<p>Good day College Confidential. Here is my question: is it possible for me to improve from a composite 28 to a composite 32 by the December test? </p>
<p>I have taken the ACT test twice. The first attempt, I received a composite 27.75 (25 English, 28 math, 28 reading, 30 science). This was taken during March my junior year. Then, I took the October test this year and received a composite 27.25 (28 English, 29 math, 26 reading, 26 science). Clearly my bane is the English-styled questions, although I must also improve in other categories to reach the desired 32. </p>
<p>Since around the second week of November, I've been dedicating virtually all of my non-essential time to studying for the ACT. This often results in about 4-5 hours per day. (Lunch + whatever time I have left after homework.) I've bought Barron's test prep. book, Sparknotes' ACT English and Reading workbook, and The Princeton Review's 1,296 ACT Practice Questions. I've read through the majority of Barron's book (up to the science section), and once I've finished the others, I will return to it to review the English section (note: I scored a 17 sub-score on rhetoric). </p>
<p>What do you think? Will it be possible, with dedication and commitment, to increase my composite score from the dreaded 28 to the ideal 32? Do you have any recommendations, words of encouragement, or other? Thanks in advance. :)</p>
<p>i’ve often asked myself, is it possible to improve my 26 to a 33 from october 2010 to dec. the answer i’ve giving my self is. quite thinking, think positive, and do practices. so the answer to your question is to quit worrying, give it all you’ve got, and anything is possible. good luck</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement guys. Good news, I recently took the “Preparing for the ACT” English and reading tests in the booklet provided by the ACT for the 2011-2012 testing year and scored a raw score of 34 on English and 33 on reading. (4 wrong on English, 3 wrong on reading.) -Note: I only took the English and reading tests because those are the only subjects that I have studied so far. I’ll study science next, then math (as it will likely take the longest), then I’ll review the grammar section of English. I assume that the standard deviation on the actual test wouldn’t be far from this, but what do you guys think? I’ve heard that this practice test is easier than the actual one. Thanks in advance. :)</p>
<p>i would say the booklet is about the same level, i mean for me the hardest questions would be like what order should the sentences go, and after comparison, i think the real thing and booklet are about the same… just be REAL careful on the rael thing, i thought it was too easy, went too fast and did bad.</p>
<p>Same, I am a senior this year, I turned my College apps in already. I scored 14 and 16, now I am taking the test next month the 12th trying to score at least 21. I am really nervous about it, I bought the Barron’s book and Princeton Review, because I have limited English Skills and vocabularies I don’t tend to get what’s the passages and saying and don’t have time to learn these vocabs… any advice?? =</p>
<p>ACT doesn’t test any vocabulary, but it may ask you to define words in context. Just work through the practice books and try to improve through those, they’re quite helpful.</p>
<p>Considering that you bumped up my old thread (my first post here), I’ll post an update to my scores.</p>
<p>I ended up with about 200 hours of study between the November SAT and the December ACT. Strangely enough, Science was the section that I studied the least; I studied grammar the most (scores an 18/18 on usage/mechanics, from a 13). Practice helps! If you are dedicated and have not already prepared, then you can definitely improve!</p>
<p>I’ve always read the passages first, but many people recommend to go to the questions first. I always finish the science section with 2-4 minutes to spare (except the time I got a 26, I was unaware that I should’ve skipped the conflicting viewpoints passage with a conflicting dominant/recessive trait tree) reading the passages first. What’s your science score at the moment? It seems that the people who score 30+ during their first try are the ones that do well skipping the passages and going straight to the questions. </p>
<p>Try some practice tests to see how you do. If you consistently score better doing one way or another, then go with that way. </p>
<p>P.S. I always save the conflicting viewpoints passage/any biology passage for last. I recommend that you save the conflicting viewpoints passage last as well. Some people recommend to organize the other passages by the number of questions in them: in order, they are 4, 5, and 7. Considering that you need to do them all anyways, I just skip the conflicting viewpoints passage for last, but I can see the merit in this approach. Once again, try experimenting on practice tests.</p>