<p>Hey everyone. I've been the "SAT" guy for awhile now, but did some research on the ACT last night and became fairly interested. I have a few questions that I would gladly appreciate answers for.</p>
<p>1-How should one go with preparing and studying for his/her first ACT? I plan to self-study for the ACT right after the AP tests and take my first ACT in June just to see how I would do. Is this advisable / are there any consequences?
2-Is the essay section of the ACT similar to that of the SAT?
3-Is it true that, unlike the SAT, you can take the ACT as many times as you want and only send in the one score you'd like to be viewed?
4-For self-studying, is Barron's a good option as a prep book? Or are there better ones to prepare you for the ACT?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I can’t answer 1 and 4 because I didn’t actually study when I took the ACT, but I can answer the other two.</p>
<p>The SAT essay prompts, as you know if you’ve taken it, address very general topics (e.g. Should world leaders be judged by different standards? I never got that prompt but I think it was used on a recent test).</p>
<p>The ACT essay prompts ask more specific questions that generally relate to school or being a student. The two that I got were: Should kids be allowed to graduate early? & Should art classes be made mandatory? Or something along those lines.
The timing for each test is similar, and I think you get more space to write on the ACT.</p>
<p>And yes, you can take the test as many times as you want (well actually, no more than 12. Hah.) And yeah you can choose which scores are sent, unless a school requires you to send all scores.</p>
<p>1 – Buying a prep book and taking practice tests is really the most you can do. If you’ve studied for the SAT before, then studying for the ACT should be a similar process. Keep in mind that you don’t need to memorize vocabulary for the ACT. As far as taking the ACT in June, I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t take the it in June except to save money, but if you think you can prepare in time, then there’s nothing wrong with taking it. If you’ve been studying for the SAT, I think the only real challenge may be the Science section, so a few weeks should be long enough to prepare.</p>
<p>4 – Barron’s is a great book. Just keep this in mind: most people claim that it’s harder than the real thing. If you’re easily discouraged, you might want to steer clear of the Barron’s book. However, if you’re serious or hardcore, it’s probably the book for you.</p>
<p>Barron’s does have a few mistakes and oddities in it, but overall, it’s a challenging book that will prepare you well for the real thing.</p>
<p>Thank you, you two. the tips were very helpful!
Just out of curiosity though…if I somehow, luckily, were to score over a 34 on the ACT, should I not take anymore ACTs or SATs? I plan on taking an SAT course this summer while self-studying ACT. But in the event where I score a 34 or above, should I just chill? 8)</p>