<p>*Sorry for my error in the previous title, I don't mean to spam the board! I start school September 18th and must have gotten the dates confused. Please ignore the other thread ;) *</p>
<p>Its probably a little early for this, but I was hoping we could set up a little bit of a "study group" here to prepare for the ACT. Maybe just general prepping tips, goals, etc. I remember one of these threads was really helpful last time I took it.</p>
<p>As for me, I think this is my last chance at scoring high. I'm applying to colleges this year (eek!). I took the ACT cold (no prep) last year and ended up with a 29 composite. Not bad, but I would like to raise it to at least 33. I got a 36 Reading last year and as a result haven't really been prepping for the reading section. To prep, I've been using the official book by the people that make the ACT (forgot the exact title).</p>
<p>I've improved science from a 27 (I know...I made stupid mistakes and spent too much time reading background info) to a 32. I would like to raise this to 34+ by next Wednesday. English has improved a little for me, but I am not very good at grammar. Little things like where to place a comma and whether a comma is needed in "it's" (<-- this one seems to trip me up a lot). I need to review some of the math things that I've forgotten over the years and eliminate stupid mistakes in that section, as well. I'm focusing a lot on math and science right now - trying to get both above 33.</p>
<p>I think that's it... Feel free to add your own experiences or tips to this thread</p>
<p>I'm taking the ACTs too...
1. English-->i tend to go from 30-33 on the real tests. The english curve is really hideous, because 2 wrong can equal 33. I understand the it's and its and you're and your well, and all the subject/verb stuff, but what trips me up are some of the commas, because i never know if they are "needed" or not.
2. Math-->I have the potential to get 36, because I've taken AP Calc BC and got 5s on both sections of the AP test, and I have been gettting 36s on the practice test. However, I'm afraid the ACT will use some weird wording or use some term i've never heard of. Also, the questions I get wrong are because of my stupid mistakes. I really need to focus on not making dumb mistakes.
3. Reading-->This is a crapshot. My scores have ranged from 26-36 on the real practice tests. I guess a lot of it has to do with luck, meaning if I get a passage that's easier to understand or not. Sighs.
4. Science--> my worst section. My scores seem to FLUCTUATE a lot, just like reading's. It's incredibly hard for me to answer questions to passages I have no understanding of. But what is interesting is I do the best on the passages i have no understanding of, probably because I'm more stressed, and stressed=fewer stupid mistakes. I absolutely DESPISE the conflicting viewpoints about really complicated topics, i.e., something to do with physics or chemistry. I love passages that have to do with something i've read about in magazines, such as weight loss/heart disease/human stuff, so i'm more familiar with the topic. I remember on the June ACT there was a passage about sleep. I liked that topic.</p>
<p>I got a 31 in April. All i want is a 33. JUST A 33!!!</p>
<p>How many points can you jump in like a week? I mean, I've been spending time on the ACT. I try my hardest to work on each section and then take a practice test, but sometimes, things don't go according to plan because of school work. </p>
<p>I got a 25 the first time I took it. I would have gotten a 28 the second time I took it in June, but my reading dropped 9 points. :( This is my last chance. I don't know if I would be able to retake the test in October or not. I'm aiming for a 30.</p>
<p>If you can find it, I'd recommend getting ACT for Brainiacs. I'm still trying to get it, but it tests you on the really hard stuff. Some of you going for the very high scores sound like you could use it. </p>
<p>Last time's score (2nd time overall): 32</p>
<p>Going for: 35 </p>
<p>Fingers crossed, but I need that damn book!</p>
<p>I am taking it for the second and maybe last time in Sept. It all depends whether the October scores will make it in time for Early Decision. Anyway, I am travelling from CT to PA, a 3.5 hr drive, just to take it so I need to do really well.</p>
<p>I walked in blind (no prep) in June and got a composite of 29 with 10 on the essay. Right now I am using McGraw-Hill's ACT and got a 30-31 composite so I hope at this rate I'll be left with a 35 on the actual.</p>
<p>My highest scores are reading and math (surprising since I do horrible on SAT math). I got a 34 on reading and 31 on math on the practice. Reading really depends on the article but I think I am doing pretty decent and will keep advancing. Math was almost all stupid mistakes. I missed two because of wording but all the rest were just my stupidity. So if I can really buckle down, then I think I can do well.</p>
<p>Science is the hardest for me. I get a 29 and don't seem to be progressing at all. It depends on the experiments really, the more complicated complicated experiments make me lost then I miss like 5 in a row. Also I seem to run out of time in this section.</p>
<p>English gets me on the rhetorical skills part since I pick the right sentence 50% of the time basically. Again I am at about a 29 but I think I can improve here.</p>
<p>All in all, I am basically taken practice tests in McGraw Hill's ACT and I guess I should go out and buy ACT for Brainiacs since the tips/"teaching" in my book is basic and stuff I already know.</p>
<p>What snack should I bring to the test center? Can anyone recommend something that does not have any sugar and is light enough not to provoke metabolic slowdown?
- I was thinking those cereal bars, but they do have a high amount of sugar.</p>
<p>I'm taking the ACT for the first time this Saturday, and am aiming for a 33 or higher, though anything in the 30's will probably do for most of the colleges I'm aiming for.</p>
<p>I took a practice version at the official ACT prep online site before I started studying at all, and got a 33 overall: 34 English, 34 Math, 31 Reading and 31 Science. However, I do believe the 31 on Reading was due to some lucky guesses, and if it weren't for those I'd probably have ended up with a 29 or so. Science, I have no idea...that could drop too. I'm confident I'll do well on English, and hopefully Math, but I probably need to review some of the general concepts.</p>
<p>Since I took that test, I've been reviewing a Kaplan book on and off. I probably should be studying more, but I guess that online version of the test made me a bit more chillaxed. I'm starting to worry.</p>
<p>If anyone can tell me any tips for Reading, that would be especially helpful. Also, I do have some concerns for the essay...I haven't done well on either of my SAT essays (8 and 6), but I'm hoping to get a 10 on that at least since the prompts here seem more straightforward.</p>
<p>Confused_student, fyi, I got a 7 on the SAT essay and a 10 on the ACT essay... Just make sure you write a realetively long essay ( I wrote 2.5 pages )..</p>
<p>You are all great kids. Good look to us on the sept. act, and I hope everyone gets a stellar score. I am going out of stated to take the test and am excited about it.
The test is in five days, so lets ride a wave!</p>
<p>Yay ACT....I want a 32 damn it. SAT sucks, and it's quickly losing credibility and market share...yay.</p>
<p>Anyways I'm just planning to do the practice questions (esp reading and science!!! I tend to do very well on the english questions and well math is math.) on actstudent.org and the red book since there's not much I can do in a week other than practice and go over some stuff.</p>
<p>Red book practice test (timed, did the whole thing in a little less than 3 hours, no breaks. By the way the whole test takes 3:05 with no breaks, probably more like 3:15 with breaks.):
E=30, M=34, R=26, S=25, composite: 28.75, so 29.
Hoping for: 32 composite (36/36/29/26)</p>
<p>Four more days! I've gotten my composite up to about 33 on practice tests, I think. I've been prepping about an hour or two each day from Kaplan and the official ACT one.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>English - This is getting better for me. I'm still having a little bit of a hard time about when to use a comma or not, but I understand most of the other stuff. My latest practice test score was 30 (from the official book).</p></li>
<li><p>Reading - I haven't been preparing for this really. I got a 36 last time, so I'm hoping I can repeat that this time. If not, I believe some of the schools I'm applying to allow you to mix and match, so I might do that.</p></li>
<li><p>Math - Doing a lot better on this section! I skipped geometry and most of the other high school math classes I took weren't very rigourous. We had this whole "integrated math" program instead of regular algebra, geometry, etc. In short, it was horrible, but that's a whole other story ;) I've been reviewing though and getting about 31-33 on practice tests (from Kaplan). Right now, I feel like I know the concepts but need to eliminate stupid mistakes...</p></li>
<li><p>Science - Have managed to get this section up to a 33 in Kaplan. At first, it was really hard to get used to not reading all the background info. about the experiments, but I feel a lot more comfortable with that method now. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm really excited about the increases I've managed in the past couple weeks. Its amazing what a little prep can do. Hopefully, I can do well on the real one, Saturday!</p>
<p>By "that method" on the science section, do you mean looking only at the graphs and not reading the descriptions?I don't own the kaplan book and need to experiment with new strategies to finish that test in time.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Yes, I can be vague sometimes ;) By "that method" I did mean just looking at the graphs and questions instead of reading the descriptions. I used to read the descriptions and take about 5 minutes just understanding the experiment, which wasted a lot of time. Now, I just go right to the questions. </p>
<p>I agree about science really just being "luck of the draw." I have a pretty strong background in physics and chemistry, so I usually do well on those questions... but ones like biology and earth science absolutely KILL me -- well, at least my score! I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that there will be lots of physics and chem experiments on Saturday :)</p>
<p>omg that is totally opposite for me. i took AP bio, so all of the bio passages are SO easy for me. the chemistry and physics ones....omg they are so over my head.</p>