<p>There’s a little book: ‘Spotlight on the ACT’, my Junior spent about 3-4 hours on each of the 4 subjects by going through the chapters in this book and went from a 28 to a 31. It’s the size of a paperback, so it’s doable without devoting your life to it before the next ACT in April.</p>
<p>Son’s first time. (And he elected not to prep. I think he wishes he had!)</p>
<p>C:35</p>
<p>E:36
M:35
R:34
S:35</p>
<p>SimpleLife, for English did you son get 18’s in subscores (Usage and Rhetorical skills)? I got a 18 in both areas and apparently that is a 35 on the English.</p>
<p>I got an 18 and 17 and it came out 35. I wonder why you didn’t get 36</p>
<p>Should I bring it up to the ACT? How can I email them?</p>
<p>My DS got:
C28
E29
M27
R31
S26
CE/W 27
writing 8</p>
<p>He took 1 practice test for each section in a 10 day period before the test.
He is signed up for a prep class through Collegereview.com.
He needs at least a 29 for an early assurance pharm program he is interested in.
A 31 would open up some scholarship opportunities.</p>
<p>He is actually stronger in math and science. Do you all think with practice he can bring these scores up? </p>
<p>He did poorly on the SAT. CR 560 M 550 </p>
<p>Is it okay to forget about the SAT? I did check all colleges he is interested in and they take ACT or SAT. </p>
<p>Is a 28 really low? Is it average? I know most on here are high achievers!
My son has a 3.8 unweighted. He is only in the top 17% of his class.<br>
Most of his ECs are in band.</p>
<p>mominwestlake:</p>
<p>I would say a 28 is average and with practice he could definitely do a lot better. Here’s what my D did to prepare, she had 5 tests to work with: </p>
<p>She first broke down the science and reading into individual sub-sections and alloted each sub-section the same amount of time. </p>
<p>She did the entire test in 1 sitting sticking to the time alloted (she was not able to finish certain sub-sections). </p>
<p>She went over the entire test, everything she got wrong AND everything she got right to make that it was not just a fluke that she got the right answer. </p>
<p>She then went through a second test working on 1 section each day (always adhering to time limits)</p>
<p>She then analysed which parts of each test she had trouble with. For eg. in science, she had the most troble with “Fighting Scientists”. All the sections with graphs went well for her. And in Reading, she found the science essay the hardest. </p>
<p>She then went through another test (1 section each day), this time starting with her problem areas and then working through the rest of the section. She found that she was able to finish on time with this method. </p>
<p>She went through another practice test in a similar fashion (make sure to always check both right and wrong answers.)</p>
<p>The day before the ACT test, she did a whole test under timed conditions. </p>
<p>She is a strong writer and did not work on the essay portion at all. I am told that the ACT likes to see most of the pages in the booklet filled up. D said she had only 3 lines left in the booklet when she was done.</p>
<p>She gave herself a month to prep and took the test in Feb. for the first time. She ended up with a 35 and is thrilled she will never have to take it again. The above method worked for her, I’m sure your son will find a method that works for him. D thinks that what worked for her most was all the practice tests she did. She was really familiar with every aspect of the test before she took it. She was going to take the SAT’s for the first time in March but now she is not going to. All the colleges on her list take the ACT or SAT. She was sick for the PSAT’s so National Merit is out for her.</p>
<p>SpiderJames, you say yesm too? I thought I made up that word but I guess not.</p>
<p>D got 34 ( first time, not much prep):</p>
<p>E35
M33
R36
S31
CE/W 31
writing 8</p>
<p>Her PSAT is 225, but SAT is only 2060.So she is trying her chance here.</p>
<p>Two questions…
First, is 30 a good composite score?
Second, does anyone have any suggestions as how to improve science? I got a 25 (I filled in the last 7 bubbles randomly due to lack of time). I didn’t prepare at all for this test, so even just basic ways to prepare would be great. I really want to get my score up to 32 and I need my science to go way up to do that.</p>
<p>A 30 is definitely a good score even though some people on here will make you think it’s not ( a lot of high achievers) The best way to raise your score is to simple practice. Work on specific sections and also do full practice tests. I got a 30 on the science section and was overwhelmingly surprised. It’s all in practice and getting comfortable with the format</p>
<p>C:30 e:32 m:26 r:31 s:32</p>
<p>Okay I just want to say that for everyone who is worrying about their scores, there really is no need to because all the scores I have seen posted on here are awesome. The national average is around a 21 or 22, so saying a 28 is average would not really be accurate. The people on this website are high achievers and seeing them get 35’s and what not shouldn’t discourage anyone because a score that high is relatively rare. Good job everyone</p>
<p>^ for top colleges, even the top 50, I’m pretty sure a 21 or 22 would just not cut it (unless some URM or athletic ability is a factor), hence the importance for most people on this forum to get as high as a score as they can.</p>
<p>Not everyone wants to go to a top 50 school and only want the score for their college.</p>
<p>^ “most people” ; )</p>
<p>true collegebro. I want to get into a few selective schools but not Tier 1; but a lot of people here on CC are going for the Ivies and equivalent so they will freak out of their scores are not up to par or the best they can be. I doubt anyone I know will have a score as high as mine.</p>
<p>Agreed with collegebro and canderson. I just feel like some people are very discouraged when looking at this website because they feel like their scores aren’t good enough to get into college when they are. Test scores are not what defines an individual, I realize that they play a big role but other things are taken into consideration. Most of the scores posted on this website are very well above average and are good enough to get into great schools.</p>
<p>yes; I also have to say though that being on this site made me push myself. When I got my 26 in September I didn’t even post it on the September ACT thread because reading everything made me feel like s**t. But I learned a lot about college admissions and a lot a lot about studying for the ACT from reading all the posts and now I have a 32. So for anyone who is discouraged, if you want to do something about it, don’t sit and mope about your life. You haven’t failed as a human being. Study hard for the next one it will pay off. 5 months studying created a 6 point increase</p>
<p>Yah its not where you go but where you end up. I learned so much this year about life and about the ACT. It made me realize more about college admissions and I could do a lot before if I worked hard. But a person with a 3.0GPA isn’t going to aim for a 36 like someone with a 4.0 trying to go into Harvard. I don’t see the point of 5 months of studying to bring my score up 6 points if I wasn’t going to a school where my score was already enough lol. If I did I would have lol.</p>