<p>hiii everybody! okay so i know that there are some threads that cover this exact topic scattered about the forum but i want to attempt to condense it all. here's my story:</p>
<p>i received a composite of 30 on the ACT my first time taking it. i took it the first time completely cold, no review, no nothing. i'm taking it for my second and final time in october and i am aiming for a 33-34. i know myself and i have faith that i can raise my score by that much but i know that i need to do a LOT of studying. so what is the most EFFECTIVE and SUCCESSFUL way to prepare for the ACTs? i own the princeton review book and 3/4 of the books content is simply review material on various topics that may be covered on the ACT as many of you know. there are only 3 practice tests included... so what are your suggestions (preferably for those of you who acheived high scores -- meaning 33-36 -- on the ACTs) as far as a study strategy. (i.e. is it worth it to go through all the study material? or simply just do practice tests. what is the best regimen?)</p>
<p>i hear a ton that you should just do many practice tests. obviously, the best practice tests are the 'official' ACT ones from the red book. after taking one practice test, i saw how little the strategies i learned in the Kaplan ACT book actually applied to me. Just develop your own plan of attack.</p>
<p>I got a 29 my first time back in decemer (I think) and I was a freshman back then. I was really disappointed with my score, even though I went in cold.</p>
<p>Okay, after studying yesterday I found a pretty good way (at least for me) to study :)</p>
<p>I have the REAL ACT book, released by ACT themselves. Instead of jumping to the practice tests like I usually do, I read through their little "test taking strategies" in the beginning of the book, not expecting to find much.</p>
<p>But it was a gold mine. In the math section, they had examples from each of the categories (Pre Algebra - Trig) - easy problems, medium level problems, and the hardest problems. I especially concentrated on the medium and hard ones. There, they an explination on how to exactly do the problem in the most time - saving and easiest way. It's brilliant! I learned so much.</p>
<p>Today, I'm going to flip over to a practice test and jump right into question 25 or so in the math section. This should be where the medium-tough questions start, and that's where I need the most help.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I'll take a full fledged practice test.</p>
<p>I'm so used to taking the SAT critical reading, where I usually have enough time to think and check things over, but I couldn't even finish the ACT reading on time. How do you guy read so fast?</p>
<p>My reading scores really fluctuate. I took one today, and got a 30. I took one last week and got a 32. Some are just easier than others.</p>
<p>As for reading, you must read quickly. Meaning, you can't take the time to read every-single-word-in-the-passage. You have to really focus and concentrate on the passage to get the most out of it.</p>
<p>I'm also working on my math score (28 as of last week), but with 9 more practice tests, I'm confident.</p>
<p>English is good to go for me. I've always been good at that.</p>
<p>But the science reasoning it just killing me.
My first 2 science tests were 27s. Then I got a 32 (one time fluke), then I got a 28, and today I got a 26. I've tried everything from reading all the passages quickly to skipping them all together. I've tried going straight to the questions then referring back to the passage. I have NO IDEA what else to try. My only other option is to keep doing practice tests and maybe talk to my school counselor about getting a tutor.</p>
<p>I know I can get my math up. I mean, with 12 total tests to take, I should know everything there is to know about the math when it comes time to take the test on October 25th.</p>
<p>Anyways, that's all I can offer for help. Some science experts would be appreciated on this thread.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I know. I get really mad if they're stupid mistakes. One time it asked me something about the control group, and I looked at the experimental group by mistake. I was right, just backwards. Ahh!</p>
<p>A 30 is pretty good for ur first time without studying. My school gave a practice test as if it were an official test and I got a 28 on it (mostly because my knowledge of grammar rules was terrible, and I ended up getting a 21 on that section). I got a 34 last 2 times I took the ACT (the only 2 times actually).</p>
<p>Use the official book and do those tests, those are the most accurate. If you're really having trouble in a section (since you're shooting for a 33 to 36, I would say anything below a 32 is trouble) read some prep material on the section. It should do wonders. If you're getting above a 32 in sections and want to improve, then just take more practice tests and see what questions you get wrong and why. Since you're score would already be 32 or above, you'll learn a lot more from why you made those mistakes than from any prep book.</p>
<p>Also, if you're like me, time is a HUGE factor. Do not underestimate how much time can screw you over (happened to me, especially on the science section).</p>
<p>Got a 29 the first time I took it, but didn't finish the reading or science sections. I had very little prep, so this time I have strategies and have worked timing out pretty well. Aiming for a 30-31.</p>
<p>What would be the best book for getting a barely-34 (it was a 33.5) up to a 35 or.... maybe even a 36? My weakest section by far was Science, though I could stand to improve the Math as well. I have PR's -- should I get Barron's, Kaplan's, or the REAL ACTs?</p>
<p>Yes, get all three of those books.. beware, barron's is really hard, but it'll make the real thing seem easier (and Kaplan is really good for reading.. and the real act book is good for it all)</p>
<p>Bamboozler: My weakest section is science as well. Don't go with the PR book for science. It's a total crap-shoot in the PR book; the questions ask you to draw conclusions based on information that would not allow you to do so (independent variable tested with no control in the data).</p>