ve been a lot worse for me, but luckily the “fighting scientists” passage was about physics (which I love) and not something like bio.</p>

<p>I’ve done some practice problems, and the test seems pretty easy, but people tell me the curve is insane. Basically, if you miss one problem, you’re down to a 35 in that section already. Is it really that brutal?</p>

<p>^ depends. this time (June act), you could miss 1 and still get a 36 (as I did) because it was a harder test than usual so it was curved like this.</p>

<p>Thank you to everyone that replied. What prep classes did you guys go to? Does anyone have a curve that says what raw score = what total score?</p>