So I took the practice ACT and got a 29. I really want to be in the 30+ range. For the reading and english portions I was in the lower 30s (30/31) and for Math I was at a 27. I bought the ACT prep book and also have a personalized Khan Academy plan to improve my SAT scores. Which strategies work best / worked for some of you personally? Also, how realistic is it for me to get into the 30s, and how many points is it realistic to improve? Thanks!
For the math section, unless you think you can realistically score 34+, you have to spend your time on the questions with topics you know how to answer. Make sure you get those right. Don’t rush through those to leave time for the really hard questions you have little chance of getting right. More prudent to just guess on those instead of wasting time trying to figure out something you don’t know how to do. Spend the time making sure you get the ones in your wheelhouse correct.
I disagree with the comment about the math. I’m a low B student in math, but I got a 780 on the math section. It is by far the easiest part to learn, as it sticks to basic algebra (idk about act). A night of cramming for it will make a huge difference.
I think I can speak to this because I went from a 29 to a 33. However, between those scores, I can tell you I did almost no prep work in between. Many people would disagree with me, but I think there are many other influencing factors in your score which are much easier to change than actually “knowing more.” I think the most important is just the fact that when you go back to take it again, you will feel much more comfortable and familiar with the testing conditions. I think by just going back to the same place you took it the first time (or changing locations because the noise levels, temperature, or atmosphere just didn’t work) will already put you in a better spot. However, I’m not sure what you mean by practice ACT? Perhaps this was more for me as I have anxiety, but literally just relaxing more helped me a lot. Go into your next test knowing that this is more just a fun test to see how well you can do, with minimal pressure, your mind will be clearer and you will be able to think clearer and faster (at least for me lol). I would say English is super easy to improve, the last time I took it I got a 36 and I’m actually so horrible at grammar it’s insane. The passages for me are actually interesting to read so make sure you actually are working through all of them in your head and do some practices, you will 100% improve the more you do since all of the rules are simply recycled. For math, something I really struggled with, was the fact that I could simply not get through them all, but I really had a hard time allowing myself to skip problems. Skip problems!! Make sure you fill in the multiple choice with the same letter each time (if you’re just straight up guessing) but I would say do some practice math because you can improve that as well. Science is all about timing okay that was always like my worst section when you do practice those practice it only by passage because there is no need to waste all your time doing the whole section, but rather practice timing yourself per passage since it’s important to stay on track. Lastly, I’d recommend you get a good timer that has like the 3 hrs whatever plus you should also have a feature to time yourself per section or even per passage. I would say you have a really good chance of improving your score, however, it’s really important to know how much time you have before applying to colleges. If you are going into your junior year yes! you will no doubt improve your score a lot as you have a long time before applying if you are going into your senior year you definitely will have the opportunity to grow, but perhaps you may not have as many opportunities to do so. hahaha I just realized I wrote so much and they are like random ramblings with no real point haha. Message me if you have any specific questions about my literal study strategies or my means of improving. Good luck!
My daughter raised her ACT score by 6 points so it’s doable. She had private tutoring, though. She brought her science score up from a dismal 19 to a 31
D19 got 29 in September of junior year with no prep. Did some self study and watched a few online videos, and got a 31 in December. Had 7 sessions with a math tutor, used for the love of act science, and watched some more videos. Did two or three practice tests and scored a 33 in May. Not sure if she’ll test again as a senior, She was hoping for a 34 (.75 of a point off from this in May)
Thank you! For everyone’s information, I am a junior