<p>Does anyone have any tips for bumping up a 33 composite to a 34 or 35?</p>
<p>Ever since our school offered juniors a free practice test, guidance has been strongly pushing a 6-week group class prep program. It's very, very time intensive and would involve taking three more practice tests on Saturday mornings. I also took the PSAT course from the same company (Princeton Review), and it was...less than helpful. At the beginning of the course, I had a 219...which was raised to a 222 after weeks of classes.</p>
<p>I've examined my options: No prep, go with the group course just to be safe, get an individual tutor, or find some way to study on my own. The Princeton Review said that since my score was already pretty good, I would need to hire a "Master Tutor" who specializes in stretching 30+ scores to higher 30+ scores. This would cost the same as a "regular" tutor (still VERY expensive), and my parents are willing to pay for it.</p>
<p>Is this really necessary? Is there a way to get the score I want (34 or 35) without spending so much money?</p>
<p>(Also: my lowest score was science (30) and I've signed up to take the Feb. 9th test).</p>
<p>Why do you people keep wanting to raise 32+ scores? You need to spend your time strengthening other aspects of your application, instead of spending money and time on getting a 34/35. 32-36 scores are in the 99th percentile, there is very little difference between them. What schools are you applying to? Spend your time doing some community service. This will add a great deal more than a higher ACT score.</p>
<p>It won't make a difference, but if you like spending money and you have nothing better to do with your time then go for it.</p>
<p>though if you really have nothing better to do with your time then you probably won't get into the schools i'd assume you want anyway.</p>
<p>Trust me, I have plenty of better things to do with my time. It's my parents that want me to do something...a close family friend was recently deferred from Middlebury, double legacy, with a 33...and they've panicked a bit.</p>
<p>I guess my real question was...what should I tell them I'll do to study instead?</p>
<p>how doable is going from a 28 to 30+ on a retake? The 28 was with no prep
whatsoever.</p>
<p>eiffel: very doable if you put the work and effort in and study</p>
<p>Do a little prep, but don't kill yourself. Colleges won't care what you made on the ACT if the rest of your application sucks. Take some time and make sure your app essay is solid, and if you have any other things that need improvement, go do it.</p>