I plan on taking the Act and the SAT in the coming months. I have a question.

Ok. I’m 21 years old and I plan on taking both the SAT and the ACT in the coming months so I can begin applying to schools in the fall. I know you don’t have to take both but I would like to. I have a question about preparation and time. I know every test taker is different but in your opinion how long would it take for someone to study and prepare in order to get a 32-36 on the ACT and a 1400-1600 on the SAT? I understand these are high scores and that is why I assume it would take a while. How long? What are the best prep books and free resources to help someone get ready for the tests? I’ve already bought Princeton Review’s Cracking The SAT 2020 Premium Edition and I think it’s solid. Thanks for any answers.

Free and effective is Khan Academy’s website. Best of luck!

Just for fun? There’s no benefit in your applications and it just dilutes your study time.

Despite beliefs on CC, there’s no endless, magic X hours = Y points increase equation. Everyone can’t get a 1600/36 just by putting in enough time.

Without data on practice test scores, it’s impossible to comment. My younger D exceeded those scores in 8th grade with no practice. Others won’t get those scores no matter how long they study.

For SAT I recommend Erica Meltzer for EBRW and College Panda for math. Just do many real practice tests and I’m sure you will do fine.

I think Erica Meltzer also has a book specific to the ACT, too. I think she is pretty universally accepted as the guru of the verbal section. In fact, she used to work on test design for ACT (or maybe it was SAT). There seems to be more diversity of opinion about various math guides. From what I read on Amazon, reviewers either REALLY liked College Panda or they really didn’t, for some reason.

My daughter is using Khan online and PWN the SAT for math, (I bought it after reading the reviews on Amazon) and she thinks it’s fine for learning shortcuts and new ways to approach problems (and this is a girl who doesn’t enjoy math). The PWN’s reviewers said that it’s best for students who have already achieved at least a 600 (a good basic grasp of material).

Hard to say what you can achieve, and how long that would take. So much of that depends on your current level of proficiency and general aptitude. It’s said that math is somewhat easier to improve by sheer effort because so many of the verbal skills (especially reading speed, comprehension, and intuitive grasp of grammar) are created over a lifetime of reading. If you have always been a voracious reader, a little polishing may be all that is needed, and if not, raising the verbal score significantly may be difficult.

The ACT is a very fast-paced test, and many excellent students have trouble finishing it. If you have trouble with speed, you may be more successful with the SAT.