<p>082349: I thought the Science was the hardest part. The Math was still pretty hard, but I haven’t taken Trig yet. I thought the English and the Reading were pretty easy. I got a 30 when I took the McGraw-Hill practice test. I thought Barron’s 36 was good preparation, but I guess not.</p>
<p>MindOnMars12: Thanks. I’ll check it out.</p>
<p>I think these tests can be extremely harmful and helpful, depending on the student. I do extremely well at these types of tests. It’s really elimination and logic to choose the best answer and a test of your time management. I’m very sorry to hear about your scores but please don’t think it reflects on you and your intelligence. GPAs, extracurriculars and essays still count for a lot and you have time over the summer to study and raise your scores. I believe in you <3 Some of my closest friends didn’t do as well as they should have just because they didn’t handle the test as well as they probably could have, though I know they are brilliant.</p>
<p>Thanks so much ias199, I strongly appreciate your advice and encouragement. I know I can do it, I have a very strong support group.</p>
<p>For the math portion, if you haven’t learnt some of the topics covered, you must go over them using a prep book. </p>
<p>Then keep practicing and practicing and practicing and practicing until you can hit a solid 34 on each section. Take every test as if it was the real thing. </p>
<p>I learnt trig in 8th grade so the ACT was doable.</p>
<p>You need a couple of safety schools on your list. Start researching now, because 7 points is not likely in such a short time. My son used at least 3 different study guides and found “The Real ACT” the most helpful. I think that’s what people refer to when they mention the “red” book.</p>
<p>My son was able to raise his ACT by 5 points over the course of 18 months, but needed 6 to get into his dream school. Even though he ended up having to attend a lower-tiered school, he has ended up liking the school. He’ll be a senior next year.</p>
<p>I’ll figure out some safety schools, but I still believe that I can go up a few points in a few months; a lot of people have done it. Also, I have to consider that my other stats are pretty high and theres other factors that can get me in these schools. I appreciate your advice though. I’m also currently nominated for the Posse Foundation scholarship so I have a few backups.</p>
<p>@082349</p>
<p>I’ve covered every topic on the math section so I’m good as far as that goes. I’m buying the review books you recommended this week and I’m hitting them right away! I’m aiming to do at least an hour a day and I would like to finish the Princeton 1,296 by the end of the summer.</p>
<p>MindonMars12: It’s alright–don’t be so tough on yourself. You have 12 chances with the ACT test. You should take the test again, but before this, I would suggest that you analyze your score report and hone in on the sections that you didn’t fare so well on. This way you will be better prepared for your next try. The book that I’m using is McGraw-Hill’s ACT. It features several practice tests, and there are a couple online that you can test out. MHPracticePlus.com/ACT. Math and Science are my weak points and my overall score increased 4 points from the last time that I took the ACT test. Another note, though it may cost a bit, if you’re feeling a little iffy upon your next registration for the ACT, hold off on entering the university names until after you receive your scores, and then forward them. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Thanks Nikkileav, your words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. I’m just nervous, because I will be a senior and I’m going to start applying soon.</p>
<p>For Science and reading :
Using practice books and free practice tests on sparknotes.com, just get accustomed to reading long passages quickly and efficiently. Find out what works best for you. I am a fast reader so I go through the passage quickly then go through the questions. Some other people look at questions first; others read the first and last paragraphs then skim through. Find what works best for you.
Go over basic physics, biology, and chemistry concepts as well. These will help you speed through the science sections.</p>
<p>When practicing these reading intensive sections, try giving yourself 5-10 minutes less than what the ACT usually gives you. You learn to speed up and have extra time to check answers.</p>
<p>For english and writing, I can’t really help much there, I did poorly on the writing and I usually base my answers for english on what “sounds” the best to me. I used the ACT for Dummies book and it has general grammar tips and tricks that will help you catch tough questions or strangely worded questions.</p>
<p>Reading faster or reading more efficiently really does boost scores. On practices, I would get horrendous scores [low 20s] for not finishing a reading/science passage in time. On the actual ACT I got a 36 on science and a 35 on reading.</p>
<p>As for what people say about finding “safety schools”… don’t listen to that. </p>
<p>Find 8 schools you would be happy to attend. 2 should be “reach” schools you may get in if you get your 28 on the ACT [10-25% of getting in]. 4 should be schools you have a larger percent chance of getting in and the last 2 should be easy for you to get into. The idea of having 8 “first choices” helps you spend equal time on the applications as opposed to finishing the “safety school” applications in a sloppy manner.</p>
<p>I’m the same grade as you are :]
In a practice test a year ago, I got a 28. I didn’t do any studying until about 1 month before the actual test due to California standardized tests, SAT II’s and AP tests. I got a 35 for my composite score.
So, it is possible to raise your score by a lot. It’s just how you go about doing it ^^" Get the Dummies book and don’t spend too long on it. I used it for 2-3 days mainly to get down tips & tricks. Fortunately those tips& tricks are marked throughout the book.
The Sparknotes site has 3-5 practice tests for free [you need to make an account though] and has explanations for wrong answers. </p>
<p>Use the other prep books you have and learn the material you don’t have down and take certain strategies to heart. Knowing what is your weakest subject will help you know which to spend more time on. Knowing why you got a question wrong will help you not fall for the same thing the next time around.</p>
<p>Sorry if my post is rather incoherent.</p>
<p>Let me tell you story of mine. Right now, I am a future freshman in PSU, university park. Before I became a senior in high school, I took the ACT and got a 21. From then, I have constantly taking act every ACT month. I was stressed out like you were or even worse, and i have been taking like 101010110 preps. After about 4 to 5 month, my best ACT score became a 26 and after about 7 months, my act raised up to a 29. My math was okay from the start, but reading, english, and science were what killed me. I slowly raised up my english section and that’s doable and my math also. I never studied science because it was always between 25 - 28. Anyway, english and math are the best choice to up your score for now and if you do like science, I would consider that also, but if you are planning to raise your reading section then you have to read, read, and read various books, hopping to raise your score 2 or 3 more points. In conclusion, because i have focused raising my english and math section, I gained the score that i wanted. My scores were
- Reading:30
- English:27
- Math:32
- science: 27</p>
<p>@ViTong4, your post is not incoherent at all, I really appreciate the fact that you took out the time to give so much advice. I just hope i can go from a 20 to at least a 27 in 2 or 3 months; I only have two chances left as a senior.</p>
<p>@ghkdgudtns, I really hope I can boost my score like you did. I only have about 2 or 3 months, but I feel like I can do it. I found the exam to be quite easy, I just probably made a bunch of careless mistakes. My dream school right now happens to be Penn State University Park and their looking for a score around a 27. I’ll probably just focus on my reading, english and math. </p>
<p>P.S. what were your stats for penn state, if you don’t mind me asking?</p>