How to get my 21 to a 30 in 3 months

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

Hi a little bit about myself before I begin…

  • I’m in numerous AP Classes and honors classes
  • My GPA is a 3.6
  • And I’ll be starting my senior year this fall (Woohoo!)
  • And I’ve taken the ACT three times scores are as follows 20 (March 2016), 20 (April 2016), and 21 (June 2016).
  • The first two I studied quite a bit but not as effectively and was very disappointed in myself when I received another 20 in April.
  • The June ACT I signed up for an ACT class at my school that met once a week for 2 hrs (it was helpful but not that helpful) but was kinda relieved that my score did go up by a point. I didn't even prep that much besides attending the classes because it was also exam month.

WHY i suck so bad:

  • I hate standardized testing, gives me anxiety
  • I felt like I prepared for it wrong and wasn’t studying effectively
  • I"M DEATHLY AFRAID OF THE SCIENCE SECTION! even though i love science and I’m majoring in biology! :slight_smile:
  • Math isn’t too difficult but I get confused what the question is asking from time to time and guess as a result because I don’t want to waste time
  • Reading isn’t hard either… its just some sections are too boring to read so I skim. I see this in my practice tests, for example if it’s an interesting passage I get a max. 2 wrong out of that passage but if it’s a boring one i get 4 and over wrong.
  • English isn’t hard I just know I have to strengthen my skills
  • ALL THE TIMES I’VE TAKEN THIS TEST I’VE ALWAYS AHD 5-10min BEFORE THEY CALLED TIME ( all my friends thought i was weird to have this much free time even though i double check my answers)
  • i get into this weird test mentality that two of the same answers or i shouldn’t see a pattern on my test, for example on my bubble sheet if there are 2 B’s next to each other I panic thinking I messed up and change one of the answers (IK weird)

The scores I want…
English: 30-34
Math: 30
Reading: 32-33
Science: 25-28 (I feel like science is the hardest for me so these are reasonable/ attainable scores)

Scores from June:
English: 24
Math: 22
Reading: 20
Science: 19

What I’m planning to do…

  • study every day from 7am-11am and take a practice test every Saturday morning
  • take subtests in areas I’m weak at and learn to be less scared of certain sections
  • STUDY MANY FLASH CARDS FOR MATH SCIENCE AND ENGLISH

MY QUESTIONS:

  • is this attainable score for me with my study plan?
  • Any suggestions for the study plan
  • Please give me some pointers on how to study effectively! (because I don’t want to waste my time or my future X()
  • How long did you study/ you think someone should study to earn a 30?
  • Is taking the act my senior year bad?
  • Any free websites to get more practice tests/ tips or help for free?
  • And i know fall is still a month and half away, but I'm very stressed about this test! And I need this 30 for a scholarship but I feel like I can't do it. I really need some concrete advice especially if you're someone in my shoes right now or experienced this before. PLEASE HELP ME!! sorry for such a long post!! thanks in advance
2

Hi! I’m going to try to give you the best advice I can. I scored a 32 on the June ACT from an original 28, but I am still improving that score. I need a 35 for a full ride to my top choice school. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what score you start from. Any goal is within reach and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. None of my top scoring friends naturally scored high. We all had to work hard.

If you feel like you don’t have the content of the exam down, I’d read a prep book and go over those concepts. I don’t think flashcards are necessary unless you have major content gaps. The best advice I can give is taking practice tests and learning from those tests. When it comes down to it, the ACT is an achievement test, not a knowledge test. With enough diligence any reasonably smart person (which sounds like you are) can do well! :slight_smile:

My advice: work one section at a time. Start with science! It is honestly so gratifying to make your weakest section your strength. Take a week or two and do a timed Science practice test every day (it’s summer, so I’m sure you can make the time). Then, grade your test and go through every question. Understand why you missed the question, but more importantly how you can prevent the mistake in the future. You can research strageties, but remember to personalize your own from these practice tests. After going through your test, write a couple bullet points of what you learned and how you can do better next time. (Maybe you will discover that it works best for you to go straight to the questions for Science, but always read the passages first for Reading.) You might not see improvement on every test, but don’t give up. If you are consistent and work hard, you will improve. Do this for each section until you feel confident. Then, fine tune your skills by taking half-length and/or full length tests depending on your schedule.

The first time I took the ACT I scored a 24 in Science and a 26 in Reading (those were my weakest sections). With just a few practice tests in preparation I scored a 33 in both sections this last ACT, which is a huge jump.

If you do not have the motivation to take practice tests and you or your parents can afford it, get a professional tutor. I do not feel like that’s necessary (I self study), but many of my friends swear that their tutor was the only reason they did well. Good luck!

3

Specifically though…

  1. For testing anxiety, practice will do you some good. If you get very comfortable with the test you won't get as anxious. You need to have the mentality "I got this" for every section. You still have to work hard (don't get cocky), but you should feel confident when you walk into that test!
  2. You say that you get confused on math and end up guessing because you don't want to waste time. Well, it's true you don't want to waste all your time on a question, but never be satisfied with guessing! You want to get to the point where you can through the whole test and feel confident in almost all your answers if you want to get a 30. I always go through the whole section and skip the ones I had trouble on, but I don't guess. I go back and figure them out. If you have 5 minutes left, go ahead and guess, but you can't let yourself just quit like that without a fight. You can't settle for making a blind guess. Be smart. Work your tail off to get as many answers right as possible.
  3. I had a similar problem with lack of motivation for reading. It helped me to "annotate" as I read. I just underline, circle, box, star things. It just keeps me engaged in what I'm reading and it also helps me find the answer for the questions later. You need to learn to get in the zone for that section. It's hard, but you can do it. Now it's one of my favorite sections. Also, it helped me to not bubble in every question right away. It took my focus away from the passage. So, I would do all 10 questions from a passage and then bubble those 10 before moving on the next passage. Do not guess on reading! Always, always, always find support in the passage.
  4. English is straight forward. Just practice. Always choose the most concise answer. Always choose active voice. Eliminate answer choices if you are struggling with a question.
4

Thank you so much for your help and advice! I hope you also get your dream score! I just finished studying for today which was exhausting but well worth it :slight_smile: