Most effective study method/test prep service for ACT?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm a mom to a 16-yr-old HS jr who got a 19 on the first (and so far only) ACT mock exam that she took. She was adopted from another country less than 5 yrs ago at age 12 and has only spoken English since then so her English/writing/reading comp skills are in need of work while her math is pretty solid. She takes AP and Honors classes and has a 3.9 GPA.</p>

<p>Everyone we've spoken to has said that, in general, she'll probably do better on the ACT vs. the SAT, as it's less "tricky" (and therefore not as confusing if English is not the first language) so that's what she's doing. Anyone who thinks this is a mistake, please let us know, but that's the tack she's taking at this point and is enrolled to take the ACT only (no SAT) in Dec and again in Feb (and will probably take it one more time next Sept).</p>

<p>She's a bright, motivated kid and will do fine wherever she lands, but we'd love to help her get a decent ACT score and have plenty of college options. She currently has it in her mind that she'd like to study international relations (and she's still a fluent Russian speaker) so she's looking at Middlebury, American Univ, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and other very competitive schools, most of which seem to almost require that she pull a 30+ on the ACT. Not sure how/if she can get from her initial 19 to a 30, but she's going to try.</p>

<p>So....what's the best method? She will definitely spend time on her own studying, and we've already given her a couple of books (The Real ACT and The Princeton Review one), which she's into, but I think she'll also benefit from a prep service or tutor. My husband and I are not in a position to spend thousands, but after looking around (and waiting for a web special), we've found that Princeton Review offers a course for $600 that involves about 24 hrs of prep time in a classroom setting (so far, only 4 kids are signed up so it will be a small group) w/a few practice tests. It's for 3 hours each Sat and Sun. </p>

<p>My questions are:</p>

<p>Does Princeton Review have a good reputation for this? I know they're a big name, but are their methods uniquely effective in any way?</p>

<p>Are there other prep services (Kaplan?) that do it better?</p>

<p>Is it better to spend the $600 on a private tutor who can spend 6-9 hrs of one-on-one time w/her? </p>

<p>Any other specific suggestions for preparing? I tried to request Silver Turtles ACT spreadsheet, but the private message inbox is full. Can anyone else send it?</p>

<p>THANK YOU in advance for any info you can provide!</p>

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<p>Princeton Review has a very good reputation for the ACT. I personally advise getting their “Cracking the ACT” and “1296” books.</p>

<p>One book you want to have FOR SURE is the red ACT book made by the makers of the ACT (that has 3 official practice tests). I don’t think a tutor is necessary for your daughter. Just have her take multiple, timed, practice tests and review her right/wrong answers. Over time, you’ll see an increase.</p>

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<p>I’m sure she can do it lol. I started out with an 18 in English and now I’m at a 30!</p>

<p>Don’t start timing though. I’m not much to say though because I started timing; Though, what’s the point of seeing how many targets you can shoot in 45 seconds if your accuracy is 50%?</p>

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<p>I homeschool and this is how I prepared my son. He is a junior. After the PSAT, I pulled out the red “real” ACT book and the Barron’s ACT 36. Over a week, he took one practice test. ( He is currently taking AP gov AP Chem online, Spanish cc dual credit classes in addition to English, Health and Precalc from me.) I didn’t want to overwhelm him with his other work. So then we had a benchmark score.</p>

<p>He then took one section a week like reading. He read through the tips and individual sections in each of the books, doing the exercises. He then took another practice test in that section. He did that for a month completing all sections by then. He was also supposed to do a practice essay each week, but that didn’t always happen…</p>

<p>We then had 2 weeks left until the test. He took 2 more practice exams. Once more he did them over several days. He carefully looked at what he missed and why. Oh, and the last week we found those You tube science videos by magnet man ( look at the how do you prepare for science thread for my link. ) I really wish we had found those earlier. I think they would have boosted his score there. </p>

<p>He made a 35 in English, 34 in math, 34 in reading and 31 in science. His composite was 34. I don’t have his writing scores. To be honest, they will probably be an 8 or a 9, but we’ll see. He did better on the real test than he did on any of the practice ones, so maybe his writing will be the same.</p>

<p>I had read that the best way to prepare is to take the practice tests put out by the actual company. I didn’t want to pay for test prep. Now some people on this board wouldn’t be happy with my son’t score, but I was thrilled and he won’t be taking it again. That was his goal. To take the ACT and SAT once and be done. He is looking at Baylor or TCU, so I think those scores will be fine.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>