Preparing for the ACT?

<p>I have a barron's prepbook. First of all, is this prepbook any good? Is it slightly harder than the actual test as usual? Also, what else should I do to prepare, I think i'm going to have one shot at taking this test, next saturday, and i need a 32+. I'm very weak in math, but strong in the english and science sections.</p>

<p>Any tips from high scorers?</p>

<p>I'm also preparing for the ACT... I've heard that Getting into the ACT (from the testmakers) and Princeton Review are the best prep books for it.</p>

<p>Thanks, I'll go to the book store and take a look at those 2 books. I'm going to try to study alot today, and then a bit throughout the week. Hopefully, i'll get lucky :(</p>

<p>i think the best way to practice for the ACT is just take it 2 or 3 times. The first time i gota 26, and september i got a 30 and i am going to take it again next saturday... definitley beats studying.</p>

<p>Im takin the ACT too, first time this month. im not really studying, but I bought the ACT comparison to 10 REAL SATs, but it has 2 tests, with explanations. (i think). Im just gonna do all sections seperately, not take any practice tests or anything. You really cant study for the ACT. Its an achievment test. What you know is what you know.</p>

<p>I disagree that you can't "really study" for the ACT. You can learn techniques to help you, as well as learn exactly what material you should study for it. I thought the PR book was pretty useful; I got a 29 on my first practice test from Kaplan, and got a 33 on the real thing (should have gotten a higher score but I did worse on Math than I should have.)</p>

<p>I took a princeton review practice test today and it was extremely easy. I assume its going to be a bit harder than this???</p>

<p>Also, does the math section actually test the trig you learn in precal (trig identities, conic equations, etc)?</p>

<p>What kind of scores do i need to shoot for if i want to get a 32? My sat score was just under 1400 cause i suck at math.</p>

<p>Yeah, the math section sometimes does test trig identities, but a lot of the time, there are questions like:</p>

<p>sin theta = blahblah
find cos theta</p>

<p>of course, if you know how to use the arcsin function on your calc, that is incredibly easy =`></p>

<p>conic equations... eh, not so much, but you should probably know them anyway. I'd check to see what the PR book says about studying conics since it has basically everything you need to know for the Math portion.</p>

<p>And, yes, the ACT really is that easy. The problem is, you're bound to miss one or two, and the curve is pretty horrendous most of the time.<br>
I got a 33, and my scores were: 34 English, 31 Math, 36 Reading, 30 Science and Reasoning.</p>

<p>To get a 32, you need to get an average score of 31.5. They round up :).
So just shoot for scores that make your average score go up to 31.5. :P</p>

<p>Hope I helped kind of.</p>

<p>I got a 34 composite. The day before the test I took the ACT that they have on the website... I only got like 1 wrong on each section. I found the questions extremely straightforward. When I actually took the test I found the time squeeze a little much in one or two of the sections I just skimmed the last five questions and answered rather haphazardly... fortunately with the lack of guessing penalty and the easiness of the questions I got most of my random guesses right. </p>

<p>So... yeah. Stay calm, but rush. Compared to the SAT, you will probably find it easier. There are no "trick" questions. Go with your gut feeling.</p>

<p>Dude, the key for many people is just to practice over and over. Do what you can to get a hold of old tests...actual tests, if you can. I had a copy of my April '03 test that I was going to copy, but I lent it out and don't plan on ever seeing it again. Anyway, taking the real thing is the best way to familiarize yourself with the test. I took the ACT four times (I'm not counting 7th to 9th grade...) and I found that as I grew more familiar with the structure of the test, I recognized the concepts I was being tested on and focused on those in studying for the next test, so I, a genuine idiot, went from 32 to 35.</p>