Quest for a 36 (from a 34)

<p>I got my results back from the Psae administration of he ACT and I got a 34: 32 E 34 M 36 R 33 S. this was the first time that I've taken the act and my prep consisted of doing 3/4ths of a practice test and googling math formulas the night before. i kind of regret not doing more prep but i was busy and i kinda figured I wouldn't do too well anyway. Im taking the june one and im planning on studying my butt off for this one. I'll have a boatload of time since no school (yay). How realistic do you think getting a 36 will be in my situation? My worst score is English which should be relatively easy once I actually learn grammar rules, right? </p>

<p>Also, I completely understand that this score increase will mean next to nothing in terms of admissions, but I more or less want to do this for myself (and for bragging rights lol) then for some sense of entitlement of Ivy League acceptances. </p>

<p>So any tips or anecdotes or tricks or advice or answer keys for the 36? Am I expecting too much?</p>

<p>You won’t be able to “study” for science or english honestly, so those scores might reflect what you’ll get in the future. Learning english rules sounds nice in theory, but since you already got a 32, you know most of them, and there will always be a couple that trip you up.</p>

<p>There is nothing to stop you from retaking (unless you got 36), however, it does not make sense to retake it without a very thorough preparation and make it the last attempt. Also, was your first attempt without writing? Anyway, make sure you choose the writing option if you are going to retake it. The last couple points is harder to achieve.</p>

<p>I don’t agree with @smarty99, you CAN study for all the sections. I found english one of the easiest to study for, it’s nearly entirely made of grammar rules to learn. Figuring out those “couple that trip you up” and learning them can help you those last few points. The science section is harder to study for, but still possible. Honestly, doing a LOT of practice problems is the easiest way, and being familiar with common kinds of measurements and graph types helps. Best of luck!</p>