<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I'm taking the ACT in 4 days and have taken a couple of practice exams, with mixed results: </p>
<p>Kaplan:
practice test 1-
English 31
Math 36
Reading 34
Science 29</p>
<p>practice test 2-
English 34
Math 32
Reading 30
Science 33 </p>
<p>Barron's:
practice test 1-
English 28
Math 33
Reading 29
Science 27 </p>
<p>Anyways, I have heard that Kaplan is too easy and that Barron's is too hard. I've really scrambled in preparing for the ACT since I started preparing 2 days and I'm using a 1998-1999 book for Barron's and a 2004-2005 book for Kaplan, but I doubt that the books and sample tests are that different from the 2009-2010 editions of these books. How would you say I would score on the real exam if it were today? What materials do you suggest for me to improve my scores?</p>
<p>-also- since I'm here, what are the policies of top schools (Carnegie Mellon, Penn, Cornell, and Duke) in regards to SAT and ACT test reporting? I've taken the PSAT and received a 236, and imagine my SAT score will be similar to that. I don't want to have to a 28 ACT score crash the party. I know that my friend who goes to Penn got a 2270 on the SAT but a 31 ACT score, and he reported only his SAT score. Is there any real way that admission officers can check to see your scores? </p>
<p>Cheers from Europe</p>
<p>could someone give me a rough estimate based on their own experiences? I am taking the real test in 3 days</p>
<p>No the ACT is much less strict than the College Board; they do not make you have to report your ACT scores. And if you take the ACT’s more than once, you do not have to show the original scores. Perhaps you should take both. Or maybe you’re the SAT type. I would suggest, personally, that you take the SAT only in the spring of junior year, and then take the ACT fall of senior year, and, if nessecary, take the SAT a second time then as well. Good Luck! I’m a freshman btw, lol they teach us this whole college process since like 5th grade…</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. You’re a freshman in high school right? Yeah, it’s been the same for me- I took the SAT as an 8th grader for a talent search program and got a 2090. At my current school, the college counselors are really ambiguous and I’m really too lazy to look at the admission information at every school I’m interested in. </p>
<p>Anyways, can I have a few more opinions before I take the exam? I took the 2009-2010 official practice test from the ACT website and got a 34 (compared to 31 on the Kaplan test and a 29 on the Barron’s), so it’s like WHAT? There are some different questions on the official practice test and the grading curve is more lax than in the Kaplan sample tests. </p>
<p>Thanx</p>
<p>trust the real one from the ACT</p>
<p>if you can score a 236 PSAT, a 34 is expected lol.</p>