<p>What is better for the ACT, a tutor or just the book alone? Also, is 2 months of self-prep enough time to take the ACT in September?</p>
<p>Take some diagnostics to see where you are first. I think 2 months is a sufficient amount of time for prepping with the Official ACT book, and it wouldn’t hurt to go through the [ACT Preparation] sub-forum of this forum for more help ^o^</p>
<p>Usually if you’re in an alright place in the first time taking sats, like an 1700-1800, self studying (or at least to me) Iis more beneficial. If your’re 1600/lower then a tutor, I feel like, would help you get the concerts down, especially if you’re an international student. So you can convert those into ACT terms. Tutors are expensive, and if you can afford one, it couldn’t hurt. But you always have to study in your own time, no matter if you have a tutor or not.</p>
<p>I scored 1290 1st attempt (without studying or taking PSAT). can’t afford a tutor so I’m self studying. </p>
<p>Lots of excellent advice above. My son self studied for the SAT and ACT. We bought a big fat study guide for each test at $40 each. He took both tests twice and significantly improved his scores on both tests. It made a huge difference in where he’s going this fall. </p>
<p>The key is this: have you got the self-discipline to self-study? If you do, then I think this is an easy call. Alternatively, if you’re not sure but you’ve got someone in your life who will volunteer to push you to study and never give up, then self-study can work anyway. If you don’t, I would find the money to hire a tutor. Whatever you do, don’t blow this test by failing to study, it’s real expensive in the long run and can ruin your dreams. That expensive tutor is skill cheaper than failed dreams.</p>
<p>But keep this in mind: if you’re having to hire a tutor because you don’t believe in your own study skills then you haven’t got college level study skills yet. One way or another, you’ll need to find those skills. It’s cheaper to find those skills sooner than later.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Self-studying means you can go back to any of the sections you don’t understand to review… whereas in classes you would have to stop the whole class to get your answer (which most likely you wouldn’t do)…</p>
<p>Medicsz is right: take a diagnostic to see where you are first. Get the The Real ACT Prep Guide, which has actual ACT exams. Then try self-studying and see how it works for you. If you’re improving, great. If you’re not, either get a tutor or find a group of friends who are also studying for the ACT and work together. You’ll all have different strengths and weaknesses, so they’ll be a good collective pool of information. </p>
<p>The issue with studying by yourself is that many students don’t see their bad habits and can spend a lot of time chasing symptoms instead of addressing the real issue. I would advise to really study the questions you got wrong. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>