<p>Hey guys! Wanted to ask a few questions. First off I just wanted to ask if ya'll get in the 30's for your ACT scores? I'm going to be a junior in the fall and have taken the ACT 3 times...June being the most recent. I'm struggling all around in the subjects and all of my friends (who happen to be a year older than me) are smarties (like many of you) and are no longer taking the tests because they are content with their scores i.e. 30's, 34's, 35's ext. I'm feeling a little discrouraged because I have a 4.4 GPA and my friends with 3.0's are doing signifigantly better than me. I have been studying as much as I can which on average is about an hour each day. I have started study sessions with two of my friends (recieved a 30 and 35) and my twin and I are also starting to go see a tutor who is an English teacher from our school. Do ya'll have any more advice for someone who is dreaming big? I know I can make it into college with all my accolades, it's just this darn ACT that I need to improve! Sorry for the long post, and thanks Smarties!</p>
<p>Go fast, don’t look back. Reading and English are mostly easy, just gotta pay attention. Math, you might want to brush up on algebra II and pre-calc basics. Science is easy, but very time-consuming. </p>
<p>Pretty much, though. Practice efficiency. All about speed.</p>
<p>I got a 31, by the way. Not the best ever, but the science is what killed me (didn’t answer many).</p>
<p>Engineerjw, I think you have a good strategy!</p>
<p>Agreeing with above. While taking the ACT, staying focused and keeping strict time are key to doing well. This is especially true on the English and Science sections. Bear with me as I will probably be restating the obvious, but I don’t know to what extent you already know this. </p>
<p>Have you tried taking the SAT yet? The rigor and trickery of the SAT has helped me figure out the more obvious patterns in the ACT as well as assisting in critical thinking for the reading section. My main preparation for the June ACT of this year consisted of self-studying for my first SAT ( 3 or 4 full tests from the CB SAT book) and then using a couple free online ACT tests to establish timing the week before the ACT. It may be an anomaly, but this method raised my score to a 35 composite. I have heard of many others getting decent scores on the SAT but receiving great scores on the ACT afterwards, so there may be some merit in this train of thought. </p>
<p>With the English section especially, a couple rules can assist you greatly in all situations. In the revising passages section, many questions will have a couple options that change the passage in a way that creates more complex grammar (adding commas, clauses, etc.) or perhaps a passive tense. Proper English is concise, so the simpler answers are usually correct. With the section that examines the writer’s structure, I found that most of the time, it is best to omit the sentence, usually based upon irrelevance. Other than these small bits of advice, studying with your English teacher is probably the easiest way to be confident while analyzing passages for grammar. The English section has very short questions, so you don’t need to memorize the rules by heart or anything; know about 85% or so and you can work through quick enough to be able to reason out the correct answer in your head for any that you are unsure about.</p>
<p>The science section can be done sufficiently with advice that you see all around CC. Basically, the ACT science is just critical reading + understanding data tables and graphs, and if you treat it as such, there is no reason to fear it. Read the questions first, as much of the data provided is unneeded. When skimming over the experiment, try to take note of what variables are being considered and the general trend of data for graphs (positive / negative correlation, inverse relationship, etc.). The questions usually reflect this knowledge, and just like the CR section, it can be pulled directly from the summary of the experiment or data table without excessive independent thought. I would try to pace yourself to leave 5 minutes left at the end. I found that this mentality cut down on analysis of the experiment irrelevant to the questions, which was my downfall the first time I took the test. </p>
<p>The critical reading section and math did not require any particular strategies, or maybe I just didn’t use any that I could discern. I somehow manage to get a lower subscore on the elementary algebra than on the geo and trig sections, lol.</p>
<p>It definitely seems like you are a driven student, perhaps overanxious. Sophomore year is not necessarily too early to begin testing, but I’m sure that your knowledge of the test has only improved. But as they say, knowing is only half the battle. Adopting a tough yet relaxed(!) stance towards the test does help. Further preparation can quell these anxieties, but I think it would do you well to take pride in your own achievement rather than comparing it to your friends. If this is the problem, CC is definitely not the cure. </p>
<p>I wish you luck in your standardized testing.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! Ya’ll have helped a lot! And perhaps I am a little overanxious! I have also realized that this test is a battle between myself, to see how well I can do (not how my friends are doing). I will register for the SAT soon and continue studying on my own. Thanks for the tips again!</p>