Hey everyone! I’m new to College Confidential and this will be my first post
So i’m stuck in a bit of a dilemma here…I’m a rising senior and I have only taken the SAT reasoning in January this year after studying for 2 months or so and received 1900 I then took the reasoning again in March but I ended up cancelling the score because the paper seemed too difficult.
I was then advised to switch to SAT subject tests in May, so I took Math II and got 750. I wanted to improve my score above 770, and plus the fact that I still needed to take physics, I took tests again this June. Since I’m an international student from Canada, our curriculum is almost one year behind that of the States. I tried my best to learn a whole year of physics in just 2 months, and it didn’t go so well–my June SAT physics was 630. And during May after my math II, I focused all my time into prepping for physics that I didn’t even had the chance to go over math. My June math was 620, a 130 point drop from last month…
I know that my statistics are horrible, but in all honesty I’m not a bad student at school. I keep up with my school work and take rigorous courses, and merge myself into ecs. It’s just that my time table for testings this year has been really screwed up. I’m now left with no decision but to either 1) switch to ACT in September and take subject tests in October or 2) take SAT reasoning in October and SAT subject tests in Nov
I want to apply early decision, but I don’t know which school yet since there are so many unknown factors in my profile. I’m looking at the top 30 schools in the States though
I wanted to try taking an ACT practice test under timed circumstances. Without preparation, my initial score is 25. the breakdown was 19 in reading, 31 in math, 23 in science, 26 in english. I was a bit confused about the passages in the reading section since they differed so much from the SAT and didn’t really take the section seriously, resulting in that score of 19.
Don’t know what my next steps are I really to choose one of those directions and improve my score DRASTICALLY in order to get a decent test score in a few months, and that’s the vital component of my application profile missing. Any suggestions?
If that was routinely possible, don’t you think everyone would be doing it?
Figure out which schools you are interested in. Not all of them require SAT subject tests. Not all of them require that you submit all scores either. As you’ve probably learned, don’t retake scores above 700.
Your SAT score is significantly better than your ACT score. Stick with the SAT. Practise, practise, practise. BUT! Don’t forget to work on your essays. Your essays are just as important as your scores. So are your grades in school.
@bouders thanks so much 
i want to focus on my essay, but I’m also doing an internship this month, and i feel like the schools I apply to (or at least some majors) recommend subject tests. I might have to retake physics–but should I retake math since it dropped by 120 points?
from your experience which test is easier to improve? with the 1900, that was in jan and it’s been several months since i even touched SAT. Do you know if ACT can be improved quickly?
Do not retake your math SAT! You’ve been getting some not so good advice. First or all, how could your math score drop 130 puts in just one month? Not studying in May for the retake shouldn’t have had much if any effect unless you did a lot of lucky guessing on the May test and couldn’t repeat the feat in June. I still don’t get it. And why did you take the Physics SAT if you haven’t had Physics yet? You could have taken the Chem, Bio or any other subject test you were more prepared for. Are you looking to an engineer and that is why you feel so compelled to take the Physics SAT?
Given your testing experience to date it is highly unlikely that you can raise a practice test ACT of 25 to a 34. A four or five point increase is doable with a lot of test prep. If you can afford a private tutor then that is the way to go at this point. If not, set up a strict schedule of studying and taking practice tests. Set a time for five minutes less than the allotted time for each section when you practice. This is because time pressure is often the biggest problem for ACT test takers. Good luck with everything!
@Falcon1 For the May test, I didn’t do a lot of guessing. In fact, I left the questions I do not know blank, which was 12…However, for the June test it was a shock to me as well, because I didn’t prepare for the math II for the entire month. I felt the test was easier by comparison, but there were a lot of data management and probability questions I didn’t know how to approach them because I didn’t learn those at school.
And also, if you read my top post, I am from Canada. The Canadian curriculum in grade 11 (aka US junior year) is almost a year behind that of the states. Whichever science test I chose, I would have to study a year of material in equivalence under 2 months anyway.
But right now I’m thinking of switching to biology, since people told me that it’s mostly memorizing and studying a year of bio is easier than studying a year of physics. Do you have any suggestions on this?
And also, how much time would it take to achieve a 4-5 point increase typically? I have no experience with the ACT prep experience whatsoever and I just thought that it seems like you’ve taken the ACT for a while:) If I decide to take the October ACT, would I have enough time to raise to a 33 or 34 if I study immensely?
Thanks again
I was able to raise from a 25 to a 29 in two months. I worked through the Real ACT prep book and the Princeton Review ACT prep book, but I believe the Princeton Review one helped me a lot. Read through the whole thing; highlight and take notes. Note how to solve what you are struggling with and look up as many tips as you can on how to work through each section. Try taking a timed practice test every week (Princeton Review has 5), and review each question you get wrong–NEVER SKIP A QUESTION ON THE ACT!!! Having a 1/4 chance of getting a question right is better than having no chance on getting it right. Practice working on what you are struggling with and review those notes!! One more thing (and an important skill in any test taking): work easy (or quick to solve) problems first, then take a little time on difficult questions. Try to not spend more than a minute on a question–if it is taking a while, make your best guess and come back to it. You should have at least 5 minutes left to go back to any questions you are unsure about. Best of luck!
Well, I am still rather baffled why you retook a 750 score in Math II knowing you left 12 blank the first time and you didn’t study for the retake. But anyway, I am a parent and have never taken the ACT exam. I only know about the ACT from what I’ve seen of my kids and their friends having taken the exam.
You have the entire summer to study for the ACT or SAT exam so there is certainly plenty of time for improvement. Whether or not you can raise your score to a 33 or 34, only you can answer that. As I said, based upon what little history you have shared with us about your test taking to date, I think it is highly unlikely that you could pull off more than a 4 or 5 point increase after a lot of test prep. But again, I don’t know anything about you so this is just my opinion. Hopefully you will prove me wrong. If you do decide to take the ACT and not the SAT, please make sure you are aware of the changes to the test that are being made starting in the fall.
As for your other SAT subject test, even if you are a year behind the US, wouldn’t you have at least completed biology of chemistry by now? I don’t understand why no matter what science you take you have to study a year of material in equivalence in two months. Be that as it may, good luck on your exams and with the college admissions process!
@MayiqueCynthia Based only on what you posted:
Math II=750, Physics=630, SAT I=1900 and ACT=25 (practice only). Is this correct?
As a senior, you have the summer to prepare for your final Fall testing season.
You want to know how to best spend your time this summer to present the best package of standardized test scores possible to EA colleges in the US? Is that what you are asking?
@HereToHelpYou
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking, since I believe I have to retake my subject tests again but would also like to apply for ea/ed
The 630 in physics isn’t that bad. It’s in line with your SAT I scores.
I wouldn’t necessarily think that the Bio test would be easier. There is a lot of material in grade 12 bio that is on the SAT II. It’s not that easy to self-study. The molecular biology concepts are very different than the environmental concepts in grade 11. D16 is going into grade 12 in Ontario, had 90’s in grade 11 bio, had her science PhD mom tutor her, and still got a 520 on a practice sat II bio test just before June exams. So, we pushed back her SAT II’s until October. They may still get pushed back to December, depending on how prep goes in August.
Even with EA/ED, you can often wait until December to take the SAT II’s. If your school is on a semester system, you would end up having almost the full second year of the science and almost the full year of Functions. If you’re on a full year schedule, you’d at least have close to half of the year’s material covered, which is better than none. Instead of switching to bio, I’d work on the physics and take it again in December, and possibly January.
Your reading and science scores indicate that your reading comprehension is weak relative to your math. Is English a second language? Focus on practising the reading (and science) ACT questions and you should be able to bring your ACT score up.
@boulders Hi thank you for your advice! Actually English isn’t my second language, though I am more fluent in another language. For the ACT science section, I do have problems with the timing, and my reading is relatively weak. Physics 630 is bad for my college profile–something I definitely need to either retake or switch. I’m planning to take subject tests in October and I was wondering if you know how easily one can improve on the SAT physics, or if your daughter had any experience taking the SAT physics too? I’m also in Ontario and I had a 91 in gr 11 biology, and since my school is full year (not semestered), I won’t be able to be taught all the material for gr 12… 
do you know if molecular or ecological is easier?
@MayiqueCynthia The ecological biology should be easier for you since that material is taught in grade 11. The molecular biology material is taught in grade 12. However, the biology subject test depends heavy on reading, so you are likely to have the same difficulty as the science part of the ACT. The physics test is depends less on reading than bio, but there is still a significant reading component.
You will definitely improve with practice as you get used to the language of the tests. It would probably be helpful if you could spend time reading novels or other higher level material to “train” your brain to think more in English.
Remember, there are only 4-6 actual questions that require BASIC scientific knowledge to answer. I suspect the ACT science will be easier for you.