Are there any ways for high scorers to work on moving from a high score to a marginally higher score?
@HarvardPliss I personally think once you get a 33, moving to a 35 depends more on luck than anything. I got a 33 in April, hoping for a 34 this June.
Hey guys! This will be my third time taking the ACT. I went from a 28 to a 29, and I hope to make in the 30’s this time. I have researched and found that the following books are resourceful:
Barron’s ACT 36 for English and Math
Princeton Review 1296 ACT for Practice questions
PR: Cracking the ACT
I haven’t really gotten to study in the past as much as I hoped to. In the last threads, some people had increased their scores from 20’s to 30’s, and they offered us some tips. I will pretty much sum it up for you guys and offer my study-path…
–For English, concise answers are the best answers. In other words, if a question asks if “clear and concise” should be replaced, the best answer would be only “clear” or “concise,” since they basically have the same contextual meaning. If you are having difficulties with basic grammar, the Barron’s ACT 36 is the best informational book for you!
–For Math, you really just need to review. I recommend Barron’s ACT 36 for that as well, as it basically goes step-by-step for all of the math portions. Complete the practice questions in the book, and then go back over what you missed.
–For Reading, circle the main points or ideas in passages! Also, underline the characters. Overall, this makes it easier to go back in the passage and find the information easier, which would save time. If you are a faster reader, I recommend also writing beside each paragraph what the main point is. If you are a moderate reader, circling and underlining will suffice. I made a 30 doing this last time (it was my first time using the strategy) and I plan on practicing again and implementing it into my practice.
–For Science, another person recommended to basically answer the questions and go about the passages according to what type of passage it is. There are three types of passages: research summaries, data representation, and argumentative viewpoints. It was recommended to only read the conflicting viewpoint passage, and also to save it to the end. So summed up, refer to the passages for each question EXCEPT for the conflicting viewpoint passage. Save it until the end, and then summarize the main points of each scientist in the margin while reading for a faster referral.
So my study path is…
Day 1- Read 1/2 English Portion of Barron, and pay close attention to concepts that are confusing.
Day 2- Read second 1/2 of English, and complete practice questions at end.
Day 3-Take a PR English practice test and go over what is missed.
Day 4-Read 1/2 of Math portion in Barron.
Day 5-Read second 1/2 of Math, and complete end questions.
Day 6-Take a complete PR practice Math test and go over what is missed.
The cycle would continue until you feel you have successfully reviewed! After you have successfully reviewed, then use the practice tests in the cracking the ACT Barron’s book to practice. Good luck everyone! Praying that you all achieve the score that you want. 
I need some help on the science section. I can consistently score 30 or above on every other section but have yet to score above a 24 in science. I only read the conflicting viewpoints passage and go directly to the questions on every other passage. I’m generally accurate on every question that I do answer but I normally have to guess on 10-15 questions due to time. Any tips? This section is really hurting my composite and preventing me from getting the score that I want.
@Gallium Your score is probably due to the 10-15 questions you have to guess on, which falls back to time. Practice, your time management in the science section. I have the same problem, too. The science section kills my score, but I went from a 24 to a 26 in science last time. This time, I am going to save the conflicting passage until the end. SKIP IT. All answers are scored the same, so take your time answering the easier ones, and then go to the conflicting passage at the end. Practice it first and see how it works for you. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the advice. I always save the conflicting viewpoints passage for the end but I normally run out of time before I can even get to it. I’ve done about 10 practice science sections but I haven’t improved by more than a point. I don’t know if I should focus my time on the science section in hope that my score will improve or if I should try to improve the other sections that I’m better at by a couple of points to make up for science.
@HereToHelpYou is it going to lower my chances of getting accepted to a college because i will have to apply later?
Excited to get this test over-with soon!!!
Can I just take the ACT and get it over with already? I got a 33 in April, hoping for a 34 this time
I took the March test and got a 24 composite (E25, M24, R23, and S25) and to get into my #1 college I need at least a 29 composite. I’m planning on taking the June test and the September test, and possibly the October test depending on my September test score. If I get a 30, I get a full-ride 4-year scholarship to my safety school. So a 30 would be my ideal, just in case I don’t get accepted to my #1 school so I still have something to look forward to (lol). I took an ACT prep class at my high school for a couple weeks before the March one and it bumped my score about a point or two. Since April, I’ve been taking an intensive ACT prep course (that was about $300 plus it’s an hour drive) at my dream college and I’ve improved to about a 27 (based off a practice test I took this week). I have the regular Barron’s book, the Kaplan 2015 book, and the red Real ACT book. I also have some Princeton review flash cards. I study about 4-5 hours a week, not including the time I spend in my prep class (3-4 hours a week). Am I going to achieve my goal of a 30? Or is it kind of unreachable? What can I do so I make it reachable? (Sorry for the long post and thanks to those who are still reading
Hey guys! I’m not taking it in June, but if someone could please give me some advice…
So I took it in April first time and got 29C (31 english, 36 math, 27 reading, 24 science)
As you can probably see my science score is absolutely HORRIBLE!
Can someone who scored over 30 on reading and science give me some advice on how to prepare for this? What do you think is the best prep book? And are there some stetagy you recommend?
Any help appreciated!! Best wishes to all of you guys taking it in June!! Go ace that test ;)!!!
@KeyClubberr With that much studying going on, I think 30 would definitely be reachable. I got 29s on October and February and a 28 on March (my score went down) but that was because I didn’t have the time to study a whole lot. With all the APs going on, I didn’t have the time for ACT. But in your case, you’re studying for the ACT 7-9 hours a week. And it’s only May right now so I think it’s definitely possible, maybe even 31.
Any tips for a student finished with Calc BC but still unable to get a 36 in math? Last time I got a 34
@HarvardPliss Calc BC is not covered on act math neither is calc ab, or honors. Not sure if you’re studying this stuff but you should go back to basics like trig/plane geometry etc.
@tina23 Hi tina! For the reading, try circling characters and underlining main/important points. The questions almost always ask about a specific character or event, so then you can look directly back to the main point.
Super pumped. Took my first red book practice test and hit a 34 with some stupid mistakes (I.e - mixing up tangent with sin… Lol)
@madmik
Thanks for the advice I’ll try doing that! Hope you do well on this one:D
Does anyone know a good source of practice ACT’s, especially for English? I’ve gone through sooooooo many.
Does anybody have any tips for the science sections. I always seem to perform poorly on that section.
@RoadtotheIvies98 Just posted a bunch in another thread.