<p>So, today.. I took my ACT for the very first time. I'm only in 10th grade, but there are a few others who have taken it (in my grade) and got 23's and 25's. I didn't think it would hurt. As a matter of fact, I was beginning to think it would be easy.</p>
<p>Boy, I sure was wrong. Mind you, I am a student that has a solid 4.0. I'm by no means SMART, I just try.</p>
<p>Anyway, this morning, I started out well in the English section. I blew by that one within 30 minutes. But the math threw me off. I've taken Algebra I and I'm currently taking Geometry and Algebra II (at the same time). I'm not very good at math, but whew! The ACT math was ridiculously hard to me. After that, was the reading.</p>
<p>I thought the reading was quite difficult pacing-wise. I didn't get to read all of the passages, so I just had to read the question and try to look it up in the passage. It was very difficult. </p>
<p>Now, the science part. Haha! What a joke. I destroyed my score so bad on that section. I've never guessed so much in my life.</p>
<p>But... I know that I have a couple years left to raise my score, because I know I probably scored between a 13-16, but what I want to know is... is there any good books to use for ACT prep?</p>
<p>I bought the Kaplan 2010 book, and it was pretty good. It helped me understand the test, but is there another that might help with the material? I plan on taking ACT prep courses this summer. Any help would be appreciated! :)</p>
<p>So… this doesnt help you with ACT prep, but have you taken the SAT yet? I’ve heard from numerous people, including my college counselor, that people usually find either the SAT or the ACT easier, and get better scores on one or the other. Maybe the SAT is the way to go for you? Most schools accept either score. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Alot of people who claimed the ACT as being easier than the SAT got pretty much annihilated by the Science section. I thought it was amazingly hard today as well.</p>
<p>Don’t beat yourself up. I also have a high GPA and am also in the top 5% of my class (out of 654) and I scored BELOW AVERAGE on some of the things tested. It was bad. I took the ACT for the first time without a calculator for the math section because I didn’t know if the calculator I had could be used or not. I finished with some extra time, but when I took it again with a calculator, I totally didn’t have enough time! Use your calculator sparingly. Also, yes, Science is hard, but you can order the book The Real ACT Prep Guide on the ACT web site. Don’t worry about it too much. I don’t think the ACT is by any means an accurate way to measure one’s “preparedness” or “intelligence” [for college].</p>
<p>For some reason I feel that the Math is so much easier on the ACT than on the SAt (Think i got about a 33). The sci and reading sections killed me today. (Although its weird b/c I got a 31 on my last ACT reading but I ran out of time today)</p>
<p>Well I consider myself a GOOD reader. We take scantron tests in my high school where you read the passage and answer the questions, and I always make an A or B. But on the ACT, it totally threw me off. I felt stupid when I left the testing center. I met with another girl afterwards, and she said that she felt like she was very stupid. (she’s also one of the top students in our high school).</p>
<p>As soon as I got to my last reading question, the time was up so I had to guess. The Science was God-awful. I mean GOD-awful! I was guessing blindly on the ENTIRE science section and still didn’t get finished in time. (I had the entire last column left to bubble in). So I guessed.</p>
<p>And rayne7, I used a calculator and got finished about 1 minute before time was up. I was surprised. I was expecting not to get finished. But again, I still felt like I bombed it. A few teachers have told me that many first time ACT takers feel they did awful but come out with 30’s. At this rate, I’m just hoping I make it into the teens. :)</p>
<p>I’m taking the SAT this upcoming year. (Junior year). Maybe I’ll be a bit more prepared for what’s on there.</p>