<p>has anyone taken the new ACT? if so can you say how it was, and compare it to the new SAT? Also are there any good prep materials you could recommend?</p>
<p>thanks!!</p>
<p>Jenny, I'm a mom, so I didn't take the ACT but my S did. I bought a book by Arco and honestly it was terrible. I then bought "The Real ACT Prep" book and it was great.</p>
<p>This is how my S prepared for the ACT. He picked up a sample test from his GC and took that test to give him a baseline. He then studied the ACT book and took sample sections. At first he didn't time himself and sometimes he only did 10 or 20 questions at a time. Immediately after taking the sample section he went over the answers. The real ACT book has great explainations. Closer towards the test, he started timing himself on the sections. He only ever did one section at a time. To be honest he only concentrated on the English section because it was his weak spot. But the math explainations were great also. It's a very well written book. The key is to find your weaknesses and try to improve them.</p>
<p>My S found the ACT better suited to him than the SAT. He did much better on the ACT and is chosing to not take the SAT again. It also was shorter and I think that the time really helped my S.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I don't think there is a "new" ACT. The only difference is that they added an optional writing section, which doesn't affect your composite score, it's like the ACT version of an SAT II except that you take on the same day that you take the rest of the test. Like I said, I could be wrong on any of this but I don't think I am. As for test materials, I haven't used any prep books for the ACT but I have used the Princeton Review books for AP's and SAT's and I think they're great. Good luck!</p>