Should I take APRIL ACT???? HELP!

<p>So i took December ACT and got a 29. I took the February ACT and got a solid 28. I was shocked. </p>

<p>Now we have a state-mandated test on March 10th. However, the registration deadline for April ACT is like next week. So, should I take the APRIL ACT???</p>

<p>It will be free for me by the way since I am eligible for a fee waiver. However, it just seems so silly to go to my counselor and ask her for like the 3rd or 4th time.........Last time she was like just wait til the March date. I am sure she will give it to me, but will I come off as obsessive about my scores.</p>

<p>Btw, I am aiming for a 33 with hopes of ivy league.</p>

<p>Any advice?</p>

<p>Retake it only if you are going to put a lot of time and effort into studying for the test. If you take it again with just the same knowledge you have now, an increase is unlikely. </p>

<p>Also, your section scores matter. For example, if you have 32E, 33M, 25R, and 23S (I don't even know what that composite would be :)), retake it. It should be easy to improve on the two bad sections and just coast on the two good ones. However, if all of your sections are pretty equal - within 1-3 points of each other - you could have a hard battle on your hands.</p>

<p>So, my advice is to retake - if you are commited to improving.</p>

<p>I would wait...you can always register late.</p>

<p>if i register late, i wont be able to take it for free.</p>

<p>book_worm: i just saw that you got a 36. Any advice for preparation etc.????? How do I improve my Reading and Science significantly?</p>

<p>The only advice that I can give is what worked for me.</p>

<p>Since I'm a fast reader, I read all of the reading passages before looking at the questions. By doing this, I was able to get a "feel" for the passages, and only needed to glance back to specific lines to confirm my answers. By reading the passage as a whole, I was also able to easily answer the "Which statement would the author agree with" style questions pretty easily. Also, don't read too much into the questions/answers. Most of the time the correct answer will be decently obvious - ACT has to be sure that there is only one correct answer to each question. </p>

<p>For science, I skimmed the experiment/passage quickly, then went to the questions. As long as I had a general idea what the lab was about, I was able to deduce the answer or quickly go back to a table to find it. The biggest problem with science is the time limit. When I got my 36 S, I had 5 minutes to do the last two passages - some miracle allowed me to correctly answer everything. Success on science also has a lot to do with the science classes you've taken in school - if they are lab-heavy, your score will increase naturally. </p>

<p>So, I guess my biggest advice is to understand the passages and pace yourself. And, above all, **don't allow yourself to panic **if you seem to be running out of time. </p>

<p>Lastly, the week before I took the test, I did a section a night out of the official practice ACT booklet that I got from my school. Some people say that cramming everything in the Friday before the test worked for them, but I felt that concentrating on one section a night really helped me.</p>

<p>thanks......should i do barrons as it is harder?</p>

<p>I have no experience with Barrons - I did a little PR, and it seemed to help. </p>

<p>Pretty much any prep is good :)</p>

<p>the thing is.......on the reading and science tests that i took in the red book, I got 30's. However, i dont know why i am so bad on test day.......any advice???</p>