I'm going to take the freaking ACT

So I’m taking the ACT soon I already ordered a big giant 800+ prep book and I’m scared. I’m good at English and it’s many components like grammar or reading and writing. I also excel in science. One thing I’m not comfortable with at all and am intimidated by is math. I hate it because I’ve had horrible experiences with it and with the teachers that “taught” me it. So what the frick am I suppose to do now? I’m willing to put in the hours into my prep book but what’s the point if I can’t just suddenly teach mysel the material. I really only want to take the ACT just once as to not stress my self out (I’m good at that) so I want to get a decent score. No I don’t plan on going to an Ivy League school (obviously) or am UC because they are more expensive. I’m aiming for a Cal State because of the more traditional approach to education. What’s a good or average score for the ACT ? I’m aiming for San Fran State or San Jose State but my life won’t be over if I don’t get into those Cal States. Just as long as someone takes me. Also if you’re wondering no I’m not a bad student. All my high school career courses (I’m a junior now) have consisted of almost all uppper level content like honors or AP. So like, someone help. Thanks sis, heheh.

This link shows admission information for all the Cal States including the average CSU capped weighted GPA and ACT/SAT test scores. It should give you an idea of what to aim for in your ACT scores. Just remember that impacted majors and/or campuses require higher than average GPA and test scores for the best chances.

https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/counselor-resources/Documents/freshmen-2018-admission-impaction-chart.pdf

Here is a list of impacted campuses and majors for all the Cal States: https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf

I don’t know what ‘impacted’ means.

Impacted means that there are more qualified applicants than spots available for either a specific major or a Cal State campus so the threshold to get in is higher and more competitive. SFSU is a non-impacted campus so not as a difficult admit than campuses like Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton which are all impacted for all majors.

SJSU is an impacted campus but depending upon your intended major, their admission for specific majors is easier than others.

All Cal states admit by eligibility index (EI) except for Cal Poly SLO. Your EI is your Cal State capped weighted GPA (10-11th grades for the a-g courses with a cap of 8 extra honors points) plus your SAT or ACT scores. Each CSU will calculate your EI and then rank you based on your EI and major to determine if you are admitted.

EI= (CSU capped weighted GPA x200) + (ACT composite x10). A higher GPA can compensate for a lower ACT and vice versa.

Just do your best and even though you only want to take the ACT once, the Cal States superscore which means they will take the highest sections from multiple test sittings so taking the ACT a couple times could help your chances.