<p>I'm a sophomore in high school and I took the Practice ACT at my school and scored a 22 on it. I'm trying to score a perfect 36, and I know it's a ways off, but I believe I can do it if I practice a lot, read, and work on my overall ACT test-taking skills. </p>
<p>But what I don't get is that when I took the Practice ACT, it felt relatively easy. For the most part, at least. In the Math section after the first 20 or 30 questions, the questions became harder and I didn't even know how to do a lot of the graphing ones... In the Reading section my only problem was that I was very tight on time. I nearly ran out of time... I was on my last question, bubbled it in, and the instructor told us to close our booklets. As for the Science section, I felt it was pretty easy, all I really had to do was look back at the charts and figures and grab the info from them. But it was a little tricky when it came down to the debates between Scientist 1 and Scientist 2. </p>
<p>^ That's what trips me up so much. I felt so confident and was so nonchalant about it - like it was a complete joke because it was so easy - and here I am just dumbfounded by how horrible I did... a 22 on my first time... and here I am on College Confidential seeing people say they scored high 30's on their first times too.</p>
<p>But how can I get better? Is it really JUST taking Practice ACTs over and over? I know people say get books like Barron's ACT and the Red Book ACT or whatever... But I don't know if I should invest in one if they are really that helpful.</p>
<p>I just can't believe I scored a 22 and just feel like giving up and crying and not going to college at all. I aim so high and do so well in school (nearly a 4.0 GPA, I'm like 3.92 or 3.98, in that range) and people have always said I'm a bright student, yet when I take this ACT, which feels so easy, I get a low 22... when I have a classmate (who I've kind of known since my late childhood) who scores a 28. It's just SO DISCOURAGING!!!</p>
<p>Please, help me? :( Any tips? Pointers? Please tell me how YOU got that score - what methods did you use? I've heard of Barron's ACT and Red Book ACT and Princeton's... but what's really good? What should I do to really get my score up? </p>
<p>Please please please HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Don’t cry, take the SAT instead.</p>
<p>I tried the SAT- I did amazing when compared to the national average. When compared to the average of my dream school, though, I was below. So I am set on the ACT. I scored a 29 the first time without practice, a 30 the second, and I run an average of a 35 now on every practice test I take. The keyword is practice. The reading test was my worst the first time, but I went from a 22 to a 34 with practice. The science is a reading test. You must keep that frame of mind when taking it. The math progresses to some Pre-Calculus problems, so as a sophomore, it is difficult. Take the test two to three times, and take multiple practice tests. </p>
<p>Also, a 36 is extremely difficult to achieve. It limits you to missing only two questions on the entire test. I wish you good luck! :)</p>
<p>I heard the SAT is harder though? It tests the actual intelligence of people, I heard?</p>
<p>Also, thanks, your post has given me hope. I’m practicing some ACT practice questions on the actual ACT.org website and I’m making simple stupid mistakes because I’m rushing and underestimating the test. 
I need patience. </p>
<p>Could you answer a question, please? How long did all that practicing take for you to achieve a 35? I’m going to start practicing diligently everyday once I get my hands on a good ACT book. Could you also recommend one? People say Barron’s because it’s actually much harder than the actual ACT, so the tougher the better? It makes sense to me, doing something harder so when you take the ACT it’s much easier. But people make it seem like one needs two books (1 for skills, techniques, advice and 1 for the actual practice questions - Barron’s)…</p>
<p>Well, my course rigor has generally helped me, but I focused on the reading test for four months. I have practiced for the test holistically for about two months. It’s really depends on what time you have and the course rigor you can handle.</p>
<p>So you took classes…? I’m trying to learn on my own and maybe in school I can learn some tenses because in the English I get what seems to be the simplest things, wrong :/</p>
<p>I took an ACT Prep class at 7:00 am for a year, and my APs have helped.</p>
<p>After taking a bunch of practice tests, I got a composite of 36 on the ACT with an essay score of 10. I got a 2270 on the SAT, so ACT was better for me but it really depends on the person. Have you considered switching to SAT? ACT can seem easier but a lot of my classmates did much better on the SAT.</p>
<p>Some tips on improving ACT scores:
Get the Real ACT Guide Book - The answers are all explained and the tests are pretty accurate in terms of how hard the test is.
Time yourself below the limit. Take the test in 35 minutes instead of 40 and train yourself to work really fast, especially in the science section!
Pace yourself- timing is really the big issue with the ACT.
Can’t really dole out advice on the essay since my score wasn’t great, but there are plenty of good resources on the internet. 
Practice a TON before you take it, you’ll feel much better. :)</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>I took the ACT three times, and I got a 33 the first two times and a 35 the last time. It wasn’t pure luck on the last one. I got an ACT practice book (I wouldn’t recommend the one made by the ACT unless you’re just looking for practice tests), and made a study guide using that book as a reference. I didn’t take many practice tests because I’m good at pacing myself (if you’re not then you probably should practice some). I found that being familiar with the material helped immensely. There is no way to know just what information will be on the test, so I reviewed a lot of the concepts on the ACT.</p>
<p>Jesslyer
You are just a sophmore so I am assuming you havent taken Algebra II yet. You need to have a back ground in Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II to do well in the Math section. My son had a composite score of 35 but he was tutored by his school for about 5 months. My daughter only made a 24 the first time she took the ACT test. She is a junior and has completed Algebra II and is taking preCal. I paid for her to get some one on one tutoring and they used, “The Real ACT Prep Guide”. She scored a 25 the second time.
She felt time management was one of her problems the first time. Catch221 gave you some good advice. Also try the SAT. Some people score better on the SAT. Mostly try not to stress. Getting into one particular college is not going to determine your success in life. Making the most of the opportunities afforded to you no matter where you are will put you on the road to success. Good luck.</p>